Editorial
Give Them Work
Survey findings suggest that serious problems facing the nation are unemployment and an alarming rise in crimes followed by political instability. The survey conducted by an eminent organisation based in Mumbai covered four South Asian countries including Bangladesh. Newspaper reports are so replete with gory stories of crimes - murder, arson, looting, rape etc. - that one does not need a survey to determine that crime is on the top of the list of all the social evils. There has been a steep climb of the unemployment curve both in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. In the absence of adequate employment opportunities, particularly in rural Bangladesh, a massive migration of unemployed rural youth and agricultural labour to the city has been taking place. And then there is the problem of unemployment of educated youth, skilled and semi-skilled labour. These are the problems that have never been squarely addressed by any government of the country and as a result they have become enormous over time, and almost impossible to solve now. Unless the government goes about the job of creating employment for the vast masses of unemployed youth of the country the situation is bound to deteriorate and no amount of policy intervention at a later stage can improve it.
Since the return of democracy in the country we have been watching with awe the race for power between the leading political parties and a penchant for personal gains at the cost of the well-being of the people. Since liberation no government has adopted any pragmatic policy for either industrialisation or agriculture extension that could generate employment for thousands of educated, skilled and semi-skilled youth of the country. This could ensure them better future and save them from frustration and the horrible prospect of a bleak future.
Unemployment has remained a curse for the younger generations throughout the world; but it needs not be the case if the full potential of micro-enterprises can be realised. It is a pity that the energy, imagination and genius of our young men and women have never been fruitfully utilised to take the country forward. In the new millennium let it be the priority of the government and the private sector to harness the immense prospect of the youth power in the nation-building endeavour.
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