Arab youth in general face a challenging void, but the Yemeni case is uniquely severe due to the ongoing war since 2015. This war has led to the closure of many sports and cultural clubs, the suspension of recreational activities, and a sharp rise in unemployment. Consequently, many young Yemenis spend their time chewing khat, wandering the streets, or even joining combat fronts, increasing the risks of deviation, crime, and societal instability.

Young people in Yemen face monumental challenges due to this void. With youth making up 70% of the country’s population, statistics reveal that one-third of them are unemployed, creating a crisis that fuels feelings of frustration and despair.

This void often translates into negative behaviors that threaten societal stability, such as deviation, crime, extremism, and terrorism. It also weighs heavily on their mental health and hinders their ambition, leading to disorders like depression and anxiety.

A 2019 study on mental health in Yemen revealed alarming statistics:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects 45% of Yemeni youth.
• Depression affects 27%, anxiety 25%, schizophrenia 18%, and phobias 4%.

The Trap of Idleness: Breeding Ground for Deviance, Crime, and Mental Illness

Social studies agree that the phenomenon of idleness among Yemeni youth is not just a fleeting issue but a trap leading to deviance, crime, and mental illnesses, threatening their future and that of their society. Idleness provides a fertile ground for deviant behaviors. Youth deprived of positive activities may resort to prohibited behaviors such as drug abuse, theft, assault, and moral corruption, jeopardizing societal cohesion.

Additionally, frustration and despair stemming from unemployment can push youth toward crime as a source of income or as a means of expressing anger. The void also serves as fertile soil for extremist ideologies. Young people lacking proper religious upbringing may fall prey to extremists who exploit their emotions and misguide them, potentially leading them to violent acts that threaten societal security.

Studies also highlight idleness as a major factor contributing to mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Feelings of boredom, loneliness, and hopelessness negatively impact mental health, potentially leading to destructive behaviors, including suicide.

Thus, the negative effects of idleness overshadow all aspects of young people's lives, from their mental health to their social behavior, hindering their progress toward success and development.

Mental Health Crisis in Yemen

According to reports by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) last year, Yemen suffers from a severe shortage of mental health services and resources:

• Seven million Yemenis required mental health care in 2024.
• There is only one psychiatrist for every 700,000 people, compared to the global standard of 40 psychiatrists per 100,000 people.
• Only 120,000 out of the seven million in need can access mental health services.
• At least one-third of Yemenis suffer from mental disorders.

Suicide Cases

UNFPA statistics also highlight an alarming spread of suicide cases in Yemen:

• More than 50 suicides or suicide attempts occurred in Houthi-controlled provinces in 2022.
• One suicide case every two days.
• Over five teachers committed suicide in Ibb Province in 2019.

These statistics emphasize the dire impact of Yemen's civil war and the void and unemployment among Yemeni youth, alongside the accompanying psychological and behavioral effects that threaten societal stability and future.

The Void and Youth Suffering

The war has caused the closure of many sports and cultural clubs, depriving youth of sports and activities that once filled their time positively.

Recreational activities such as cultural events, trips, and outings have also ceased, intensifying feelings of boredom and frustration.

The conflict has significantly increased unemployment rates, making it challenging for young people to find jobs that could productively occupy their time.

Almost all sports activities in Yemen have halted during the war, including leagues, football matches, and other games. For years, Yemen did not participate in any regional or international sports activities sine the eruption of war. The 2019–2020 season marked the first football league since sports activities stopped in 2014, following the Houthi takeover of Sana’a and the start of the war.

Undoubtedly, the suspension of sports activities since 2014 has had a profound impact on clubs and athletes, depriving them of training and match opportunities, leading to a decline in the country's sports standards.

Youth and Social Media

The misuse of social media, without ethical or value-based guidance, has led to a significant waste of time, the most precious human resource. Many young people have become mere consumers, neither benefiting themselves nor contributing to society.

A large segment of youth has retreated into isolation with these platforms, distancing themselves from societal issues. This detachment prevents them from engaging in the pressing issues of their community, depriving Yemen of a vital force in addressing its crises.

One specialized study noted that about 70% of Yemeni youth spend most of their time on social media, with no tangible benefits for themselves or society.

Another study found that social media addiction has significantly altered societal behaviors among Yemeni youth. Traditions like visiting during occasions and cooperating in crises have dwindled, as many youth don’t care anymore of crises and disasters even affecting their relatives. Many now content to send text messages as their maximum form of participation.

The increasing free time among Yemeni youth is closely tied to the country's economic crises and the widespread tribal conflicts. Finding effective solutions is impossible without addressing the civil and tribal disputes that act as the root cause, as these conflicts exacerbate unemployment, crime, drug abuse, and, most critically, the erosion of values and religious principles among many young people.

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The International Youth Day, celebrated annually on August 12, passed by without the fanfare or media, political, and societal attention that such an event, and this rising and capable force, deserves. This force consists of 1.2 billion youths, representing 16% of the world's population.

The Arab region holds an advantage in this regard, as it possesses a youthful energy that makes it the leading region in terms of the largest youth population, compared to Europe, which is the most aged continent, according to data from the United Nations.

Arab countries are characterized by having an average age under thirty, especially Egypt, the most populous with over 100 million people and an average age of 23.9 years, Libya with 26.3 years, and Saudi Arabia with 29.8 years. In contrast, for example, the average age in Italy is 46.3 years, in Germany 44.9 years, and in France 41.6 years.

Despite this qualitative advantage, Arab societies, besides ignoring the event, impose many pressures and challenges that hinder the political, economic, and societal empowerment of the youth. This might even push them behind the walls of frustration, oppression, unemployment, crime, and suicide, with a deliberate marginalization of this immense energy from the circles of influence and decision-making.

Where are the Arab youth in governance institutions? Where are they in parliaments and legislative councils? What is their impact in the spheres of finance and business? What is their influence on the economy and politics of their countries? Where are they in the fields of science, innovation, invention, and production? And why the insistence on keeping them in the realms of sports, entertainment, and amusement?

Many pressing questions arise, given the lack of benefit from this demographic growth in youth numbers, compared to the aging problem faced by the West, which grants Arabs a rare advantage to make a substantial change in the future if this energy is revolutionized and well-utilized in improving the quality of the state's and society's sectors, advancing them to promising horizons.

When you realize that over 92% of the Middle East's population is between 15 and 29 years old, meaning that about a quarter of the region's population (108 million) are young people, we are looking at a massive army, invaluable, made up of energy, vitality, courage, and the ability to innovate and overcome challenges if given the circumstances, with a free will and wise management towards change.

However, the stark contradiction is evident when comparing the current situation to the rising unemployment rates worldwide, which reached 13% last year, with Arab countries among those suffering the most from youth unemployment, according to data from the International Labour Organization.

From unemployment to suicide, there is one person in the world dying by suicide every 40 seconds, with more than half of the suicides being people under 45, and suicide being the second leading cause of death among young, according to the World Health Organization.

The indicators of unemployment and suicide reveal what young people suffer from globally, especially in the Arab world, amidst political exclusion, economic marginalization, societal oppression, educational deterioration, and media degradation. This casts enormous burdens on this group, which should be the lever of progress and advancement, but instead, has become captive to need, deprivation, disintegration, extremism, and illegal migration, among other challenges that prevent youth empowerment and granting them full rights in building society and leading the ship of progress and advancement.

Although some Arab countries, particularly in the Gulf, enjoy enormous financial and economic capabilities, the youth in these societies are being rapidly and systematically pushed towards football fields, entertainment arenas, music festivals, and wrestling rings, while Palestinian youth are writing a legendary epic of resistance and resilience against a brutal arsenal of killing, violence, and destruction.

It is a grave and serious mistake for International Youth Day to pass without serious reflections at all political, legislative, economic, media, religious, cultural, and intellectual levels, provided that a serious and objective evaluation of the realities on the ground, and the available capabilities and budgets for these promising generations, takes place.

We are in urgent and dire need of genuine accountability for everyone regarding what we have provided for Arab youth, so that we can excel with their vitality and energy, for once, over the West that suffers from illness and aging. The goal here is not to excel in numbers, but to achieve qualitative excellence in the fields of science, work, production, innovation, technology, and exports, among other areas of life.

We also have a noble message, which is to summon the Arab youth anew, sharpen their energies towards attempts, restore hope, self-confidence, work towards reform, constructive cooperation, exchange of experiences, and building bridges of understanding between the components of society. This includes forming support and motivation groups that adopt their causes, work towards achieving their dreams, and influence the course of events positively, constructively, advancing, not retreating.

Where are the youth? How do we awaken the energies of this massive army? When will the present and future belong to them?

Pressing questions remain in need of answers from everyone!

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One day, while lost in the ambiguity of her life, she found herself walking heavily towards the immense edge of suicide. She felt as if everything around her was collapsing, and darkness was closing in on her mercilessly. Overwhelmed by despair and pessimism, life appeared to her as nothing more than a series of pain and failure.

This Japanese woman, who lived a life full of pressures and challenges in her country, was missing hope and purpose. She wondered about the meaning of life and whether it was worth the suffering she was experiencing.

In a moment of despair, she stopped and found herself aimlessly browsing the internet, but she stumbled upon videos about Islam on YouTube. She was surprised by what she saw and heard; these videos conveyed a sense of peace, hope, and spirituality.

Determined to learn more, she began reading the Japanese translation of the meanings of the Quran. The words of the Quran penetrated her heart and illuminated her path, providing her with the answers she had long sought.

Over time, she felt a change within herself. Peace, reflection, and strength began to permeate her being. She started to see life from a new perspective, realizing that life is worth living and enjoying and that it holds deeper meanings beyond just pain and failure.

In a moment of silence, while sitting alone in her room, she felt a great blessing enveloping her. It was the blessing that saved her from destruction, the blessing that restored her life and hope. She prostrated in gratitude, thanking Allah for this immense blessing, a blessing greater than anything else in life.

Islamic preacher Sheikh Mohammed Al-Awadi said that Muslims have a significant responsibility to present a true and positive image of Islam to those who may be ignorant of it or whose perception of it has been distorted.

Al-Awadi pointed out that this responsibility comes in the context of the discouraging reality of Muslims on multiple levels, internal divisions among them, and the stereotypical image painted by Western media, along with the efforts of far-right lobbies and new Orientalists.

He added that he encourages individuals to seek out associations and centers that aim to introduce people to Islam through social media and to engage with non-Muslim communities. Additionally, he advised following the accounts of astute and cultured activists who strive to invite people to Islam, both within the Islamic world and beyond.

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