Coronavirus crushes hopes of better life for Arab youth – The National

  • Date: 27-Jul-2020
  • Source: The National
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:GCC
  • Who else needs to know?

Coronavirus crushes hopes of better life for Arab youth – The National

Pandemic has added to the burden of a generation already struggling with high unemployment and constant conflict





























Ali Mallah, 27, who recently lost his job as a salesman at a shoe shop in Beirut, stands on the waterfront in the Lebanese capital. AP Photo











At 24, Sama Al Diwani and her college sweetheart had big dreams.



He was working on opening a bakery in Iraq. She was preparing to leave for England, where she would spend a year working on her master's degree in pharmacy. After that, they would reunite, get married and start a family.



Those dreams came to a screeching halt with the outbreak of the coronavirus, as countries shut down, economies buckled and global chaos followed. Her university admission is now on hold, the bakery project has fallen behind schedule, her family's income has gone down by 40 per cent and she frets about losing her job at a local pharmacy.



Ms Al Diwani and Athir Assem, 26, are among millions of young people in the Middle East region whose pursuit of jobs or plans for higher education and