The Egypt revolution was considered the greatest success of the country as it paved way for more employment opportunities among the youth. This was meant to solve the unequal representation of the youth in key positions of national building. The youth form the highest population of the world and it is only fair if they are given the opportunity to express themselves and participate in national building. Before the revolution, the case of Egypt was different. There was unequal representation of the youth in the government as most of them remained unemployed. Most of the people in Hosni’s government were old people who had stayed in power for many years. The cry for the Egyptian youth to have the government include them in vital positions fell on deaf ears as he maintained the same old regime. It was due to such un-representation that the economy was only build by a certain class of people. This implied that the rich in Egypt grew richer as the poor became poorer.
After the revolution, a lot was expected to change considering the change in government. However little did the Egyptians know that it will take quite some time before the fruits are finally realised. Unemployment in Egypt was deep rooted and had definitely taken many years to build up. It should be noted that Hosni's regime had controlled most of the public funds and resources. They made up the largest percentage of the economy and immediately terminating them would lead to an economic crisis in Egypt which will definitely take some years. It is quite ironic that contrary to what was expected, the rate of unemployment in Egypt dwindled and hence making the situation worse than it was before. The reasoning behind this is that Hosni left the government with all his strongholds which were the rich people that held the economy. This therefore meant the collapse of some business establishments that generated income for the country.
Even though the youth who were protesting against the government of Hosni were productive, they could not immediately get the jobs needed for them to manage the economy. Overturning an old regime of unemployment and establishing a totally new one of employment means starting everything from scratch. This is not easy considering the fact that the generation lacked governance experience to build the economy and include the young generation (Sharp 87). It would even be useless if they got some funds from international communities as they still lack the experience of how to utilize them. The only alternative that the government remained with was to cut on the subsidies which will ultimately lead to high food prices and ultimately having investments that will create employment for the youth. The most affected will definitely be the middle class who form the highest working population even though their income is not very high. This was the most difficult decision that the country had to make yet it just for a little while before the economy stabilizes and guaranteeing employments to the youth.
The assumption that unemployment will subside immediately after Hosni’s government was replaced, left most of the in anticipation of great things. It hence took the awareness of economic experts to explain why the country will have to be patient enough before they realise a stable economy and employment for the youth. Egypt is now considered a new state that is just trying to pick up its pieces from a fallen regime. The youth of Egypt have to appreciate the fact that with a desired new regime, everything will have to be new which means that they have to build the economy afresh by creating employment opportunities. The few rich people under the Hosni regime may have corrupted their way into richness and hence used similar corrupt ventures to sustain their work. When everything has to be clean and transparent, it will require some hard work and sacrifice. This will have to take the willingness of the very youths that overthrew Hosni to practice transparency and work harder to realise their dreams of having stable sources of income.
The new government has the greatest challenge in hastening a stable economy and providing job opportunities to the youth as well as making the citizens understand why it will take quite some time to have an improved and stable economy. However, realising the responsibility at hand and the fact that people are anxiously anticipating change, the government has put in measures that will ensure the country moves on. There have been plans for the government to come up with policies that will attract foreign investors. Encouraging such investment will attract foreign funds; improve infrastructure as well as creating job opportunities for the youth.
The country is also known for its ancient structures that act as tourist attraction. Its historic significance also attracts visitors who come either for religious or historical purposes. The government is refurbishing such areas with the aim of encouraging more foreign visitors to come and stay for longer. This is one of the areas that the government is sure of attracting foreign income which will assist in revamping the economy as well as employing more people to take care of the guests. The government is also considering privatising some of the sectors that were formally mishandled by Hosni’s government. This will be handed over to private investors for the main purpose of making them more profitable to the public as well as generating income for the country and employment to the youth. This will be done in consideration of the effect it will have on the economy as well as service provision. The government is also looking at the options of getting more funds from the public as well as donors (Eltantawy & Julie 92). This will hence imply a slight surge in prices of commodity. With the funds, the government can invest in investment projects that will generate more job opportunities to the people.
The government has also been accused of not putting in enough measures to revamp the economy. Some of the policies being implemented are short lived and only act as a consolation that will not last long. It is expected that the revolution comes in with a breath of fresh air which should involve creating and maintain good relationships with neighbouring countries. Egypt has for long believed that it is self reliant and hence locking out some vital relations that could improve its political and economic landscape which is responsible for high unemployment rates among the youth. Even after the revolution, current leaders have not been aggressive enough to invite and allow foreign intervention. This implies that Egypt is not yet ready for a political and economical wave that it fought for. The crisis will hence be experienced until when the government makes more sacrifices that will open up Egypt to the international community which will even open international employment opportunities for the youths.
The current situation in Egypt has caused a mixed reaction among the youth. There is a feeling of freedom and relief especially from the previous government as well as frustrations at the seemingly worse economic situations and unemployment. While the youth were advocating for the removal of the Hosni’s government, they expected an immediate better life which is taking long to come (Lesch 143). It should be noted that the revolt was mainly staged by the youth who felt less represented by the government which was mainly composed of the old regime. Employment was also synonymous of the same old generation who owned most of the businesses. Their removal hence implied that the young people begin afresh to build the economy and find newer jobs.
The main issues now facing the youth is the fact that they have the freedom and the government they wanted but lack the resources to fulfil their employment dreams. The fact that the previous government had completely sidelined the youth, it was even difficult for them to start up. The main consolation that the youth of Egypt currently have is that they have a sigh of relief after succeeding to overthrow the government of Hosni Mubarak and that more youths will have more representation in the government and subsequently addressing their employment issues. However, after some economic awareness, the youth are encouraged to know that the crisis is just for a short while once the country has recovered, the economy will improve even more and they will have sources of income. However, the youth are encouraged to be more innovative and work harder to realise their dreams of being self reliant rather than waiting for government jobs. This is simply because the government may not necessarily guarantee them the jobs they require. They have a role to play y not just waiting for the government to offer them jobs but also create jobs for them and other youths.
Statistics have revealed that the current economic situation in Egypt is worse than it was before the revolution. This hence implies that unemployment rates among the youth have risen instead of declining. The main reason behind this is the fact that the previous regime controlled most of the economic generating projects. This means that when they left, such establishment s also collapsed. The fact that most of such establishments were also run through corruption, they could not function especially when the main stakeholders were the old men in Hosni’s government. Depending on the measures and policies that the government puts in place, the issue will either escalate further or reduce (Sutter 73). It however requires a lot of patience from the people of Egypt as the government has to make some sacrifices that may be seem detrimental to them for a while. Before the measures taken by the government to rebrand the economy of Egypt and consequently creating more jobs, the youth will have to be patient as they realise such fruits.
The momentum at which the crisis will escalate or decrease will mainly depend on the government and the efforts that will be put in by the youths to facilitate the much needed change. Globalization is a current wave that has makes most of the nations to overlook their religious and cultural inclination to accept an interaction that has realised growth. Gone are the days when developed nations took advantage of those that are still developing. It has in fact been recognized that having more international partners makes a country transparent and hence leading to a developed trust. With such trust, it is easier for different communities to interact and share resources. However, Egypt has a lot of enclosures that makes it unsafe for both investors and internatio0nal communities to intervene. The state of affairs and more especially for the youths is worrying yet it’s only their change of attitude that will ultimately deliver the country.
The unemployment issue of Egypt can be related to the neoclassical theory of unemployment. According to the theory, the situation is caused either by the unwillingness of the government to accept change or the very turmoil that are brought about by transition. Egypt is an Arab nation which has been associated with harbouring terrorist. Most of the developed nations that will mostly come to the rescue of such a nation are from western countries. They have however suffered a lot because of terrorism and will hence want to disassociate itself with such a nation. Egypt is also a nation that has been in constant tension with Israel and blamed for many of the crises that are being experienced by the country. United States in particular has been slow in helping Egypt heal from its economic crisis due to the fear that it may compromise on its interests. The nation is hence held in between protecting its interests against slavery and performing its philanthropic duties that it is obliged to.
Neo-classical theory also relates unemployment to Mediocrity and complacency which have affected the youth unemployment in Egypt. It has been considered rather ironic that despite the fact that the youth in Egypt were so united in calling for the revolution, they have not been organised enough in revamping the economy. This may be considered as a form of laziness where by the youth are waiting for the government to create the jobs rather than taking the personal responsibility to build their own economy. The Egyptian youths may have been expecting miracles to happen after the revolution not realising that they had a role to play (Armbrust 76). Another issue is the fact that most of the youths who were in the forefront to call for the revolution were not in Egypt at the moment and have not even come back to bear the consequences. Most of the youths who were on the streets had minimal skills and education that cannot guarantee the needed economic growth.
According to Keynesian economic theory, Egypt could be facing high rates of unemployment due to the inability of the government to provide sustainable resources. This is brought abrupt by the need of the government to provide for the current needs of the country as well as sustain its economy. Since provision of basic needs is the most important at the moment, the government is unable to adequately meet unemployment needs of students. The success of the revolution was related to social media and involved participants who were not necessarily from Egypt or had an Egypt origin.
The manner in which it was organized and carried out was so abrupt that it caught everyone by surprise. The organizers of the revolution believed in immediate change and failed to consider some of the negative outcomes and how they will be handled. The fact that it was done abruptly and in urgency led to a distraction of property and scaring some of the stakeholders that had settled in Egypt. Some of the investors who had their property destroyed shied off and established their businesses elsewhere. This therefore implies that it was easier for the Egyptian youths to overthrow the government but they lacked the capability to build it on their own.
Classical Economics relates to unemployment issues in Egypt by lack of proper planning by the founding leaders. The economy of the country cannot just be built in few months; it required setting up a strong foundation which has never been done by the government of Egypt. This can be related to complacency that has made Egypt to close up some of the doors that are likely to deliver the nation from the economic crisis. Being an Arab nation, the country holds on to some policies that do not favour the international community to support them. Egypt has totally refused to admit the fact that they are in a desperate economic condition that will require external assistant (Korotayev & Julia 99). The fellow Arab nations may not be in a perfect position to help them. The influences they have from other Arab nations have prevented the government to negotiate for a long-lasting plan with the western nations and especially the United States. As much as the nation remains rigid on its policies and resist international assistance, the issue may grow from bad to worse. This is simply because currently Egypt does not have adequate resources to build and sustain its economy.
Egypt is a nation with great potential of growth due its vast underutilised resources. The revolution also proved that it has people who are concerned about their destiny and youths who are willing to pay the price for their rights. The battle is however not yet over and it hence requires a continuous momentum like the one experienced during the revolution. Even though the expected changes are yet to bear fruits, the people of Egypt should not give up on a change they fought for and instead concentrate on development project. As the government works towards setting up policies that will improve the economy and create jobs, the youths should not just sit and wait but instead play their role of facilitating the change. It took force for Egypt to obtain democracy and such force must also be used to build the nation. Despite the cautious measures being taken by the government against foreign nations, they should also realise that it is only partnership that will ensure they get the much needed boost to build and sustain the economy.
Works cited
Armbrust, Walter. "A revolution against neoliberalism?." Al Jazeera 24 (2011).
Eltantawy, Nahed, and Julie B. Wiest. "Social media in the Egyptian revolution: Reconsidering resource mobilization theory." International Journal of Communication 5 (2011): 1207-1224.
Korotayev, Andrey, and Julia V. Zinkina. "Egyptian revolution: A demographic structural analysis." Entelequia: revista interdisciplinar 13 (2011): 139-169.
Lesch, Ann M. "Egypt's Spring: Causes of the Revolution." Middle East Policy 18.3 (2011): 35-48.
Sharp, Jeremy M. Egypt: the January 25 revolution and implications for US foreign policy. DIANE Publishing, 2011.
Sutter, John D. "The faces of Egypt's' Revolution 2.0'." CNN. com, Feb 21 (2011).
