Two very recent statements about our youth from the highest state officials not only fail to reflect reality but rather highlight the vast gulf between rhetoric and action. Our young people themselves bear witness to this, appearing not merely disappointed but enraged by an unfair system that’s guarded like the crown jewels. This system works to both strangle their aspirations and demolish whatever dreams and hopes they have, rendering them futile—despite the casual platitudes regularly dispensed by those who hold or covet positions of power.
The first instance concerns the government’s commitment—how worn-out this concept has become—to young people and their prospects, as recently highlighted by the President himself, who emphasised that “the state provides them with the tools to become even more active and productive citizens for everyone’s benefit.” He made these remarks specifically in his address at the 20th Annual Mediterranean Model United Nations Conference (MEDIMUN), organised by the English School in Nicosia.
In the second instance, the Speaker of Parliament emphatically and quite convincingly stressed that “those of us elected to help citizens must stand by them, especially the younger generation, who must be given the opportunity to showcase their ideas and express their concerns.” Ms Annita Dimitriou was speaking to students at the Agios Antonios Lyceum in Limassol.
The more eloquent these words about concern for our youth sound, the more they contrast with the traumatic reality of what young people actually experience in their daily lives. This reality serves as nothing less than a damning indictment of a system that forces its own children to seek their future anywhere but in their homeland.
How many bright minds—truly our own intellectual capital—excel abroad in nearly every field simply because it was impossible for them to remain in their homeland and be properly valued? A septic system of cronyism, patronage, and meritless appointments remains steadfastly immortal, not only refusing to be tamed but growing ever more rampant… Everything is tailored to accommodate certain people, situations, and circumstances.
The evidence is abundant and daily. It would be far more honest to look our young people in the eye and tell them the truth, however bitter it may be. As for their future, if we mean what we say, let’s dare to dismantle… all the rot that governs us and that we’ve so carefully preserved for decades. Here’s where we should show real backbone, if we have any… So we can actually be convincing… about all these things we say so casually and cheaply.
