Youth find no prospects in BiH

02/09/2010

Frustrated by a lack of economic opportunities and an inability to shake up the political status quo, many young people are looking abroad.

By Ljiljana Smiljanic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 02/09/10

Sarajevo University students protest in front of the BiH government building. [Getty Images]

The difficult economic and political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has forced many students and recent graduates to leave the country.

According to the Youth Information Agency, nearly 100,000 young people have left Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since 2006. About 73% of youth left to seek a better life abroad.

Agency Executive Manager Jan Zlatan Kulenovic said that an even greater concern is that many who remain in the country increasingly drop out of high school.

"Only about 70% of students are getting high school diplomas. So we should be realistic and say that we are one of the poorest nations, when it comes to education, in Europe," Kulenovic said.

"The problem of [not being able to] get a job is the number one issue. The other motive is that young people think the quality of education is much higher elsewhere, and that better education is their only chance to get a job. And they are right," Kulenovic said.

Nearly 45% of people in BiH are unemployed and a third of the population is younger than 30.

Some counter the trend. Daniel, a student from Banja Luka, says he has no intention of leaving BiH.

"I am really happy with what I have here. I occasionally get a job. I am studying and traveling," he said.

Daniel acknowledged the future may not be very bright for all but said people can only blame themselves if they do not seek out opportunities.

"There are opportunities that could be used, but young people do not know about them or they do not know enough. Maybe some of them cannot use these opportunities, but I think most of them do not want to," he said.

Compounding young people's economic woes is their non-participation in politics. According to available data, an estimated 62% of youth do not intend to vote in the upcoming October 3rd elections.

Disaffected youth complain that there is no one worth voting for and thus no reason to go to the polls.

But NGOs seeking to boost participation say that staying home on Election Day robs young people of the chance to make a difference -- if only by booting out politicians who have done nothing to improve their situation.

Voting advocates insist that if young people really want a better job, life and future, then October 3rd is the time to raise their voices.