14 Problems Arab Youth Have To Deal With Today. And This Is Not Even The Half Of It.

Although this is not the most historically and culturally appropriate medium for the reality and intensity of our problems, it is a first person account of some of the problems Arabs face in a post-colonial-mid-commotion society. This is mostly meant for Arab youth like me and unlike me, but also for non-Arabs like and unlike us. It is meant to promote awareness, empathy, understanding, and solidarity. So heres a summarized, simplified, amateur, interpreted, free-form, buzz-feed version of a narrative which usually comes from old white men - from a young brown woman.

Islamophobia

Via tumblr

Islamophobia is on the rise and all Arabs regardless of their beliefs are having to fight discimination and debunk stereotypes

ISIS/ISIL/IS/Da3esh

Via reddit

Having to catch up on who's who? who's who's enemy? and if an enemy of an enemy is a friend - is impossible. Until then, we worry about the threat of the end of our world as we know it.

Displacement

Via GoPop

From the Palestinians, to the Arab Jews, to the Sahrawis, to the Kurds, to the Iraqis, to the Syrians, to the Palestinian refugees in Syria that are now twice displaced.

Dictatorship

Via giphy

Remember Mubarak?

Oil

Via giphy

You are either screwed now, or screwed later.

Israel and Zionism

Via tumblr

Palestinians and Arabs are victims of a world that rewards their oppressors with financial backing, diplomatic support, and international exceptionalism.

Sectarianism

Via giphy

Muslim vs. Christian vs. Jew vs. Druze. Sunni vs. Shia vs. Alawi vs. ...

Brain Drain

Via reactiongif

Intersection of Class, access to education, and mobility.

Water Scarcity

Via tumblr

desert land + neighbours of Israel which steals from the water supply = we don’t have much water, or clean water =+ sanitation health issues.

Low Morale

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There's nothing worse for a community than to lose hope.

Women's Issues

Via tumblr

A caveat for the liberal feminists: take cultural relativism into account, do not generalize leaving us more misunderstood and isolated.

Surveillance and Censorship

Via reddit

The fear of being watched or overheard is real here.

Class Gap, Poverty, and Unemployment

Via tumblr

The Middle East hosts some of the highest unemployment rates in the world

Self Criticism

Via tumblr

We must be able to self criticize in order to self-empower.

Via tumblr

Let us be. Unafraid. Unbounded. Resistant. Righteous. Hopeful.