MENARY Monitor – Edition 99
February 19, 2023
Politics and Political Engagement
The Turkish gendarmerie beat to death 3 young Syrians who tried to enter Turkish territory to save their relatives there from the rubble after the earthquake near the village of Deir Sawan in the countryside of the occupied city of Afrin. A video shared on the virtual media shows 8 Turkish gendarmerie forces beating the three young men, kicking them with their legs in a brutal manner. According to the information circulated, one of the young Syrians immediately lost his life, while the other two were transferred to a hospital in Afrin, before they died from the sustained injuries.
Economics and Entrepreneurship
A group of young Jordanians launched an initiative to support Syrians in light of the recent earthquake. Their voluntary initiative aims to support the Syrian pound and contribute to raising its exchange rate for foreign currency by transferring any Jordanian dinars into Syrian lira, thereby contributing to the support of Syrians in the difficult circumstances of the earthquake. The initiative was welcomed and received by Jordanians in various governorates, who were quick to convert Jordanian dinars into Syrian liras.
The Qatari Foundation “Silatech” and the European Union signed a new 10-million-euro agreement to expand the “Supporting Youth Leadership and Financial Inclusion” project, which aims to promote the economic empowerment of young people in Yemen. The new four-year project aims to provide jobs, sources of income, and financial integration for more than 40 thousand young men and women in various governorates throughout Yemen by funding youth projects and providing capacity-building services to young entrepreneurs to provide them and their families with a source of income. The new partnership is based on the successful implementation of the first three-year cooperation between the European Union, Your Link, and the Bank of Hope, which has provided more than 30 thousand jobs and economic opportunities for young people in Yemen. According to a statement by the EU Mission in Yemen, the second phase of the partnership will focus on the principles of a sustainable economy, financial inclusion, the provision of innovative services through digital solutions, and women’s empowerment through support to youth-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Conflict
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death of two young Palestinians as a result of military operations by the occupation forces in the Far’a Refugee Camp in the north of the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, the Israeli government decided to deploy more police forces in East Jerusalem, following calls by National Security Minister to demolish Palestinian homes in the city. These developments come with the Israeli army’s announcement of an arrest campaign in large parts of the cities and villages in the occupied West Bank.
At least 36 civilians were killed in an attack attributed to the Daesh in central Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. According to the Observatory, the terrorist group killed 36 citizens of the Sokhna area in Homs while some people managed to escape the attack. The attack came a few days after a similar attack in the same area, which left 16 dead along with 60 others who were kidnapped, according to the Observatory. The Observatory added that 25 of them were released while the fate of the rest remains unknown.
The number of women and children migrating from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf States across Yemen has risen dramatically and is of concern, according to the Director of the International Organization for Migration. “The treacherous journey from Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia through Yemen, called the eastern migration route, saw a 64% increase last year in people looking for better livelihoods,” said the IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino. He added that more women with children travel, as well as children on their own, noting that climate change is driving increased migration. Experts warned that women and girls might be at risk of sexual violence by smugglers collaborating with Yemen’s Immigration, Passports, and Nationality Authority, under the control of the Houthi militia. Migrants in the Migration Agency’s reception camp in Manbul were subjected to forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced drug trafficking, and other forms of violations.
Development
The Fund for the Prevention and Treatment of Addiction and Abuse launched a new training camp to prepare volunteer leaders from the General Federation of Egyptian Scouts and the Plan International’s Youth Health in Egypt program. 110 young Egyptians participated in the 3-day training camp, in a series of lectures on teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills along with sessions on peer pressure, substance abuse, the impact of drug use and its association with violence and crime, and early detection mechanisms and how to treat addiction through the Fund’s hotline. The camp also trained participating youth on raising awareness to protect their peers from addiction.
The Department of Parliament and Civic Education of the Directorate of Youth and Sports in Kafr al-Sheikh, Egypt, held training workshops for the “Natasharak” program in its third phase. The program features several training workshops for members of youth centers in 12 governorates, with the aim of enhancing their skills to contribute to the implementation of community initiatives within the themes of empowering girls, societal consensus, citizenship, coexistence and non-violence, post-COP27, renewable energy, green projects, environment, and health.
Since the earthquake disaster in Syria, field kitchens have been distributed throughout Aleppo and have become an auxiliary element for relief operations, distributing thousands of meals daily. There are over 150 young volunteers, on daily basis, in the Stop Hunger Kitchen, as many volunteers come from different cities as well, including Damascus.
The Dandeite Youth Center of the Mette Ghimmer Youth Department in Dakahlia Province, in Egypt, held an educational seminar discussing the issue of terrorism, its causes, and drivers attended by a number of members of the youth center.
Education
A report release issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, in Egypt, indicates that the 83% of youth with intermediate degrees are unemployed, compared to 46% among university degree holders.
Environment
The Directorate of Youth and Sports in Kafr el-Sheikh in Egypt organized an awareness-raising session at a youth center, within the framework of the Voluntary Environmental Day, to discuss climate change and the national initiative for smart green projects. The meeting comes within a series of induction programs organized by the Directorate to familiarize youth with the implications of climate change on the environment. The meeting also touched on the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ National Initiative for Smart Green Projects.