Dear Editor,

It should come as no surprise that the National Youth Values and Attitudes Survey, which was conducted in April last year by UWI’s Centre for Leadership and Governance (CLG), found that 43.2 per cent of respondents below age 18 would be willing to relinquish their Jamaican citizenship, along with nearly half the number of young adults — 49.3 per cent — giving the same response.

This indicates the sad state of our country to properly reach the younger generation and integrate them into a society that is conducive for growth and development.

I really hope that this survey will not fall on deaf years and that it will be taken seriously by all stakeholders to implement policies and give hope to this generation.

The researchers noted that “young people were proud to be Jamaicans but were willing to give up their citizenship for better opportunities… they believe that greater investment is needed to create jobs and the structures necessary to facilitate development at the national and community levels”. The young people are voicing their concerns, how will our current politicians address this?

As a young person myself, I also share the burden and pain of my fellow counterparts. There are many times which I would seriously think about my fate after leaving college. Will I get a job? Will I be able to pay back my loans?

I have been hearing that young people should turn to the Internet for jobs or be entrepreneurs, but can the Internet provide jobs for 40,000 youth who graduate from high school and an additional 60,000 who would graduate from a tertiary institution each year? Will all of us be able to turn our ‘creative ideas’ into multimillionaire businesses? How can we be entrepreneurs when we cannot get a footing in the first place, where we have no experience, nothing, to guide us? To tell us such is simply the heights of hypocrisy.

We are running out of patience, we need hope. We need to see how the youth will be integrated into society to make meaningful contributions. Furthermore, the growing trend in Jamaica is that many businesses are closing down, laying off workers, and leaving the country. What message is that telling us who are expected to be entrepreneurs?

The survey also revealed: “Further yet, 60 per cent believe that the country is not being managed effectively, and 62 per cent noted that the current leaders do not have the capacity to manage the country’s affairs.” How will our leaders respond to this? Do we need another research to tell us why voter apathy is increasing among young people? We deserve better, and I am appealing to the relevant stakeholders to respond swiftly and effectively.

Kenroy Davis

Student, Church Teachers’ College

kenroy.davis@ctc.edu.jm