Coronavirus Crisis Creates Fear, Doubt Among Arab Youth

Sama al-Diwani and her college sweetheart had big dreams.

Her boyfriend, Athir Assem, was planning to open a business in Iraq. She was preparing to go to England, where she would spend a year in training so that she could work as a pharmacist. After that, they would reunite, get married and start a family.

Those dreams came to a stop with the coronavirus health crisis. Al-Diwani's university education is now on hold. Her family's earnings² have gone down by 40% and she worries about losing her job at a local pharmacy³.

Assem has delayed plans for launching his business. He wanted to sell baked goods.

Al-Diwani, 24, and Assem, 26, are among millions of young people whose plans for work, education, and marriage have been changed by the pandemic. Such unrest is common in many areas, but the sense of hopelessness is a big concern in the Middle East. There, war, displacement⁴ and disease have left a generation feeling helpless and bitter.

In Western countries, many unemployed⁵ workers believe they will get their jobs back or somehow recover from the recession. But in some Arab countries, the pandemic seems like the final blow to economies that are now close to collapse⁶.

Before the pandemic, in 2019, youth unemployment in the Arab world was estimated at 26.4%, compared to a rate of 13.6 percent worldwide. Those estimates come from the International Labor⁷ Organization.

This week, a United Nations report predicted that some Arab economies could shrink by up to 13% this year. Another 14.3 million people are expected to go into poverty, raising the total number to 115 million. That would represent about one-fourth of the total Arab population.

Tariq Haq is a Beirut-based senior employment specialist with the U.N. labor agency.

"For many young people, seeing economies crumble⁸ the way that they are and seeing their prospects¹⁰ vanish before their eyes ... it's undoubtedly¹¹ going to be taking a huge toll¹² on mental health and well-being," Haq said.

Across Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, serious economic problems threaten to push the area into extreme poverty and unrest. Lebanon and Syria's currencies have crashed. In Iraq, where more than 60% of the population is under 25, a large drop in earnings from oil sales hurt the country's budget.

Millions of young people are looking to leave the Middle East.

Before the cornoavirus spread around the world, al-Diwani had begun preparing her paperwork and request for a visa.

"It was my dream to finish studying and get married to the man I love," al-Diwani said.

Then the coronavirus hit.

The university suspended her acceptance as a student. She worries about losing her place and never feeling safe enough to travel again. Assem estimates his losses from delays in the bakery project, which was supposed to open in May, at around $10,000.

Working at the pharmacy in Baghdad's Karrada district, al-Diwani meets people suspected of being infected with the virus every day. She returns home frightened and worried that she might be carrying the infection back to her family.

"Corona¹ destroyed me and my dreams and future in a very unexpected way," she said. "Now the future is unknown, and I cannot think how we can come back from this."

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

pharmacist – n. someone trained to prepare doctors' orders of medicines, administer vaccines¹³, and advise patients on the use of drugs

bake – v. to cook by dry heat

pandemic – n. an infectious disease that spreads across a large area

crumble – v. to fall apart

prospect⁹ – n. the possibility that something will happen in the future

vanish – v. to stop existing

toll – n. to have a serious, bad effect on someone or something; to cause harm or damage

currency – n. a system of money in general use in a country or area

1 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

4 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

5 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。