THE LINK BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT AND TERRORISM

(Mohamed ALI)

I would like to talk to you about a story about a small town kid. I don't know his name, but I do know his story. He lives in a small village in southern Somalia. His village is near Mogadishu. Drought drives the small village into poverty and to the brink of starvation. With nothing left for him there, he leaves for the big city, in this case, Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. When he arrives, there are no opportunities, no jobs, no way forward. He ends up living in a tent city on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Maybe a year passes nothing. One day, he's approached by a gentleman who offers to take him to lunch, then to dinner, to breakfast. He meets this dynamic group of people, and they give him a break. He's given a bit of money to buy himself some new clothes, money to send back home to his family. He is introduced to this young woman. He eventually gets married. He starts this new life. He has a purpose in life.

One beautiful day in Mogadishu, under an azure blue sky, a car bomb goes off. That small town kid with the big city dreams was the suicide bomber, and those dynamic groups of people were al Shabaab, a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda.

So how does the story of a small town kid just trying to make it big in the city end up with him blowing himself up? He was waiting. He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting to begin his future, waiting for a way forward, and this was the first thing that came along. This was the first thing that pulled him out of what we call waithood.

And his story repeats itself in urban centers around the world. It is the story of the disenfranchised, unemployed urban youth who sparks riots in Johannesburg, sparks riots in London, who reaches out for something other than waithood. For young people, the promise of the city, the big city dream is that of opportunity, of jobs, of wealth, but young people are not sharing in the prosperity of their cities. Often it’s youth who suffer from the highest unemployment rates. By 2030, three out of five people living in cities will be under the age of 18. If we do not include young people in the growth of our cities, if we do not provide them opportunities, the story of waithood, the gateway to terrorism, to violence, to gangs, will be the story of cities 2.0. And in my city of birth, Mogadishu, 70 percent of young people suffer from unemployment. 70 percent don't work, don't go to school. They pretty much do nothing.

I went back to Mogadishu last month, and I went to visit Madina Hospital, the hospital I was born in. I remember standing in front of that bullet-ridden hospital thinking, what if I had never left? What if I had been forced into that same state of waithood? Would I have become a terrorist? I'm not really sure about the answer.

A. Please answer these multiple-choice questions. Listen to the text twice. Choose the best answer and circle it.

1. Why does the boy mentioned in the text leave his hometown to go to a big city?

A) Because drought drives the small village into poverty and to the brink of starvation.B) He doesn’t like the lifestyle of the place he lives.C) He wants to find a job and to be a rich person.D) He wants to buy himself some new clothes, and to earn money to send back home to

his family.

2. Who are these people who buy some clothes and give some money to this child?

A) An aid organization in MogadishuB) A terrorist organization C) Government of Mogadishu.D) Madina Hospital

3. Who was the suicide bomber in Mogadishu?

A) An university studentB) An agent provocateurC) A terrorist organization D) Small town boy who left his hometown

4. Who suffer from the highest unemployment rates in their cities?

A) Elder peopleB) TerroristsC) YouthD) Teenagers

5. When Mohamed Ali went back his hometown, what did he think about?

A) He was curious about what if he didn’t leave the town, what will he do then?B) He felt very sad about young people who don’t have a job.C) He blamed the government which doesn’t any job opportunity to young people.D) He thought about what did his family do?

B. Please answer these true / false questions by listening to the text twice. If the sentence is true write “True” and if it is not true write “False”.

1. In Mogadishu, 70 percent of young people suffer from unemployment, they

don’t work, but they go to school.

2. The boy meets a dynamic group of people in Mogadishu, and they give some

money.

3. When he arrives, he finds that there are no opportunities, no jobs, no way

forward in Mogadishu, the capital of Qaeda.

4. This small town kid with the big city dreams blows himself up as a suicide

bomber.

REFERENCES

http://www.ted.com/talks/mohamed_ali_the_link_between_unemployment_and_terrorism#t-19386