Ussery1

RachelUssery
Mrs.Barnett
HonorsEnglishII
6December2014
KeepingTeenagersOutoftheTaliban
Whatdoyouthinkitwouldtaketokeepyourchildoutofaterroristorganization?This
questionisbeingaskedbyofficialsinPakistaninregardstotheTaliban,anextremistIslamic
militia.TheattractionoftheTalibantoPakistaniyouthisgreat:aplaceintheworld,goodpay,
andachancetomakeadifferenceintheircountry.Whilethesegoalsaregood,theTalibantries
toachievethembykillinganyonewhogetsintheirway.TokeepteenagersoutoftheTaliban,
thereneedstobealargerenrollmentinpostsecondaryeducation,availablejobsthatpay
adequately,andworkthatbringsmeaningtothelivesoftheemployed.
OnewaytocombattheTalibansholdontheyouthistoeducatethem.Pakistanislargely
composedofdifferenttribesthatrunatraditionalwayoflife.Becauseoftheirpresetroles,itis
difficultforteenagerstoimpactthistraditionalstructure.Ifpostsecondaryenrollmentincreases
amongPakistaniyouth,thenovertime,thistraditionalstructurewillbeforcedtomorphintoa
moremodernframework.OnesixteenyearoldfromMohmandAgency,AkmalSayal,saysof
hiscomputersciencestudies,Ihopetogobacktothetribalareaandteachcomputers.The
solutionmustbeeducation.(Montero).Theadditionofcomputersciencetothistribeof
200,000wouldimpactthewaythatthegovernmentisrunandenableeducatedyouthtoplaya
role.Presently,only17%ofPakistaniyouthareincollegeoruniversityprograms.Ifthispercent

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wasraised,thenthereformationandmodernizationofPakistanwouldhappensoonerandsooner
allowyouthtoplayaroleintheircountry.
OneofthemainluresoftheTalibanistheopportunityformakingagoodliving,
somethingthatthePakistaneconomycannotpromise.InPakistan,theunemploymentratefor
citizensaged1524is7.7%.Thatmaylooklikeasmallnumber,butinreality,thatmeansover
threemillionyouthareunemployed.Eventhosewhoareemployedarebarelyscrapingby.In
Pakistan,theyusethePakistaniRupee,representedbyRs.Theminimumwageperhourin
PakistanisRs.46.88.ThepriceofanaverageloafofbreadisaroundRs.57.00.Thismeansthat
aPakistanicitizenmakingminimumwagemustworkforanhourandthirteenminutestobuy
oneloafofbread.Incomparison,Americansonlyhavetowork20minutesforaloafofbread.
ThepovertyrateinPakistanis23%,asopposedtothe15%povertyrateinAmerica.Iftheycan
decreasethepovertyrateandyouthunemploymentrateinPakistan,thentheycangivePakistani
youthonelessreasontojointheTaliban.
Somethingthatyouthallacrosstheworldinthisdayandageareseekingisachanceto
makeachangeintheirsociety,andtheTalibanoffersthat.AnexperimentdoneduringtheGreat
Depressionshowshowimportantmeaningfulworkistothosewhoareworking.Everyday,a
groupofmenwoulddigholesorfilltheholestheydug,andeveryday,theirpaywasdoubled.
Astimewentby,fewerandfewershowedupbecausetheworkwasmeaningless.Thecurrent
youthjobcreationinitiativeinPakistanmirrorsthisbyshowingthatemployingteenagersand
youngadultstodigditchesjustdoesnotholdenoughmeaning.JobcreationeffortsinPakistan
needtohavemeaningbehindthem.Pakistaniyouthneedtobeworkingeachdayforagreater

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goaltosatisfythem,suchashumanitarianefforts,ortheywillworktowardsthegreatergoalof
theTalibanforthesamepay.
Thosewhohaveimplementedtheonlyeducationoronlyworkprogrambelievethatonly
oneofthesecomponentswillbeenoughtosatisfythePakistaniyouthandkeepthemoutofthe
ranksoftheTaliban.Whilebotheducationandwellpayingjobsarenecessarytoimpactthis
situation,theyarenotenoughontheirown.Purposeisanecessarypartofhumanfunction,and
withtheelementofpurposemissingfromtheyouthprogramsthatareimplementedinPakistan,
theywillnotbefullyeffectiveandtheTalibanwillcontinuetoflourishintherecruitmentof
youth.
Withoutanincreaseinenrollmentinpostsecondaryeducation,alivingminimumwage
forentrylevelPakistanijobs,andasenseofpurposebehindtheworkthatyouthintheareaare
abletodo,theTalibancanandwillcontinueaddingyouthtotheirranks.ItisuptothePakistani
governmentandtotheworldtoimplementprogramswithalloftheseelements.Ifthereistobea
globalcommunity,thenthechildrenoftheworldneedtobeviewedaseveryoneschildren.This
ishowwekeepourPakistanichildrenfromenlistinginterroristorganizations.

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Citations
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Paycheck.pk.Web.3Dec.2014.

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<http://www.paycheck.pk/main/salary/minimumwages/minimumwagesfaqs/minimum
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<http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0616/p07s02wosc.html>.
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