Sharek Youth Forum launches April 2011 Situation Report regarding Palestinian youth in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem:
Winds of Change…will they break down walls of oppression?
Sharek Youth Forum, an independent apolitical and impartial youth organization in Palestine, has just released a cutting edge report on why and how Palestinian youth are calling for national unity, greater self-determination and change through peaceful protest.
Arab revolutions erupting across the Middle East have inspired increased participation of Palestinian youth in popular movements to end internal political divisions between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, and to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
Palestinian youth believe that revolutions across the Arab world have increased the support of other Arab youth for the Palestinian cause, energizing youth activity in the West Bank and Gaza.
• 45% of youth believe that the Arab popular revolutions will have a positive impact on the Palestinian cause.
(This percentage is 84% among those who trust Hamas, 56% among other factions, 40% among Fatah and 42% among those who do not trust any faction.)
The main concerns identified by Palestinian youth (ages 18-34):
• Ending the internal division among Palestinian factions
Youth are calling for a Palestinian unity government to end political and social divisions that have fragmented Palestinian society in the West Bank and Gaza. The key priority of the youth surveyed by Sharek was ending internal division. This division within Palestinian politics and society has taken focus away from the occupation. Young people have taken the stance 'United we stand, divided we fall’. They express that without national unity, tackling the priorities of improved living conditions and resisting the occupation will not be as effective.
• Ending the occupation
Palestinian youth are confronted by the Israeli occupation and the myriad of political and social restrictions it imposes. Surprisingly, ending the occupation ranked as the third priority among the youth surveyed by Sharek. This has frustrated activists who believe that internal division is caused by the occupation, as are the poor living conditions. Technology is an important tool for Palestinian youth to overcome the physical boundaries imposed by occupation. Youth are increasingly utilizing this technology to stimulate a dialogue of popular resistance to confront the occupation.
Improving living conditions
A key concern cited by Palestinian youth is the improvement of living conditions. Young people want to take control of their lives and have a future to look forward to.
A key finding of Sharek’s opinion poll:
Palestinian youth are increasingly using the internet and social networking as a tool for mass political participation and information gathering.
• The majority of youth (58%) who use social communication networks reported a change in their use of these networks over the last two months, shifting from social to political activities.
• The majority of youth (87%) expressed their belief that these networks are capable of playing an effective role in bringing change.
• Regarding the effectiveness of these networks in confronting internal division, 80% of the youth surveyed believe that these networks are effective. As for confronting the occupation, the percentage drops slightly to 75%.
Wafa Abdel Rahman, poll participant, says, “Many factors encourage the use of social networks including the fact that in this space opinions are neither confiscated, censored nor edited and youth can express themselves freely.”
Youth information sources:
• The Internet is a source of information for the majority of youth (44%) and satellite channels are a main source of information for 31% of youth.
• The majority of youth (74%) follow the news on the internet.
• The majority of youth (60%) use social communication networks such as Facebook; on average 1-4 hours daily.
Palestinian Youth are looking to civil society institutions, after a history of geographic, social, and political division between the Palestinian territories:
• The majority of youth (62%) do not trust any faction, while 26% trust Fatah, 6% trust Hamas and 6% trust other factions.
• The majority of youth (67%) place their trust in the youth and civil society organizations as parties more capable to express the rights and interests of young people, while only 16% in the West Bank and 5% in the Gaza Strip placed their trust in the governmental institutions dealing with youth.
• The majority of youth (80%) support the formation of a Palestinian youth party.
• The overwhelming majority of youth believe that the political parties seek to exploit the emerging youth movements.
