AUB Valedictorian: Unemployment prompts emigration

Valedictorian of Class 2003 at the American University of Beirut slammed unemployment as the main reason behind the brain drain in Arab countries urging world governments to foster East-West Dialogue and to work toward world peace.

Melhem Hamdan, graduate of the School of Business, also said that institutions in this country are hindered and stalled by the prevalent clash of powers.

Below are excerpts from his speech:

Career opportunities in Lebanon today are sparse and meager and those who choose to remain in this country and craft a niche for themselves are faced with tough obstacles. Why should our young educated generation find it near impossible to marry our concern for our country's future with our desire to further our personal interests? Where does the fault lie?

If you were to address this question to the graduates present among you today, you will find many who will lay the blame at the feet of the political dilemma present in Lebanon today. The institutions in this country are hindered and stalled by the prevalent clash of powers.

In the face of such an inherently unstable system, we find that hesitation and disbelief have seeped into our hearts.

We find it difficult to trust our futures to a reality where individual merits - including the degrees we will receive today - may be rendered worthless in the face of prejudice and favoritism. How can we trust that our country will provide us with the basic ingredients necessary to secure a prosperous future?

We feel sorry that our generation is forced to move abroad and forge successful careers elsewhere. After all, Lebanon has long been the exporter of minds and intellect. Entire generations of Lebanese have rooted themselves elsewhere in the world and have for the most part excelled and enriched their respective host societies and themselves in the process. Indeed, the Lebanese Diaspora - which some of our honorees this evening are prime examples of - has been a credit to this nation and a source of pride and support for our country. We as Lebanese have come to accept this as an innate part of our reality. However, this is now beginning to border on the extreme. Is our situation today acceptable or is this the launch of a mass emigration? Are we empowering our country by moving abroad or are we depleting our human resources and draining our country's wealth of minds and creativity?

May be we should try and correct the faults we perceive in our society, to attempt to fix the system from within. This could be an acceptable approach had the predicament of the Lebanese situation been limited to sectarianism and discrimination alone. Unfortunately, the problem is not that simple. As we all know, Lebanon is embedded both geographically and culturally in a region of extreme turmoil and disorder.

The political situation in the Middle East today is highly volatile. The Arab-Israeli conflict is placing large strains on the economic fabric of the region as a whole. The risks are great, and the repercussions of the political turbulence propagate to every aspect of civilian life.

How shall the Arab - Israeli conflict be resolved? Well, the answer is naturally complex. However, we all demand a fair solution to this dilemma.

(Columbia University professor) Edward Said, has had a great role in presenting the conflict in the Middle East to the American public with objectivity and realism. We may blame the Lebanese political system. We could blame the regional powers. We may hold the US foreign policy responsible. But we certainly should look within and blame ourselves as a society as well. We should not expect to have our demands handed to us on a silver platter.

No longer can we be passive accumulators of knowledge, but rather we should actively seek out chances and prospects. Armed with our intellect, experience and a desire to better ourselves and our country, we should be able to create our opportunities and not wait idly by for them to knock our door. We should be strong and fight for our roles. In the end, as Kamal Jumblatt once said: "Life is a triumph to those who are strong in mind."