My son recently turned 15 and is considering his future. There are perhaps fewer reasons than ever for him to stay in school in Lebanon. We have an education system that systematically fails to prepare our youth for the job market, economic stagnation and a deteriorating security picture. Worse still, it is often not what you know, but rather who that determines your chances in the job market.
Luckily my son wants to keep studying, but perhaps this paralysis is why so many of our youth are dropping out in their early teens. Families desperate for income cannot be convinced that if their children study hard they will get the rewards they deserve, so they allow them to quit. A vicious circle has developed.
When eventually my son does finish his education, one institution I would be increasingly wary of him enrolling into is the Lebanese Armed Forces. Since the 1970s, we have been waiting for the army to serve as protector of our little nation. Time and again, we find ourselves worried about its well-being.
This month was no different. First there was the battle with loyalists of fundamentalist Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir that left 18 soldiers dead. The attacks were clearly egregious and condemnable, but while the common response has been to rally around the army, questions must be asked about the operation.
That a high-profile figure in a public place was able to kill so many of our troops with a largely untrained group of thugs suggests that either the intelligence was poor, the instructions were wrong or the troops not properly trained. The army must do a little soul-searching, perhaps starting with a public inquiry.
Another incident that deserves scrutiny is the video that emerged shortly after the Assir battle. Soldiers surrounded a bound man, kicking him repeatedly — a vicious abuse of basic human rights. The army is the one body we hope stands above the fray in Lebanon, so its failings are all the more shocking.
For our sons to stay in this country, we want to have our faith in the institutions strengthened, and its dignity restored.
