Yemen – Brutal jobs landscape forces college graduates into menial work

Location: Aden, Yemen

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:35

Voice: Natural

Source: A24 Aden

Restriction: A24 subscribers

Date: 03/09/2022

Storyline:

Unemployment among young people in Aden has risen at an alarming rate due to the ongoing war in Yemen; obtaining a university degree is no longer an advantage for having a decent job.

Grarduate Abdo Naji Qassem told A24 that instead of finding meaningful work after university he is selling eggs and potatoes on the streets of Aden.

This led many to work in jobs different from their majors at low wages to make money, which created a gap between the outputs of universities and the needs of the labor market and led to frustration among young people that many decided not to pursue their degrees.

Shot list:

Soundbite (Abdo Naji Qassem – University graduate):

“Students live under difficult conditions. We had to sell potatoes to support ourselves. We got tired. We studied and graduated from university, but didn’t find any suitable opportunity. We lost our life and our parents’ money to complete our studies on hopes to find a suitable job, but unfortunately here I am. I have to sell eggs and potatoes on a cart and I didn’t get any job that suits my university major.”

Soundbite (Majed Abdo Ali – job seeker):

“Even a university degree does not benefit us. Our psychological condition is very bad. We are tired. I am working since the morning under the hot sun and I have not earned not even one riyal. I did not eat or drink anything. By chance, I got 3,000 riyals in the street, so I bought lunch in 1,500, with the rest I got some other necessary things. Here I am hungry again, we are tired. Where is humanity!”

Soundbite (Adel Sheikh Bawazir – a social specialist):

“Unfortunately, during the last ten years, we have noticed that graduates from all Yemeni universities are left without jobs. Their names are registered in the Ministry of Civil Service and every year they renew their registration, but there are no jobs. They were forced to work in private businesses such as cafeterias. There are students, who are ranked first in the university, work in cafeterias or sell food on carts in the streets in order to meet their daily needs for a decent life.”