Eclipse of Youth: The Burn of Unemployment and the New Horizon of Potential

Sadia Islam Kasfia :

In this fiercely competitive world of the twenty-first century, youth is an imperishable life force, recognized as the backbone of a nation. However, when the curse of unemployment marks this brilliant potential, that very vitality transforms into a melancholic burden. In the current socio-economic context, educated unemployment is not merely a statistic; it is an epic of a nation’s shattered dreams.
Every year, as thousands of meritorious youths step out of university campuses into the battlefield of professional life with a basket of vibrant dreams, harsh reality greets them with emptiness. The vast distance between our traditional education system and the modern labor market, the lack of technical skills, and limited employment opportunities have given this crisis a terrifying form. Crushed under the weight of long waits and societal expectations, when these youths are repeatedly rejected, a deep sense of inferiority and social alienation takes root in their hearts.
This voracious grip of unemployment creates more than just scarcity; it designs a catastrophic psychological disaster. When an educated youth faces the contempt and sarcasm of society and family, their inner confidence collapses like a house of cards. Driven by an endless urge to escape this despair, many choose the dark alleys of deviance. Falling into the clutches of drug addiction or becoming entangled in criminal activities such as mugging, extortion, or cybercrime often seems like an inevitable fate.
Judging by the reality, numerous such tragic incidents pierce our society. Even today, the story of the young man reported in the newspapers—who after knocking on the doors of recruitment exams for eight long years, finally chose self-immolation—is chilling. This is not just the cry of one individual; it is the silent mourning of millions of unemployed youths. Several social, mental, and financial factors drive this transition from unemployment to suicide: the negative social perspective that “no job means any merit,” the shame felt when comparing oneself with the success of peers or relatives, and the erosion of self-esteem over time. The pressure intensifies when one fails to meet family demands, especially if they are expected to be the breadwinner.
According to recent data from international organizations like the ILO and SANEM, the rate of educated unemployment in Bangladesh is alarmingly high within South Asia. Sociologists describe unemployment as a social cancer that devours merit and paves the way for extremism and anarchy. Economists repeatedly warn that if this vast youth population is not immediately transformed into a productive workforce, the nation’s future will vanish into a blind alley.
However, beyond this dense darkness lies the invocation of a new dawn. Radical reform of our perspective is essential to escape this deadly addiction to despair. Instead of chasing only academic certificates, the demand of the hour is to equip oneself for the global market through Information Technology, freelancing, and vocational education. The state must look beyond large-scale infrastructure and open doors for easy investment for small and medium entrepreneurs. The foundation of a future ‘Smart Bangladesh’ will be the innovative power of its youth; therefore, their merit and labor must be nurtured into human capital rather than being discarded.
In conclusion, despair is not a destination but a transient cloud. If society extends a hand of empathy instead of ridicule, and if the youth blends their sky-high dreams with patience and perseverance, crossing the harsh desert of unemployment to reach the golden shore of success is not impossible. One must remember that the darkness of night is at it’s thickest just before the crimson sunrise.

(The writer is a student, Department of Bengali, Jagannath University)