Questions were asked to 15 ot 17 year olds in ten major cities around the world.
quote: On the question of immigration, 79% thought that people should be able to live in whichever country they chose and 64% said that they would emigrate to secure a better future.
That was interesting, but this next part I found even more interesting:
quote: In Baghdad, 50% of the sample said they would not emigrate - the biggest negative response of all 10 cities.
Now I would imagine that Baghdad would have the lowest number of teens choosing to stay. I am thinking that if I was there, I would try to leave. If my city / country was stuck in so much violence, I think that I would want to get out.
I try to keep up on what's going on in Iraq, I'm reading 'The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq' by George Packer and find it sad that most people (or at least most people I run into) don't really know what is going on in Iraq, or why, or how to any real detail.
My question is: is there a unique cultural or religious reason Baghdad had the highest number of teens who would not emigrate?
Also:
quote: And an overwhelming majority, 71%, said that the so-called US war on terror was not making the world a safer place. Just 14% of respondents disagreed.
Ninety-eight percent of Baghdadi respondents said the war on terror was not making the world a safer place.
These numbers just make me sad.
[edited for spelling [twice] ]
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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posted
It's probably just a sense of pride in their culture. That sort of stuff. Living your homeland probably isn't an easy decision. They've grown up with violence and wouldn't be used to it any other way.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I think it's more a sense of "things are screwed up, but at least they're screwed up in MY country". The only comparison I can think of is Israel... buses are blowing up in the streets and I disagree with everything my govt does but at least it's MY govt and not someone else's. Of course it's a highly inaccurate comparison, what's going on in Baghdad is far beyond Jerusalem in the intifada years. Iraqi adults value stability and peace much more than teens because they clearly remember what life was like when there was stability. A 16 y.o. Iraqi was 13 when the Americans invaded, and probably doesn't remember life before that very clearly/doesn't look back on it with nostalgia. Teens tend to look forward, not back, because there isn't so much to look back on. How do you think they would fit in, in another country? Probably not very well... or at least they don't think they would.
Of course, that's just a conjecture... I don't really KNOW.
Posts: 97 | Registered: Jun 2006
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Also, I've always felt if America was invaded, I would become a guerrilla fighter to fight the invaders because it would make me so very angry. I think patriotism is strongest in adversity. Your country is invaded and it just makes you so angry at the invaders that your only choice is to develope a really strong connection with your country, even if previously it wasn't that strong.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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I quite agree. Much as I dislike the constant usage of 9/11 as a self serving rallying point for whoever is trying to push his own agenda, you don't have to look much further for America's most recent bout of adversity, and it's more recent flowering of patriotism.
And really it seems somewhat natural in a way. You might pick on your younger brother all the time, but when someone ELSE tries to pick on him, he'll find you're his best defender. He might be a little twerp, but he's YOUR little twerp (different take on the Big Brother argument ).
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Patriotism is at its strongest and most vulnerable to coruption during adversity. Look at Hitler during the economic crisis for a great example. And Saddam was but one in a long line of dicators who used outside wars to boost popularity.
And not just dictators, Mr. Bush.
Posts: 1332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Could there be an issue of ease of travel? My in laws visit China and their Chinese relatives fairly regularly. I have met the Chinese relatives and if I was willing to take the time off this summer, they would pay for us to fly out with the baby. But maybe if you were in Iraq, you might feel like once you left you could never come back. Also, there is a lot of hostility and conflict, so an Iraqi might feel like they won't be accepted in a foreign country.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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