Editor’s note: With an average age of 24, Tajikistan is one of the world’s youngest countries. But this may be a curse rather than a blessing, argues neweurasia’s TajikVoice in the first post of a new series exploring youth culture in Tajikistan. “Young people are not interested in anything, be it their future, the future of the country, their career or opportunities in their native Tajikistan.” [Translation of TajikVoice’s post (RUS).]

Do you remember the association game? Mother – child – fun – game – football – goalkeeper – ball – grass, etc. If somebody tried to play that game with me today and started with the word “youth,” I would probably get confused, pensive and lose.

I don’t want to seem like a pessimist, but my associations with “youth” have to do with something bad, evil, pointless and wasteful. I’ll tell you a secret: I’m 27 years old, and this is not an old person’s monologue about the perennial “fathers and sons” issue.

Live and Be Happy or What?

Tajikistan is a unique country: the average age here is 24. It is one of the youngest nations in the world. Just imagine – a country of young people. Life must be a joy here, it would seem. Yet our real-life prospects are not so optimistic. The government has done nothing and continues to do nothing for its youth.

There is not a single stadium where one could play sports for free. There are no free clubs or activities. There is nothing. Everything that functions more or less properly costs money: education, medicine (both should be free, according to the constitution), exams, cultural events, sports activities.

A Sad Dynamic

The younger a country or a person, the poorer they are; the older, the richer. In geriatric Europe, scientists are grappling with the global demographic problem: educated European women just don’t want to have as many kids as before. The solution is, in fact, very simple: limit people’s access to information and everything will go smooth as butter.

The more educated a person is, the less he has to think about how to feed his children. Eastern peoples even have a saying, “If God gives you a child, He will also give you the opportunity to feed him.” Everyone believes in this postulate and keeps on having kids.

This is why the poorest countries (in the material and spiritual sense of the word), such as Tajikistan, Chad, Congo, Zimbabwe and others, are also the youngest. All we know how to do is reproduce.

What’s Left for the Youth?

Returning to the status of youth in Tajikistan, I should mention the indifferent attitude that has developed in the last two years. Young people are not interested in anything, be it their future, the future of the country, their career or opportunities in their native Tajikistan. It’s depressing that the youth has become apolitical. How is it possible that young people are not interested in politics?!

It’s no surprise that some time ago the government closed down all swimming pools, clubs, stadiums, parks – basically, anywhere young people could gather in large groups. They were, and still are, afraid of aggression and conspiracy, which can rapidly escalate into insurrection and revolution.

To be continued…

(c) Photos by the author