Are you ready to fight for your country?

Our country needs us to fight for it on the spot. It would be good if every young person remembered that. Have those who leave Ukraine or think about going abroad in search of living, arguing that the state does not need them, thought above all whether they have an answer to the question: what have they done for the state to be needed here?

Does not our youth resemble hateful oligarchs, when it chooses to emigrate in search of a job. Whereas oligarchs are pumping the money from the state, putting them in other countries’ economies, buying real estate and cars, and opening bank accounts in foreign banks, our young boys and girls are exporting the most precious thing: people’s life, including knowledge, skills, and experience. Having received education here (according to analysts’ estimations, training of one specialist in a university costs 100,000 dollars on average), the youth invests it in other states, and not always this investment is properly assessed, in particular in those cases when our young Masters of Economy wash dishes in American fast-food cafes. In this context Nelia Vaverchak aptly notes in her author’s column “The Collapse of Labor Market, the Collapse of Expectations”: “Everyone makes a choice in life. But is every choice far-sighted?”

There is no doubt that the country is experiencing unemployment crisis these days, which has been proved by numerous surveys, in particular, the one carried out by The Day journalist Natalia Bilousova. Obviously, when experienced and highly qualified people lose their jobs, it is hard to find a job for a young person, especially with a fresh diploma. Incidentally, young people in Italy, France, and wealthy Germany have found themselves in a similar situation. Has anyone heard about migration waves from these countries?

After all, why does not youth create jobs? When you have a desire, all barriers mentioned by specialists, such as poor credit rating, overregulation, and corruption, can be overcome. And such a disadvantage as “lack of experience” can become an advantage, if put as lack of scepticism.

Preparing this article for print, we were trying to find out how many young people in Ukraine venture to start their own businesses. The Association of Entrepreneurs of Small, Medium, and Privatized Businesses said it has no statistics on the matter. First vice president and director general of the association Viacheslav BYK explained to The Day that no data is collected in this respect, because there is no point. The number of young people who venture to become an employer, at least to themselves, is negligible. And there are four reasons at the least: lack of experience, money, credit history, and lack of support from the state, family, and friends. But is not this “negligible” number (I want to believe so) the beginning of the critical mass Ukraine needs for transformation? Maybe it is here we need to work out our muscles?