Your Age Is A Label

It bugs me sometime to be labeled by my age, where it determines my knowledge and experience of the world.
It can also be a pressure factor in work environment, where one struggle to prove herself or himself, and being told young will only make one in place of constant doubt and questioning.

Looking at my work place and the sector where I work (Syrian humanitarian sector), The age landscape is old with people in their mid 60s trying to lecture everyone on how things must be done, young people are seen as naive and unskilled groups, additionally there is a type of look to youth as beneficiaries and targeted groups rather than partners and decision makers.

Most of the times I am faced with comments and positive feedback on how good I do the job and told “you, youth have proved your abilities”, which always made me question what kind of perception these entities have on young people. I mean Syrian youth have huge untapped potentials and skills, and they are showing by the day their creativity in addressing their communities needs and implementing solutions.

What astonish me more, that Syrian youth are not waiting neither for recognition nor approval from the SCSOs (Syrian Civil Society Organisations), they are determined to create the change they envisioned for their society. However, the latest mostly have a toxic parental approach to youth initiatives, where they try to oversee, control, and impose their opinions, even though no-one asked!

-To be Continued-