Poverty, money are top causes of violence, say Pakistani youth in British Council survey

42% of surveyed youth say poverty is main motivation for violence.

KARACHI: I belong to a tribe which was involved in tribal conflicts. While I was working, my family got into a conflict with the neighbours and the opponents also included my name in the FIR. When I returned home the police caught me and locked me up. After release, I decided to take revenge. Accompanied by my friends I attacked opponents. One person was killed and many injured. Now I work with a criminal group which is involved in theft, robbery, vehicle snatching, kidnapping for ransom etc.

This is the story of a 28-year-old unemployed man from Sindh and is one of the 1800 stories of young people collected from across the country by the British Council in its latest Next Generation report.



The report, titled 'Next Generation: Insecure Lives, Untold Stories,' was launched during an international conference in Lahore. It focuses on how the lives of young people are affected by conflict and violence, directly or indirectly.

It also focuses on personal experiences of the affectees especially the marginalised voices.

The age group that was surveyed was between 18 and 29.

Causes of conflict

The chart below shows the breakdown of the causes of conflict among young people in the country as a whole as well as within the community they live in.

[infogram url="

Top causes of conflict
Infogram

" height="785"]

According to the report, political rivalry is the main reason of conflict among young people in Pakistan as a country. However, only 12% of them think that political rivalry is the cause of conflict within the community they live in. Land disputes is the top reason of conflict within the community, with 38% of the young people stating it as the reason.

Motivations behind acts of violence

The chart below from the report shows the motivations of young people in Pakistan to be directly involved in acts of violence with poverty being on top of the list. According to the report 42% of the young people sampled listed escaping from poverty as the main reason for young people to carry out acts of violence. 17% stated defending their honour or that of their family as the top motivation.



Conclusions of the report

The report concluded that the impact on the lives of young people of conflict and violence was quite serious and the affectees needed to be provided with stronger voice. Around a third of the stories contain violent acts that have been categorised as serious, the report stated.

More work needed to be done to help those affected by violence and the trauma that they are left with after such experiences.



"Interventions must be designed to strengthen the fabric of community, while empowering young people to stand against violence and to recover from its consequences," the report stated.

"A national programme is needed to confront the culture of violence, rebuild confidence in the future, and move Pakistan decisively onto a more peaceful path," the report further suggested.