Humanity celebrates this Friday, August 12, 2022, International Youth Day. In Guinea, this day is very little (or not at all) known to young people in the neighborhoods. Young people for the most part suffocated by the pains of a daily life marked by unemployment, underemployment, moral abandonment, discrimination, etc.
In the Guinean capital, no activity is planned this year in the various municipalities of the country to celebrate this day which is intended to be a favorable moment for exchange and sharing with young people on all youth issues. And yet there are many young people in Conakry who suffer from the lack of jobs.
Speaking to Guineematin.com, Boundou Bangoura, an unemployed graduate, complained regarding the chronic unemployment to which young people are reduced in Guinea.
“In the world of employment, especially in Guinea, it’s really not easy. Because I had the chance to do an internship in a residence in Bambéto here, but it was only for three (3) months, and then I stopped. Afterwards, I walked a lot, but so far it’s not going well. You know that in Guinea, if you don’t have long arms, great connections or if you don’t have someone in a company, it’s not easy to find work,” he said. he says in the presence of several of his friends seated on a terrace.
Hesitant at first, Alhassane Bangoura, also an unemployed graduate, assures us that young Guineans are currently very tested.
Alhassane Bangoura
“The difficulties do not end. We are there without a job, with the government we do not understand if things are going well or not. Because there are too many unemployed young people. So right now it’s not easy. Thanks to the good Lord, I manage to live. Sometimes I do my own thing. Otherwise I really want to have my own car, my house or do whatever I want. But waiting for someone is a bit difficult. Because someone can’t come every time to reach out and give you what you want. It is not possible,” he said.
Sitting on a stool scanning the horizon while waiting for clients who are scarce, Boubacar Bah, reprographer, says he encounters many difficulties in his work.
Boubacar Bah
“We work here in difficult conditions. In this rainy period, we have few customers. So, as a young person, we are there and we manage. We make our own plans to evolve. Because I did electricity at the CFP in Donka, but I mightn’t practice. So I had to manage. Through what I do, I manage to satisfy some of my needs. I should have had more; but, at present, we have few customers. Because we found that all schools have machines (photocopiers),” explained the 33-year-old.
After changing jobs several times, Amadou Diao Bah is now a taxi-motorcycle driver. But this does not mean that the difficulties have ceased for him.
Amadou Diao Bah
“We are facing a lot of difficulties in our work…During this rainy period, for example, we can work from morning to evening and it is difficult to earn 100,000 francs, while some of us have families in town here… Currently, everyone walk with his blessing, because it is very hard. Where I am, since the morning, I have only had 25,000 francs, whereas I have a family at home who have to eat. You see this is complicated. Before, I didn’t do Taxi-moto work; but, since I had difficulties where I worked (mechanical) and I saw that it didn’t work, so I gave up to be a driver. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but when I got my own bike and there I’m not going to give anyone the recipe. In addition, I did the math and saw that the bike is more advantageous for me”, he underlined.
Mamadou Yahya Petel Diallo and M’Ballou fatoumata Souaré for Guineematin.com