Generational Conflict - Perspectives from North Africa and the Middle East - Ruya - Goethe-Institut

Protest in Beirut — Generational Conflict

The conflict between young and old, which was particularly pronounced during the Arab Spring, is ongoing and erupts time and again. But how does it differ from one Arabic country to the other, or what distinguishes it in the Arabic diaspora in Germany? And what visions of the future do the young generations hold?

A grandmother with her grandson in Tizmant, Egypt

Generational Conflict4 min
"Today’s young generation was born with their eyes open."

“Ungrateful”, “irresponsible”, “greedy”, “lazy”… this is how older Egyptians view the young generation that I belong to. We fight back by calling them “narrow-minded”, “old-fashioned”, “hard-hearted” and “boring”. Quite often, this makes life in a family difficult, which is also reflected in our society as a whole.

Two women sitting next to each other. On the left 12 year old Thuraya wearing a modern style of clothes. On the right an elderly woman, Um-Reyad, with a traditional embroidered outfit.

Generational Conflict3 min
The Slow Awakening: Culture and Generational Conflict in Amman

What could make for a generational conflict in such a historically-new city as Amman? As I ask myself this question, I remember that this is a normal process in any city that is still in the process of developing an identity.

Old photo. In an office, walls lined with bookshelfs, six people are in the room. On the bottom left two people looking at the scene. From left to right: a young man in a suit after defending his PhD thesis, next to him an elderly man in a suit, putting a medal on him. On the right a woman sitting in a chair with a baby on her lap.

Generational Conflict2 min
My Grandmother, the Selfie-Generation, and I

If young people without immigrant parents have fallen into disrepute for disengaging and emancipating themselves from and rebelling against old traditions and conventions, then even more so those with a hybrid identity. Those, whose parents originate from more distant regions of the world, but who were born and grew up in Europe. People like me.

Palestinian territories

A group of six people in their young teens, some sitting on a sofa, on the right a boy is handling a camera, next to him a girl is holding a microphone.

Generational Conflict4 min
The idle generation

Criticised from all sides, Sudan′s younger generation has already faced all manner of crises, from the conflicts and struggles of a country in the process of breaking apart, economic crises, to problems in health and education. It′s a generation that anticipates the worst and has no concept of peace.

A young girl standing in a crowd, shouting and holding the Algerian flag.

Generational Conflict2 min
„Inshallah, if God lets us live that long“

My mother wakes up before the rest of us every morning, makes coffee and very often bread too. I wake up late and I'm so happy when I awake to smells that only my mother knows how to make well. I sit at the table, my mind wandering, and drink my coffee slowly as if I want time to stop.

A group of people on a street in Beirut, holding up posters criticising government mismanagement and the garbage crisis in 2015.

Generational Conflict4 min
“If not us, then who?”

Something remarkable has begun in Beirut. Massive government mismanagement and the attendant garbage crisis two years ago inspired and galvanized Lebanese youth to demand more of their government and to hold their leaders accountable. It all began with the closure of the Naameh landfill, which was over-capacity.

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