A difficult freedom ” “

Europe? It’s especially an opportunity to solve youth unemployment that has reached record levels. Faith? Believing in God is not a problem, but it doesn’t much change the realities of life. The young? It’s difficult to involve them in the activities of the Church, they are rather apathetic but they have a real hunger for truth. That is the image that the youth of the countries of Eastern Europe project of themselves. SIR met them at the 8th International Youth Forum (Rome, 31 March – 4 April). A FAITH THAT DOESN’T CHANGE LIFE. Maili Palubinskas is the delegate of the Episcopal Conference of Estonia, she’s 22 years old and is studying biology. “Alcohol abuse in the universities – she says – is becoming a real social problem in our country and is a sign of the disenchantment from which the young are suffering. After the explosion of euphoria we experienced after regaining our freedom, the country has fallen into a deep crisis, which is having direct repercussions on the young. They are prey to great confusion: they don’t know what they want; they have freedom but they don’t know how to use it. Historic atheism is giving way to widespread indifference to any kind of religious perspective. It’s no problem to say one believes in God, but faith doesn’t change life very much. Values have been lost and when you try to explain what you believe in, no one understands you any more”. There “isn’t much” in the way of youth ministry. We try to organise meetings and conferences in the universities so as to give youngsters the chance of expressing themselves in public. But it’s difficult”. Estonia is one of the ten countries that will enter the European Union on 1st May. How is Europe seen by the young? “For some it’s especially an opportunity in terms of employment. But when Estonians were asked to vote for the Union, half of my friends said no”. FINDING A JOB In EuropE. Ada Szymanska represents the youth of Poland, she’s 25 years old, is now studying theology, but is already a graduate in European political studies. “The situation – she says speaking of the youth in her country – has been largely normalised. The regaining of freedom was initially experienced as a danger. The problem today is that we don’t know how to use it. Our youth too easily deceive themselves and when they realise they have been pursuing a mirage they fall into a depression, some into drug abuse. So there’s a great hunger among the young for beauty and truth. But they don’t just seek this in the Church, because far more appeal is exerted by the oriental philosophies and the new metaphysical theories”. In the youth ministry, in Poland too, the same difficulty of “reaching and involving students is being registered. Even though the churches are still crowded and full of young people, it’s as if the faith were increasingly being confined to the private sphere”. As regards the Union, “Poland – says Ada – has invested a great deal in Europe. It’s spoken of on university campuses, on radio and TV, and in the press. The young look to EU membership with hope. They especially look to Europe as a new opportunity to enter into contact with new realities”. YOUTH AND ecumenism. Agnese SMUGA comes from Latvia, she’s 21 years old and is studying maths at university. “Young people in my country – she says – want to study and go to university because they know that only by doing so they may gain access to a more satisfying and better paid job”. “Latvia – explains Agnese, drawing a map of the Baltic States with her finger on the table – is situated between Protestant Scandinavia, Orthodox Russia and Catholic Poland. So it’s a crossroads of faiths and peoples where ecumenical dialogue has always formed part of our history and may set an example for the region”. Pastoral activity for youth is very lively, and this year the “Youth Day” will be held in July, on four different days for each of the dioceses that promotes it. For young Latvians too, Europe represents “the prospect of gaining access to a better personal economic situation, even though adults especially fear the competition of European products on the national market”. ViCTIMS OF CORRUPTION. Youth without hope: that’s the depressing image that Taras Yatsenko, from the Ukraine (20 years old and student of medicine), presents of his compatriots. “The social and economic situation of my country – he explains – is very difficult. To enter university you need to pay a lot of money, and the system of numerus clausus generates a perverse spiral of corruption. Those who fail to pursue their studies often fall into depression because they see their hopes fading away”. Taras emphasises one statistic: “60% of the advertising in our country is for reclaiming alcoholics”.