There were a couple of stories, last week, about teenagers bunking off school. The first was about a 15-year-old schoolgirl, Shamima Begum, plotting with friends to save money, organise the trip and then run away to Syria to become an ISIS bride. Now 19, she wants to come home. The second story was about teenagers “striking” from school to try to save the planet from climate change.
These two stories could not be better examples of opposites: a small group of individuals supporting terrorism; a larger group trying their best to save the world they will inherit.
There are strong debates about both. Shamima Begum is a British citizen, with a British passport and a British baby, so has a right to return. This right is enshrined in global law and it is the right that all of us hold sacred and rely on if in trouble. It is wholly wrong to suggest that because of her actions as reported in the press, that she should be made stateless. Not only do these laws protect all citizens, they also protect us when getting rid of another country’s criminals back to their state of origin. If it turns out that she has been supporting terrorism, then a British court is the best place to try her and a British prison is the best place to punish her, but it is up to our legal system to decide, not our media.
Meanwhile, those actions of teenagers last Friday have put climate change back in the political agenda. The weekend press has all sorts of stories about it. When I was at school, the problems we faced were fewer, but more acute: we all expected to be vaporised in a global thermonuclear holocaust. The actions of Thatcher and Regan, amongst others, led to the end of the cold war. Today, climate change is one (the most important?) of challenges facing the next generation. Climate change could be the biggest disruptor of safety, security and prosperity our planet will face over the coming generations. So too will the rise of artificial intelligence. A force for good in so many respects (medicine, research and so much more), where will all those taxi and Uber drivers find work when we hail driverless taxis?
That teenagers are making a stand for what they believe is a good thing. But don’t forget that a good education is important as well!