Abdo Khal

Okaz

Tuberculosis is threatening the lives of about 25 Saudi inmates in Iraqi prisons, a recent report said. Earlier, horrible stories of executions involving many Saudis in Iraq had also come to light.



Reports on our young men in Iraqi prisons is always terrifying and worrying.



The fact file on Saudis in Iraqi prisons had been opened after the end of the war in that battered country. It was revealed that several Saudis were executed, sentenced to long-term imprisonment or were still on the death row.



The saga is repeated whenever there is a war in any part of the world. Our youth are always willing to take part in any war anywhere in the world in the name of jihad. Tomorrow we may see similar files about Saudi detainees in Syria, Myanmar or Mali.



This phenomenon has its roots in the Afghan-Soviet war. Our youth have yet to realize that they were throwing themselves needlessly in this pit dug but others. They are being instigated to go to faraway places to fight futile wars without giving any consideration to their own safety, their families or their country.



Saudis face two contradictory stances on this issue. Some of them are against our youth going out to fight in wars which have political connotations. This category is usually silenced by the calls to support our brothers in Islam anywhere in the world.



These calls are made by imams of mosques and preachers. When the conflict is over, we discover that our youth are stranded there to become a target of the very people whom they have supported.



This is what has happened in Afghanistan. The instigators abandoned them and started instigating others to move to other conflict areas.



There have been calls by a group of Saudi citizens asking the government and the parents to bring back our youth stranded in other countries. This repetitive game has become exhausting. It contains nothing but misery for the Saudi prisoners and their families. Ultimately, the government will be held responsible for their safety and for bringing them home.



We should protect our youth against blindly throwing themselves into wars which are not theirs. There are voices now calling for bringing back our youth from Syria. Are our youth fond of fighting lost wars?