Editor’s note: Akol Dok is a recent graduate of Iowa State University. He will be contributing to the opinion page through letters on South Sudan, his home country, to educate Americans on daily realities in other parts of the world.

The dictionary definition of marginalized is “to treat (a person, group, or concept) as insignificant or peripheral”. South Sudan youth are the most marginalized tribe and this marginalization poses economic, social, security and political problems that will hinder South Sudan in the future.

According to the National Democratic Institute “In many countries, young citizens often find themselves marginalized from mainstream politics and decision making. They struggle to gain the respect of public officials and political party leaders and are rarely viewed as community members with a legitimate voice.”

By excluding the youth group, South Sudan will lose valuable resources, knowledge, insight and experiences that will benefit the development and success of the nation.

Youth died on the front lines of a civil war that was created by politicians in a political system that oppresses and marginalizes them.

The youth are the overwhelming majority in South Sudan and below are statistics from the CIA World Factbook verifying this:

0-14 years: 44.86% of total population

15-24 years: 20.32% of total population

25-54 years: 29.4% of total population

55-64 years: 3.31% of total population

65 years and over: 2.1% of total population

Economic opportunities such as jobs, entrepreneurship and financial assistance help youth become involved and give them the ability to contribute to the economic and social development of the nation. Having the means to provide for yourself and your family will prevent you from stealing and looting, reducing crime and social instability.

The National Democratic Institute studied how lack of economic opportunities affects youth.

“Continued marginalization, combined with high rates of youth unemployment, can leave young people both idle and frustrated with the status quo. This makes them vulnerable to exploitation by extremists, who may use them as political pawns and militants”

The damage caused by the war can only be reversed with decades of intense development and stability. People say the youth are “the future”, but how can they be effective in the future if they lack the opportunities to obtain an education, knowledge and experiences that may make them better leaders.

Educational opportunities are imperative because to build bridges you need engineers, to heal people you need doctors and to development a nation you need experts, and these experts are created through education.

According to UNICEF, “It is estimated that more than one million primary school aged children, mostly from rural areas, are not in school, while the few schools that do exist are not conducive to learning. Low rates of primary school completion and high gender, geographic and wealth disparities pose enormous challenges to the development of South Sudan.”

The voice of the youth will bring attention to issues and highlight problems that are not known, but in order to do this, they need to have a voice in political representation.

Political representation occurs when various groups are provided the opportunity to publicly speak about the issues they are facing and seek resources and assistance to solve them.

The South Sudan political system doesn’t provide opportunities where youth can become politically involved, but rejects the credibility of the youth. Youth feel discouraged from politics because they don’t believe what they say will be taken seriously, muting them from speaking about very important national issues that need to be heard.

If you want a prosperous and developed South Sudan you must focus and empower the youth. The younger generation will truly be the one to bring change, but they must be equipped with the necessary tools to do so. Elders must take the youth more seriously and listen to them and more roles must be allocated for youth, who will bring fresh ideas and new insights to the table.

Youth have the potential to produce which will improve the economy, go to school and become strong leaders and become social advocates for peace, unity and stability. The youth are the key to change in South Sudan and they must be taken more seriously.

The marginalization of the South Sudan youth must end NOW!