What makes many of us to jump ship for good
Let us start with some figures. Almost 2.5 million in Europe. 2 million in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Half a million in USA. Above figures are from three largest geographical localities where Pakistanis are working. It is estimated that roughly four percent of Pakistani population is working abroad and send in remittances to their families back home. A whopping 20 billion dollars were remitted during FY 2015-16 alone.
These folks include highly-skilled professionals, unskilled labourers, businessmen and lads and ladies from other walks of life. Also, majority of them have their families back home especially those who toil in Middle East and Saudi Arabia due to virtual absence of naturalised citizenship. However, the most worrisome aspect of it all is flying of human capital that is born and raised in Pakistan and learn skills on local resources. As and when an opportunity rears its head, most among them flee at the first available movement. Since we dwell in a statistical black hole when it comes to exact figures, no precise record is available as to how many have fled, how many plan to flee and how many want to but can’t flee.
As I sit and take stock of this situation, I realise that some of the most intelligent, most hardworking and most accomplished lads I studied with in school, college and university are no longer in Pakistan. They decided to jump ship for good and went abroad either immediately after they completed their studies or after gaining a year or two of experience. Some are in US, others in Australia, UAE, and Europe. Many more, whom I meet every now and then, are all set to leave as soon as they get their hands on an opportunity. One can hardly overlook groups of young lads, many hailing from well off, privileged backgrounds, planning to leave country sooner rather than later as they sip coffee and smoke cigarettes in poshest of cafes.
Many believe it is unemployment that drives out the best of our youngsters. What most overlook is unemployment’s evil cousin — underemployment and the dog-eat-dog world of corporate sector where multiple nails are ready to drive out the one in place. When one couples it with ever decreasing remunerations what one gets is an army of disenchanted lot who seek salvation in lands far-far away.
Whether we call it brain drain or the best looking for, finding and moving to a place where they are valued, the ultimate loser is neither the individual who has left the country nor the family he has left behind. It is the society at large which ultimately suffers. As, lest we forget, the foreign exchange these individuals send back comes with a shelf life and is not at all an eternal revenue stream. They’ll send till they have dependents back here. Eventually, as is the case in many instances, the propensity is to shift their families abroad.
Long time back, I read somewhere that if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. The heat for the brilliant and the bright in our beloved fatherland is reaching infernal heights. The kitchen is getting too hellish for even those who’ve been sitting in the drawing rooms all their life. The dilemma with parasitism is that without a host to feed on, it perishes. Till how long will this business as usual continue? My guess is only as good as yours.
Since 1970s onwards we delineated the following policy to tackle with our skyrocketing populace. The idea was simple, if you can’t control their numbers, ship them abroad to send in remittances. In pursuance of this we’ve sent our able-bodied laborers to Sar-Zameen-e-Arab and adjacent states. Our engineers and doctors sought refuge in the land of our former masters. The remaining rabble was more than enough to keep things afloat and running back home. That, dearest sirs and ma’ams, is still the mighty plan. For those cursed ones who have neither the sources nor the wisdom to venture abroad, leftover crumbs should suffice to keep their souls within bodies.
Pakistan is a strong society but a weak state, it is said about us. The ruptures have started to surface in our so-called strong society. The dwindling resources and nose diving literacy rate are symptomatic of a greater menace that Pakistan is in throes of. And while we make last ditch effort to ensure our survival our immediate masters keep on offering us magic bullets. No price for guessing the latest one out of their zambil titled CPEC.
Now, dearest sirs and ma’ams, we pin our hopes on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. And since it is fresh, attractive and is being paddled as the cure all panacea, even the repeated and excessive use has failed to turn it into a cliche.
Let us dare ruminate the following. What future awaits a nation whose sons desperately look for an opportunity to flee? I say not much. You might have a different answer.
