FLIGHT TO CLEANER PASTURES
Three million or thereabouts… That’s the number of Sri Lankans who are reportedly living overseas – either as citizens of other countries, dual citizens of their motherland and state of permanent residence or residents in one form or the other (who may or may not return to Sri Lanka).
According to the newly established Office for Overseas Sri Lankan Affairs (OOSLA), the exodus spans as many as five waves of migration since our precious island nation gained independence back in 1948.
Among the reasons for these waves of migration are racial and religious inequalities, the ignominy of racially motivated riots in 1983 and the lengthy civil war that followed the carnage in ‘Black July,’ two insurrections (by a party that happens to be part of a coalition that’s emerged as the ‘third force’ in this election year!), and the dastardly events of recent years – they include a shameless constitutional crisis, the Easter Sunday bombings and most recently, an unprecedented economic crisis.
While OOSLA’s Director General V. Krishnamoorthy is on record saying that “migration is part of any civilisation and a fact of human life,” it is also a fact that hordes of fellow Sri Lankans have chosen to leave their precious homeland for multiple reasons that go beyond the norms of migrant reasoning.
In addition to the lure of greener pastures on foreign soil, there are compelling reasons such as the flight to cleaner pastures (where bribery and corruption is far less prevalent), the need to educate children (without having to dish out the begging bowl to corrupt officials when seeking school entry), a desire to live in more equitable societies (where the gap between the haves and have-nots is less pronounced) and that perennial bug that has plagued this country since the late 1950s – viz. dirty politics and devious politicians.
So as those of us who choose to remain where we are despite the murky waters that surround us hope our friends and families will return to savour the unparalleled quality of life at ‘home’ someday (and to this end, there’s been a trickle of returnees for one reason or the other in recent months), we hope that the house by the lake will see a spring clean in the years ahead – for the sake of the inhabitants of this land as well as Sri Lankans who may fuel a brain gain one day.
Wishful thinking…?