A prophet has no honor in his own country.
- JESUS CHRIST from John 4:44
It was in grade school where I was first taught of this phenomenon called ‘Brain Drain’ in my Civics and Culture class. At first, I was just amused that social terminology could rhyme like that, but as my teacher started to explain what it was and how it was a national evil, I felt the seeds of dissent start to grow inside me, staying my tongue as my mind yelled, “So what?” If people can find their creative destinies away from their country of birth, why stop them? I didn’t know it then, but I was already advocating human self-determination to myself.
Coined by the Royal Society of London in the 1950’s, ‘Brain Drain,’ also known as ‘Human Capital Flight’ is the widespread emigration of highly-skilled, highly-educated or highly talented people to other countries or territories because their own is unwilling or unable to sustain their wants and needs. This is caused by war, famine, poverty, disease, lack of opportunity or any other reason that would impel an intelligent person to seek refuge elsewhere.
Brain drain has been happening everywhere in the world from the very beginning of human existence. When we hear of migration, we remember the Ice Age, the Exodus from Egypt, the European Slave Trade, the India-Pakistan Exchange, and here, close to our hearts, the flight of the Filipino people to every possible habitable place in the globe. These people were compelled to leave by a force that was much greater than themselves. In the Ice Age, it was probably because of the lack of mammoth meat or the search for less ice-age-like climates. During the Exodus, it was the promise of a prophet to lead them to a land of milk and honey that pushed them forward. The Africans came to Europe to fuel its economy because they pretty much had no choice at the end of a musket’s barrel. In India and Pakistan, people have moved around because of religious intolerance and violence between the Hindus and the Muslims of that region. And for the Philippines, well, there are as many reasons for leaving as there are people.
People will always want a better life for themselves and their families. This is human nature and it stems from our instinct to survive. Some people however go through the motions of everyday life with one meal a day and voice out no complaint. These people seem to have resigned themselves to accepting their lot and life and justify it with superstitious ideas of bad luck and misfortune. Their human spirit is broken by a long, long series or combination of social evils that often begin with poor governance. Not only do we have bad living conditions, we don’t have them at all. All we really have are conditions for survival. There is very little room for growth in this country.
On the other hand, we have these highly educated, highly-trained and highly-skilled people who realize all these terrible social ills and the sooner they realize it, the sooner they make that visit to the immigration office. Filipinos who dream big often long to leave the insular and barrio-tic way of thinking and focus on greater things like “making the world a better place” or “becoming the very best in his/her field of work”. They find that their work goes unnoticed, unappreciated and unsupported by their own communities. When this goes on consistently for too long (which is the general rule), the Filipino dreamer will have no choice but to seek for greener pastures. No matter how good, intelligent and hard-working you are, you can only be as good as the opportunities that life gives you. Is it wrong for one to live his/her only life to the very best of his/her capabilities? Is it selfish to leave the country imposed upon you by birth, to seek a country you actually choose because the people there appreciate you and allow you to grow? I think not.
In any case, it will always be our hopeful vision that the millions of Filipinos living and working abroad will look back to the islands and draw out their inherent compassion to support and encourage those who have stopped dreaming. Perhaps when conditions improve, many more people will come back and set up shop here, allowing a strong middle-class to grow. For now, our middle class is overseas. We have to accept the fact that we just cannot give what we don’t have. Wealth is not generated by kindness alone but by the sweat of men and women who are justly compensated. In a sense, our collective destiny as a Filipino people will depend upon our success as individuals, whether here or abroad.
I just don’t want to see any more Filipinos coming back for the wrong reasons, the worst being the elitist view that “Mas masarap ang buhay sa Pilipinas dahil meron kang mga katulong dun.”
What about THEIR dreams?
We have a long way to go and many attitudes to change.
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