Brain Drain: a looming problem on Sri Lanka’s demographic landscape
Experiencing a Massive Exodus
Dr. Abaya Kuruwitage was busy in his plush office in a Colombo suburb. He was inundated with inquiries from people from all walks of life about skilled migration, overseas student placements, and Visa consultations. He had been in the United States for 21 years before he migrated back to Sri Lanka to focus on his business line in Sri Lanka. He went on to state that he now used to work from 8 am to 10 pm every day except Sundays. He noted that there was a sudden surge in the people from the beginning of this year who want to migrate by any means. Although he has kept Sunday as his rest day, he receives some prospective customers upon urgency. Today, he is leading a restless life because Sri Lankans are flocking to jump out of the country in some disguise. So, he has become a prisoner of his own home due to this rush which is gathering momentum day by day. He lamented the fact that people even try to offer extravagant money to catch an opportunity to fly to another country and it has now become an obsession among the Sri Lankan general public about going abroad. It is on record that there has been a 150 % increase in Sri Lankans wanting to proceed overseas for employment as compared to the year 2021. So far since January 2022, approximately 270,000 people had left for employment abroad whereas, in 2021, only 122,000 had left the country.
Economic Collapse: Bone of Contention
According to the statistics obtained by Namo Magazine from local immigration agents, those who implored to leave the country were professionals in various fields. They included Medical Practitioners, Engineers, Corporate leaders, Lawyers, IT professionals, Nurses, Graduates, and so on. It was reported that there is a sharp increase in the number of graduates opting to go overseas to complete their master’s degrees. In fact, they are looking for greener pastures somewhere out of Sri Lanka. On the other hand, there is a drastic rise in the number of blue-collar employees wanting to go overseas. It is startling to note that 40 % of the people who are keen on migrating fall into the skilled category. Notably, 60 % of those who migrated were males. This was an eye-opening phenomenon because it was the other way around before. This is the best source of the intelligentsia in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka began to witness this tragedy after the country’s economy abruptly collapsed with acute shortages of fuel, energy, gas, and other essentials. The alarmingly rising rate of inflation was also a concern for Sri Lankans. People felt that the local politicians have plundered and looted the coffers of the country in style. They became disgruntled and distraught. Hopelessness came to prevail. Hence, this exodus of brain drain has become the order of the day at present.
Government’s Response to the looming brain drain
The government seems to be preoccupied with its own share of problems mainly on the economic front. As it is apparent, the government has not taken this issue as a serious matter of concern yet. Every day, Sri Lanka is purged of some top brains in the country. This will definitely set a negative impact on the country soon. Although many western countries brought in the toughest restrictions on travel for Sri Lankans, they still find a way out. Recently, 11 out of 51 passengers who went on a sponsored tour to France, went missing, ironically some upon landing. Those who jumped out included top managers and even lawyers. The tour operator believes that they would have sought asylum by now. However the tour operator attempted to convince them to come back by influencing their kith and kin in Sri Lanka, but it proved to be a failure in the end. It was learned that those passengers in question have also kept collateral by way of vehicles, lands, and cheques. Still, they had gone with the vicious intention of not returning. As a result, the embassies of western countries had to think twice before issuing even visit visas. It was on the news that 80 % of the documents submitted by the prospective travers for Visa processing were found to be fake. This is a huge black mark for Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan passport has been downgraded to such a level as of now. In this context, the embassies take a long time than usual to issue Visas even for students. There have been some cases where some genuine students had to forgo half a semester or a full semester due to this issue. One spokesman from one of the leading Overseas Student Placement Agencies who wish to remain anonymous stated that many students proceeding overseas are unlikely to return to Sri Lanka. He asserted that many have expressed this sentiment to him in person too.
When will Sri Lanka feel the implications of this brain drain?
Meanwhile, the government of Sri Lanka declared recently that government servants would be given 5 years of leave for employment abroad. Tue, the government is hell-bent on reducing the number of government servants which is a stumbling block in the path to fast-tracked development initiatives. No sooner, Sri Lanka would realize the implications of this situation when there will be a dearth of professionals in multiple fields. Or else, Sri Lanka would lose the cream of professionals at least. If something is not done immediately in this respect as the government addresses the economic crisis, the country will eventually become a paradise of fools. It already shows the signs of this social norm from the august assembly of the parliament and downwards. Brain drain is the beginning of social erosion in a country. It is high time that the government realized the seriousness of a brain drain in the long run. It could literally ruin a country and back-track its grandeur. Meanwhile, true to the popular dictum ‘somebody’s loss is somebody’s gain’, some countries capitalize on Sri Lanka’s dismal economic picture to attract the best grains out of the country with tact. In fact, we are sitting on a volcano as far as the country’s alarming brain dream is concerned. What is most pathetic is that the government is yet to understand it. So, we will be an under-developed country for eternity in the end.
