i)What would make you want to go back to your country?
ii)If you plan to stay abroad, what hasn't your government done to attract you back?
iii)What would make you stay in your country instead of going to study or work abroad? Here are some of the responses I got:
I think if I can get an assurance that the education and experience that I have acquired here in the US would be used back at home then I'd go back.Since am not sure of this yet,I think I'd like to first invest so that I can have something to fall back to since the job industry is still not able to absorb everyone.Another issue for me is security.I really enjoy the fact that I can be driving at 1am all by myself with no worries.
Mary Githui, Kenyan living in the US
What would keep me from leaving South Korea? Nothing really. Being an Indian, I am a minority and always treated as one. I have an Engineering degree, yet I cant find a decent job--with a pay that I deserve. I plan to leave for the US soon. My uncle will help me look for decent job there. I might have to wait in a restaurant or drive a taxi first, but in two years, I will have an engineering job.
Malkiat, Indian born in S. Korea
I came back from the US not because I was tired of being treated like I was less brilliant. I saved money over the 10 years I was here, bought a house in Karen and started a car import business. I am doing financially well and living better than I was in the US. The cost of living is lower in Kenya so I get to save more. Kenya has improved economically than I left it more than a decade ago. The roads are better (though the traffic jam is still bad) and internet faster. I am glad I came back to my country.
Njenga, a Kenyan who returned from the US this year
The level of corruption in Uganda
right now is appalling. Going back to look for job in the government sector
would mean multiple bribes here or there. If you do not have the
"technical know who", then you are very likely not to get a job that
suites your training hence unfair renumeration. I'm not ready to deal with all
this. Right now I'm still building my resume and my hope is to return to Uganda
and start organizations that will serve the local people. Though the government
is trying to offer services, there are government officials who lack patriotism
and all they think about is how they can amass wealth when the "chance"
still lasts. When I think about all this, it gets me thinking of how I can
become self employed and not depend on the government to employ me.
Charity Alinda, Ugandan living in the US
I think this question is going to be slightly easier for me to answer in that my passion/calling is international development. This field to me means that I am dedicated to seeing and being a part of progress in less-developed countries.When I chose this field, the only country on my mind was my dearest Nigeria. I could have opted to work in another country and make more money, but I don’t believe God made me a Nigerian by chance and made my passion development. I believe Nigeria has immense potential and I would like to be an integral part of her growth.
My desire to go home was initially curtailed by the absence of life’s conveniences—lack of constant water, electricity, safety, etc. America has made it possible for me to enjoy these things to the fullest and relocating home would make these things, to an extent, luxuries.Working at home for a year also made me realize how inefficient we (Nigerians) can be with time. In the western world productivity is directly linked to time, which makes time a valuable asset. In Nigeria, our culture certainly taints productivity because time is usually not of the essence. Tasks take longer to complete and in some settings being overly assertive can be seen as disrespectful, especially for a “small girl” like myself. This was incredibly frustrating!! That being said, the government could, GET THEIR ISH TOGETHER AND ADULTS CAN LIKE TO CALM DOWN WITH THEIR YEARN FOR “RESPECT” TO DRAW MORE PEOPLE HOME!!! lol
Abi Bulus, Nigerian living in the US
The course I want to pursue is offered in Kenya so I dont see the reason to go study abroad. I am not sure about finding a job though...When I finish college, I hope to find a job wherever. If I find one in Kenya, great. If not, I will leave my country without thinking twice!
Milka, Kenyan who has never left the country
As much as I love and adore my country, I am not quite sure I want to go back. You see, it is not my country's fault, at this point. It is rather how much I have changed as a person. I find it would be really hard for me to adjust back to my country's culture. My time out here has changed me and I have grown. I am now more politically correct than when you first met me.
On the other hand, I thought of the
question of Why did I leave in the first place? I had already visited other
countries, and had my own share of international experiences and friends, but I
never thought of becoming an "Immigrant" the thought of leaving my
country and making a new life somewhere else was not something I plotted back
in Venezuela. But I left. Why? You might remember my stories: I was working 4
jobs. 2 of which were for public schools, none of which ever paid me (our
everyday case of corruption, they say the money is coming, but it gets lost in
someone elses' account) and the other two jobs were as follows: one in a private
language institute that paid me 2 dollars an hour, and the other one was my own
private tutoring that I was able to find, which paid me 10 dollars an hour. In
a country where there's high inflation, that payment is nothing.
Parallel to this, I was begging to have a full time teaching position in a public school and finally be part of the "system" so I could guarantee my future and career, my retirement funds and insurance, all the benefits that any worker deserves. I had to stand in lines under the Caribbean sun for hours (5 or more) during days, in the hope to talk to someone in the ministry of education's office, that would take my applications. You have to belong to the political party of the government, they said, so I did. You have to wear a red shirt, they said, so I did. You have to say Viva Chavez, they said, so I did. You have to know someone inside the ministry, you know, have a connection, so I looked for one. I begged and begged that someone would look at my talent, my experience, my 3 languages, my passion for teaching...no one ever gave me a chance...And in the midst of this all, here came my friend Rafael and sent my resume to Bates.
Why does someone who is 30 and with 12 years of experience leaves her country to be a TA at some college in the middle of the icing freaking cold Maine that pays 400$ a month? the reason is, I saw a door being open, someone finally was willing to give me a chance, and in my country, as much as I tried, doors were closing on my face, day after day.
Believe me, if I had been employed, with my benefits and I had known
that I had been hired not because of my political beliefs but because of my
passion for teaching and what I had to give, I WOULDNT HAVE LEFT.
My experience here you know it! after my two years in Bates, I took my exams to
have my teaching certifications in Texas. I went to a job fair (about 3000 ppl)
I handed out my resume, a school looked at it, liked it, interviewed me, hired
me, sponsored my working visa and voila! No one asked me to stand in line under
the sun, no one asked me what were my political views, nobody cared what
connections I had. And that's what makes me want to stay here. You can be
somebody, build your life with no connections and just your own experience to
speak for yourself.
My country is in the midst of a political and economical crisis. It is unsafe and you cant even find butter, toilet paper or toothpaste at the stores. You have to line up and fight to buy a pound of chicken, and the Harina Pan, so needed to make our precious arepas has been long gone from the stores as well. What would it take for me to go back? A government that would truly care for us, cease the political turmoil, stop the economic crisis, bring the food back to the stores, restore the safety in our streets, and most of all, honor the role of teachers, doctors, students, workers and everyone, those who think different too! A justice system that is truly blind and fair. Impunity to leave Venezuela, citizens that are caring to the environment and respectful to each other. As I first said, it is not my country, it is me, I have changed, maybe I think Im too much now, or maybe I have been spoiled, I just dont jump in excitement knowing what waits for me if I go back, I miss my country and Im grateful for what it taught me. But I am also grateful it let me go, so I could spread my wings and fly to different places....
Saybel Nunez, Venezuelan living in the US
I came back to Mozambique because my country needs me. I plan to start an NGO to help women start small businesses. I don't judge people who opt to stay abroad. Look at my country--it is one of the poorest. Why would anyone who has experienced the life in the Britain want to come back to live in a hut? I do not view myself as a martyr, rather just a regular person who loves their country. Dont get me wrong--I hate the government. They are doing nothing much to make people want to come back. Their main agenda is to enrich themselves. I wish they did more for the people.
Wezzi, from Mozambique. Returned from the UK
What would it take to make you go back to my country? A job where my
skills are appropriately utilized and in which I am well paid.
Rodaly Muthoni, Kenyan living in Rwanda
I am leaving the US in a month - for good. I have not really enjoyed the social life here, maybe because I work in a rural town in CT and do not have easy access to my friends in Boston.
So before coming to Bates, I told everyone that I would return home as soon as I graduate. I still felt the same way up till junior year. In senior year, the reality dawned on me that I am not very well connected back home and might not be able to get a job that I desire, so I sought one here in the States. The school I work at, Choate Rosemary Hall School, is one of the best boarding schools in the country, but I never anticipated that life outside of country will be radically different from life in college. In college, I could ignore the tense racial relationships with fellow students and faculty, but here I am required to work things out. This added to making life difficult for me. I wanted to do another year at Choate before I apply to Ph.D programs in mathematics, but thankfully, my visa situation did not work out well, so I have to leave Choate next month.
But I refuse to find another job here in the States, like in Boston, because I badly want to go home and be around people that behave like me and like similar things as me.Long story short, I will be coming home in June, and then moving to South Africa for a job at the African Leadership Academy. I believe working at ALA will offer me a much better professional development opportunity because I will be around people who have similar career visions as me, who want to improve the living situations across Africa, etc.
Joseph Ekpenyong' Nigerian living in the US
