Sri Lankans continue leaving to greener pastures

Due to a serious lack of food, money and employment opportunities, Sri Lankans are fleeing the nation in large numbers by both legal and criminal means. Men, women and children are putting their lives in danger while attempting to enter neighbouring India and Australia by boat.

The growing expense of living and the scarcity of basic necessities have people fleeing the nation but others are cracking under the strain of waiting in line to get out. Sri Lankans claim that after months of day-long lines for petrol, they are no longer concerned about the state of their country and are instead putting economic independence first. Additional motivation to seek greener pastures comes from the uncertainty of the current crisis and expected out period. Those who worry for the future of their families are fleeing. 

The Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau reported this month that from January to now, a record number of Sri Lankans – more than 150,000 – had emigrated abroad in pursuit of employment. In a statement, the Bureau said that 27,937 persons left the country seeking employment abroad in June of this year alone, highlighting that the majority of Sri Lankans are migrating to Middle Eastern nations in pursuit of better opportunities.

There is worry that Sri Lankans moving abroad, especially professionals, may result in a significant brain drain in the country which has one of the highest rates of literacy and the best free education systems in the region. Additionally, given the abundance of employment possibilities across the pond, specialist industries may see greater currency adjusted salaries.

This is something that a lot of State nurses from the National Hospital and accountants from mid-tier enterprises are taking into account when moving. Highly skilled workers, such as doctors and nurses in the public space, are also migrating, as the embattled Government has proposed salary cuts to a system already under immense stress due to medical shortages. 

Due to Sri Lanka’s economic collapse, a large number of highly trained IT employees have relocated to the United States, Australia and the European Union. Tech CEOs have been vocal about the brain drain even if the precise number of people who have left because of the problem is unknown. 

Sri Lankan software company WSO2 Founder Sanjiva Weerawarana, claims that the company lost 40 Sri Lankan employees due to migration. He believes that several hundred people are looking at migration possibilities, and according to a tweet, WSO2 is growing its footprint outside of Sri Lanka to maintain company continuity and increase investor trust.

Sri Lanka which has consistently ranked as a top 30 software outsourcing destination, employing 120,000 people, and earned 1.2 billion dollars in export revenue in 2017, is now feeling threatened. To retain talent, Sri Lankan IT companies have started pegging salaries to dollars, instead of the local currency but that has had little impact.  As the beleaguered administration has proposed wage cutbacks to a system already under tremendous stress owing to medical shortages, other highly trained personnel, such as physicians and nurses, are also migrating. This is in addition to IT workers. According to the Department of Immigration and Emigration, demand for new passports issued in 2022 has increased by 250%.

While the benefit to the workforce is lost, the immediate after effects are likely to be an increase in foreign earnings through worker remittances. However, given an aging population now to experience years of muted and debt-ridden growth, steps must be taken to preserve and add to the productive capacity of the economy. 

If the current Government is truly keen on sustainability, it should prioritise this with the hopes that Sri Lankans may someday decide to retire back home, with some potential of relocating upskilled younger generations.