The grass is not always greener

Wednesday, 15 February 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Many Sri Lankans are leaving the country illegally and legally due to a severe lack of food, money, and career possibilities. Men, women, and children are risking their lives by sailing into India and Australia, which are nearby. People are leaving the country due to the rising cost of living and the lack of needs, but others are breaking under the pressure of waiting in line to go.

According to Sri Lankans, after months of standing in daylong queues for gasoline, they are no longer worried about the state of their nation and are instead prioritising their economic independence. The current crises’ ambiguity and anticipated end period serve as further inducements to look for greener pastures.

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

The country which has one of the highest rates of literacy and one of the most outstanding free education systems in the area is worried that Sri Lankans relocating abroad, particularly professionals, may cause a large brain drain.

Furthermore, given the wealth of work opportunities across the Atlantic, specialised industries can experience higher currency-adjusted earnings. Many state nurses from the National Hospital and accountants from mid-tier businesses are taking this into consideration when moving.

Highly trained personnel in the public sector, such as doctors and nurses, are also leaving as a result of the struggling Government’s proposed salary reductions for a system that is already under extreme strain as a result of medical shortages. Demand for newly granted passports has increased by 250%.

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. Sri Lanka which has consistently ranked as a top 30 software outsourcing destination, employing 120,000 people, and earning 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 US 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 workforce no longer benefits, the short-term consequences are anticipated to include an increase in foreign profits from worker remittances. However, actions must be made to protect and boost the economy’s productive capability given an ageing population and years of muted and debt-ridden development.

The current administration should give sustainability first priority in the event that Sri Lankans elect to retire back home in the future, with the possibility of up-skilling younger generations to take their place.