Wed 25 Jul 2007
Crossposted from Ihtisham Kabir’s BackToBangladesh blog
During my recent trip to Silicon Valley, I repeatedly asked my Non Resident Bangladeshi friends to at least think about working in Bd. So, how badly does Bd need skilled managerial, business and IT skills? Example: there are at least 100,000 Indians who hold high-paid jobs in Bangladesh (BOI has issued 65000 work visas to Indians, and the rest are there temporarily or with other visas). While I do not begrudge them one bit - they bring a lot of value to our businesses (eg, Unilever Bd, headed by a group of Indians, is one of the most profitable branches of Unilever) - surely, this number indicates the need for talent, right?
Guess what I repeatedly heard back from my NRB friends? “Yeah, sure, they will pay Indians or other foreigners well, but as soon as they see another Bangladeshi - no matter how much American experience they have - Bangladeshi organizations will not want to pay high salaries.”
Is this really true? Anyone have real experiences? Certainly my short experience with the BD IT sector indicates otherwise - there was no end to the ways in which the IT community made me feel welcome back home - but maybe I am an exception or did not have grand enough expectations?
While in Singapore, I was talking with another friend, originally from Bangladesh, who used to work for a US-based Fortune 100 company. As an executive of this company, he had spent 2.5 years pursuing a grand vision for a manufacturing plant in Bangladesh which, in the end, had come to naught. He fought battles both internal (so-and-so Minister asking for Ghush, being tripped up by powerful businessmen, etc) and external (forces at his multinational which did not want this large work going to Bangladesh.) As I lobbied him yet again to consider a position in Bd, he shook his head, saying the experience had left him with too much bitter taste.
So… what gives? A serious impedance mismatch? Can’t this be fixed? Is this our Khaislat?
July 25th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I guess I can only speak for myself, I can think of many reasons why I would not consider working or setting up a business in Bangladesh, here are just a few
Political instability would be a major concern, nothing works with out pleasing the “right people”, business decision has to be based on political reality
Lack of personal safety due to poor law and order
To much religious BS for my taste (it seems the whole country is evolving toward an Islamic frame of mind), funny you see all the masjid overcrowded with patrons but the rate of corruption only increases, go figure?
You can’t even enjoy the food (fish, fruits etc) due to contamination
Healthcare is not only poor but outright dangerous except for few foreign operated ones.
July 25th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Is money the only motivation to return to the home country? To quote MZI from Deshantori, “amar ma anek shundor na hote pare, anek borolok na hote pare, kintu tar jonno to ami shob cheye shundori ar shobcheye boro lok mohila ke amar ma bolbo na.”
But a more valid point is on the 2nd part. Forget warm welcome for a second. Are there resistance from BD when a expat wants to come back with a good purpose and intention? Also do expats returning have realistic (reduced) expectation from Bangladesh?
July 25th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Zafar iqbal made it back and is really contributing to the public good through that maths olympiad jive and is probably teaching students a lot about telecoms in the gabj. Perhaps he doesnt get the large research grants he had in the US, but he is grooving along somehow. Then theres others like Abed Chaudhry from OZ who have similar can do, wont-moan-like-a-girl(sorry) attitudes. Its a question of character, network and social technique i think.
Spirits get dampened on some occassions,i mean how much whalloping can a human take?
Some people dont let that bother them and involve themselves in the little ways that they can without moaning (too much).
Living on 20 000 TK a month should not be considered the end of the world and the epitome of hardship. If bangladesh were to fall further because of allegedly skilled and useful peoples inability to live low, that would be sad.
The bitter taste of experience case.
I think that dude has done his bit, best leave him be succesful and not ruin relationships further. The best any people can do is learn from his experience.(going the extra mile for a bunch of good for nothings and that affecting your good name is a very common experience).
July 25th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
As a young professional on the job market, I can think of one other disincentive for returning.
In my brief professional experiences in Bangladesh, I found the professional environments to be a lot less collaborative and more hierarchical between different levels of administration - junior professionals taken disproportionately less seriously by senior professionals. I might be exaggerating, but its almost as though young professionals are treated with less respect. In contrast, in other countries where I have worked, younger/more junior staff are taken as seriously/with as much respect as more senior staff. To put it more bluntly, in BD I feel like a employee of my supervisor, while in the US or Europe I feel like a colleague.
As AsifS put it, its a question of having realistic expectations of desh. As much as I’d like to go home somday, this impression (which may not be true for everyone) that I have of workplace dynamics in BD will certainly play a role in any employment decisions I take.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I would agree with Asif Matin.
Also little less discussed but important factor is government fiscal policy. Example Raw materials have higher tax than finished goods.
BD lacks lot of infrastructure, including faster road and internet communication.
Since there is so much corruption, there is lack of faith on credentials of BD professionals. I have seen firsthand, how people have fake degrees from both BD and foreign universities. Not to mention real degrees don’t even tell how competent they are.
Over the last few years whenever expats visit BD, the last image they have is corruption and bad behavior in airport. So is it any wonder the perception is this bad.
July 25th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Asif S.
Are you refering to people who already hold jobs abroad or families abroad? Or fresh graduates? Blue-collar or white-collar workers?
Wouldn’t the experience vary depending on their backgrounds?
July 25th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
On a purely street level (speaking about Dhaka here), things are as dysfunctional as they ever were, probably even more so. People who live for a long time in the West get used to its convenience, comfort, safety and security. They tend to expect a certain degree of liveability, which is probably why most former expats I know live in Gulshan, Banani or Uttara in search of that “quality of life”. The city in general is inching towards becoming an ungovernable megalopolis where everyone takes 2-hour traffic jams and water and electricity shortages for granted. Apart from the flyover, there has been no new infrastructure in the last decade, and the present infrastructure is simply not enough to deal with the rising number of people and vehicles within the city boundaries. No government seems to have a clue how to deal with this. The city grows as much vertically as it does horizontally. Some attempt at economic decentralization would probably be a good idea, given that every rickshaw-puller and CNG-driver you speak to seems to have moved down from the north to escape the extreme poverty, but I can’t say more about this without data. What you can see is the Dhakaiya equivalent-ish of “white flight” - people who can afford it (or returnee expats) move to GBU to avoid the rest of the city, and their relevant institutions move with them, (corporate offices, good schools, etc.) 10 years ago, traffic jams in Gulshan or Uttara were unheard of, now it’s pretty standard there as well. In fact, the tendency to create expat bubbles is evident in India too, where gated communities for returnees is all the rage.
All this is apart from the other expat expectations re law and order, corruption, crime, health care, civility, red tape, etc etc. Which is why some recent comments about how corruption greasing the wheels of our capitalism has been a good thing raises eyebrows. Nothing undermines confidence in the system more than corruption. If there is a bigger turn-off for foreign-ferot workers and investors than pervasive corruption and overbearing bureaucracy, I don’t know what it is.
July 25th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
I am not sure if the economy of Bangladesh is ready to utilize many highly-skilled NRB’s at this point. So it might be a better option for most NRB’s to make investment there instead of moving there physically. We could definitely create an NRB investment pool that could get into strategic backward linkage industries such as spinning mills and textiles to feed existing garment industries, the existing units are not sufficient. There are local talents available to manage and run these industries. But the risk is too much and government still not supportive enough.
I have some experience about going back that may or may not be relevant to the topic. After I finished my Bachelors in the US and worked for several years in a large US corporation in late 80’s, I went back and started an export oriented shoe factory in Chittagong EPZ. The idea was that if Bangladesh could be successful in garments then it could also do well in a similar labor-intensive sector that Korea or Taiwan was getting out of at the time. The timing was not bad, but I made one mistake, I did not know Bangladesh and its people well. I thought that we could compete with China and Vietnam and get sufficient number of production lines in Bangladesh. A traditional shoe factory has production lines, usually 100-200 feet in length. This is the assemly line in addition to sample making, cutting, upper stitching and sole preparation departments. In the early 90’s both Taiwan and Korea were leading shoe manufacturers and they had each around 1500-2000 lines. What the Chinese and Vietnamese govt. did was that it sent their ministers and high officials to talk to these shoe factory owners and ask them what they needed in order for them to move their factories to China. Of course they wanted tax incentive, security, ready made buildings if available and state support in case of labor and other unforeseen problems. I personally met Tofael Ahmed one time to discuss these issues, but I got the feeling that they were simply not interested. To these people, it seemed like some moneyed people tried to make more money with these ventures and the only way they looked at anyone who has taken risk is that, ah, these guys have some money, how can we fleece them. Well Tofael was not alone, everywhere you went, bank, bureaucracy, the feeling was the same - the only exception was BEPZA authority, this is the only organization I can highly speak of, they were good, efficient and prompt - probably because they were explicitly geared toward catering to foreign investors.
China and Vietnam were successful in relocating most of these production lines from Korea and Taiwan, and that moved the industry to these countries. Although several entrepreneurs like myself, Mr. Abul Kalam of Excelsior Shoes and the owner (I forget his name) of Meenhar shoes of Chittagong were able to start and run our factories for a while, we were unsuccessful to compete with China and Vietnam with so few lines, backward linkage industries like material and accessories manufacturers would not move to Bangladesh and everything had to be brought in from Taiwan or Korea at that time. The port closure in 1996 was a severe period that almost detroyed our market, but we were able to recover after a lot of difficulty. Competing with China became increasingly difficult. Due to family disagreements, some bad decisions were made and we had to close down the factory and sell it to Excelsior. Currently, I hear that the factory is running and doing ok.
I am now back in the good old US of A, and languishing in a govt. job and that is why I find so much time to write in this blog (I think I am getting a bit obsessed lately, neglecting other things), in case you were wondering. So that was my experience. The positives were that I learned about my country and I can say that I tried and also as a bonus I got to see and know Korea very well (which gave me a good exposure to the East Asian model of development), as I had to make frequent trips there for orders and material sourcing.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:52 am
I’ll second Amer on the disparity between senior and lower ranks in Bangladesh. As a young professional a year out of university working in a Fortune 100 company, I can walk into the office of my senior managing director, make a suggestion and be taken seriously. My SMD knows that I am competent, and can be counted upon to listen to me with care. He also trists me to handle projects of real substance on a daily basis. This is not a pathological case, and is the pattern throughout the firm.
I find it difficult to expect the same atmosphere in Bangladesh, where my (admittedly limited) experience leads me to believe that higher ranks look upon new hires as convenient peons who are only barely capable of fetching chaa nastaa.
Until this backward attitude changes, hardened NRB’s will continue to gain greater job satisfaction abroad, and indulge their patriotism only by investing limited portions of their income in the extremely shaky financial markets back home. It’s basic quid pro quo: no amount of desh prem will persuade me to sacrifice mine and mine own for the greater good unless I see some tangible return for myself, whether it be social, personal or material.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:46 am
I personally find it harder to live in other people’s country than MY OWN country, even if I am living a very comfy life with a good job in the high tech industry! Comparing the standard of living between Dhaka and a US city will just make us insane thinking how folks in Dhaka have a life, but at the end of the day, Dhaka is MY city, San Francisco/NY/Seattle or whatever other cities, are not.
To different pepole this may be of importance to a different degree. But for me, even when I drive down the well-built roads and highways, or shop around a posh shopping mall, I look at people around me and have a feeling that these are not my people, this is not my city.
I know going back to Bangaldesh is like commiting suicide in terms of standards of life for us and our families/kids. But those who made the tough decision and struggled their way in Bangaldesh (like Zafar Iqbal, Abed Chowdhury, Dr. Mahbub Majumdar (coach of Bangladesh Maths Olympiad team)), are helping transforming Bangaldesh to a level where making the decision to go back to Bangaldesh won’t be this tough!
Talking about difficulty in settling in Bangladesh, I can tell you the story of Dr. Mahbub Mojumdar. This man has deegrees from Stanford, MIT, and either Oxford or Cambridge. Still our Dhaka University Physics department authorities thought he was not “fit” to join the department for lack of educational qualifications. Talk about insanity! Still he is trying to setup an advanced science research institute in Bangladesh 9along with other like minded people).
That’s my two cents:-)
July 26th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I am an NRB. Do I want to go back to Bangladesh? At some point of my life? yes. I am a traffic engineer (people thinking what the hell is that) and I cannot contribute to IT field or Telecom or garments sector, unfortunately .
If I go back, will anyone listen what I have to say regarding my field?
I drive the cheapest car available in this country. But I could afford to buy it new. If I go back, I do not need a car. Can I have the premium bus/nirapad bus when I left Bangladesh in 2000? I worked as a BCS officer, I could not afford to use rickshaw all the time (some people say, rickshaw is poor man’s vehicle)
I have a cell phone here. I definitely do not need a cell phone in Bangladesh (way to expensive in any standard). Can I have coin box phones at roads?
Sacrifcing living standard is not an issue, getting the minimum for NRBs (and RBs) is issue. Anyone working on it?
July 26th, 2007 at 3:56 am
I think it would have been easier for professional NRBs to return to Bangladesh if there was a SEZ-like enclave where these returnees could live in comparable living standards to the countries they left behind e.g. USA or Australia.
July 26th, 2007 at 5:20 am
Asif ,issue is not the expertise. issue is here on the professionalism and Business development. Actually Bangladesh companies have not uplifted their professional standard .There is common tendency not to fulfill commitment.
and even I used to face those things several times and To me it is wrong Idea to go back Bangladesh physically and working there. Even I have plan to establish my back offices In there. Unfortunately India and Indonesia back office has been established. But we are finding real heard time to do in Bangladesh
because of the current infrastructure. biggest issue is the Power problem.secondly connectivity issue comes up.
Then
out dated policy of the Govt of Bangladesh. Look at regarding VOIP. It is nothing but technology . But our officials failed to understand this thing.They are alwasy making wrng meaning of it.
My Point is the the NRB of USA, Uk, Singapore and Hongkong have come to the touch of pure professional environment where infra structure, Connectivity and Manpower is A1. Most Important we do have learning experience and all.
I myself feel we NRB still need time to reach up to next level. Right time is not come yet. Once our generation is going to get the all experience and we can develop the proper Business development skill and
good pure democratic environment only then it will be the feasible for NRB to go back Bangladesh.
In Current Scenario at least I am not encouraging NRB to go Bangladesh right now.
I feel they will waste their skill. Now this is the learning time and From USA, UK,SINGAPORE and HONKONG we can contribute lot via back office concept.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:08 am
“Yeah, sure, they will pay Indians or other foreigners well, but as soon as they see another Bangladeshi - no matter how much American experience they have - Bangladeshi organizations will not want to pay high salaries.”
****
I’m not sure if this is at all true. I know of a number of people, of various age and qualification, who have returned with very competitive salaries.
And I’m not sure it’s work culture either. I know of younger people returning to teach at Bangladeshi institutions during summer vacations for example. And for older people (that is, people with work experience in Bangladesh), work culture shouldn’t be much of an issue.
I think it’s a lot more to do with the amenities - schools and parks for your kids, law and order, traffic, pollution etc. Many people emigrate to get away from these issues. This doesn’t mean they don’t care about Bangladesh. But this does mean that they’re unlikely to return until the amenities are improved.
As there are no easy solutions to these problems, it might mean that many NRBs won’t return anytime soon. But so what? People still contribute without physically being in Bangladesh.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I think the money or the insecurity or any sort of poor facilities in BD are not the main reasons which are refraining the educated NRB’s from going back to BD; it is the mentality and the attitude of the Bangladeshi people are not letting the efficient NRB’s to go back to BD. Corrupt mentality, the showing off and shob-janata attitude (despite having poor experience and knowledge), hypocrisy and disrespectful manners to others never helps to create a healthy working and living environment in a society or in a country. The mentality we have developed in our country need to be changed in order to create a friendly and healthy working environment in Bangladesh.
Adios
July 26th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Have you considered the rampant racism and bigotry that exist in our country ? How easy it is to fall into that mould. People complain about being treated like ’second class citizen’ abroad (strangely, I never felt that way), but think nothing of it when they treat others the same way at home. The class biases are overpowering, suffocating and stifling for many who return home, starting with how domestic help are treated to power relationships between junior ’sub-ordinates’ and ’superiors’ in the offices. There is much less respect for a fellow human being in our country than abroad, and even having lived only a few years outside the country, this could be the only reason I will find it difficult to return to Bangladesh.
Farhad
July 26th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
If you don’t take it seriously let me dare tell you my theory, in many cases it is the wife who prevents an willing NRB returning home. Occassionally it can be vice versa and sometmes children share the blame too.
And on a serious note, for those who says Bangladeshi organizations are not interested in NRBs, please look at this nicely made video with Penultimate James music. You will know how badly Bangladeshi orgs need and want NRBs.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Rumi Bhai ,
Does Bhabi visit DP very often? :).This point is noted for her.
Just kidding.
But you see economical&Social security is a very big issue in here.
Farhad Bhai 16#
In IT& Telecom this senior- Junior issue is not very big if this company is a real professional one. As I know very well I can’t compete at all with my next generation & Fresher. Because they are much more moder and skilled than me or my generation. In This IT& Telecom there is nothing called retirement just we need to transform our position on the demand of time.
Once I was in development . Now I can’t so I have to transform myself to the management level and I have to give the proper respect to my Juniors So I can bring out of 100% of
him /her. Basically Major problem of the Bangladesh that we never did have proper organization structure. Even we even don’t have idea how much turn over we do have.
One thing I can say one engineer can’t do alone any thing. Here we need the proper team work. every department like Finance, Tech and Commercial departments should do their work with full freedom. So interference is never there and what I feel we should learn those very basic issues from
these countries.
Basically what I feel Just to focus on work right now. Basically I am just Bringing on
reference of The Geeta
” Karatabya Kaaj Koriya Jaao Pholer Asha korio na.”
We are expecting result too early . what I feel If I work heard in right track , I will get the result in one day and To be very honest I am optimistic about the positive result because environment is professional but In Bangladesh you can only put heard effort but result you really don’t know.
Your Ekushey Tv is a perfect example of it.
I fell what happened to the Ekushey was a complete unprofessional step of the Govt.
But where is the solution. There is the solution we should start as much out source we can in Bangladesh market. We should give the young ICT force of the taste of professionalism. If they are brought up with a professional environment , I think revolution will start automatically. so this process should be started gradually.
Other wise these people will go back to country and need to see boss is out of office and his gown is hanging on chair.
July 26th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Tonoy, you got me wrong. It’s not how our engineers are being treated, but how our engineers treat our peons, clerks, drivers. They are treated as an underclass who rather not be seen or heard. Any category of workers is treated with respect and dignity here and a boss would be in trouble if he abuses his power. For that matter, anybody who contributes with his labour is respected for his share of it. More importantly, he is treated as an equal human being. When a plumber comes to repair my leaking tap it is only natural that I ask if he would like a cup of tea or coffee and make it for him if he wants. He thinks nothing of it neither do I. Why is something like this unthinkable in Bangladesh ? I was shocked by the kind of response I got in this very blog when I protested the eviction of the hawkers in the early days of this CTG when everyone was rooting for them.
Farhad
July 26th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
About 2 years ago I have sent an email to some of my overseas friends and some other people pleaing to go back to BD but in return I have received bitter reply from them. Some of them don’t even bother to send me some viruses to my email account. See the email below.
———————————————‘’A group of Bangladeshi student from USA went back to BD after finishing their education to do something good for our country as well as for themselves. It’s a good sign for our country. We all should do the same thing. But we all fear to go back to BD. If all of our intension is, not to go back to our country, then how the country will be developed? Who will develop? The students who are studying in BD? Do you think, it will be an easy task for them, who brought up and developed their mentality in our society? Do you think they have seen the modern and real world? No, they haven’t. It is us, who has to help them to see and to imagine about the modern and civilized countries people mentalities, activities, wealth, technology they use and how they have achieved these. If all of us keep planning to stay in abroad, one day the name of Bangladesh will be wiped out from the world map.
But at the same time, I’m not discouraging anybody not to come to abroad. What I’m trying to say is, after finishing our study and getting experience, we should go back to our country and welcome more new BD students to finish their study in abroad to learn the latest and modern technology to develop our country.
I know it will not be so easy for all the overseas students and experienced people to adjust with the BD’s working environment and system, but just think, how long have we been living in abroad and how long we had lived in Bangladesh? Perhaps first 2 years (maximum) will be the crucial period for us to adjust, but isn’t it our country for whom we need to sacrifice?
If we can’t do it then how our neighbouring country’s(India) people are doing it? If they can sacrifice, then why we can’t do it for our country? Did we ever ask ourselves this question? Perhaps someone will raise the question that Indian people also love to stay in abroad. But I personally experienced that 50% to 60% students go back to their country after having some experience. What they have, which we don’t have? The true answer is, the patriotism. Some of us show our patriotism just keep saying ‘I love my motherland, I love my country’. But it is not the appropriate definition of patriotism. It’s called hypocrisy.
That’s why all the BD people (especially Engineer, IT specialists, MBA, International Business, Finance, Accounts degree holders) whoever is well educated and got work experience in abroad, who has the “CAN DO SOMETHING” attitude for our country and want to build up their career in Bangladesh, I am urging them to go back to BD and start career (Business-business approach has to be long term, Job, anything accept doing corruption) instead of living in abroad. Country needs our help. Your practical experience, education, research and the mentality you developed in abroad will have more effective role on BD’s economy as well in the society. Don’t wait for our country’s corrupted leaders. Country’s development will never be done by them. It is us, who has to take initiative.
This is not the right time to fight with our Religious beliefs, not even fight with our personal likings and disliking, it is the time to save our present and future generations, it’s the time to be united, it’s the time to save our country’s existence. It is sounding that I’m trying to give a political speech, but trust me, I’m not. I believe, it is the right pathway and the only long term solution to develop our country. Please think twice before deciding to settle down in abroad and try to be patriotic rather than being a selfish.’’—————————————————-
July 26th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
IT can help all professional Bangladeshis regardless of their present residence to communicate and form a team to Hypothesize various needed project. Projects can vary from engineering, law enforcement….. to meaningful foreign policies. Example of such projects can be improving road structures, building bridges using max of in house materials & sources, water reservation….. In foreign issues, demolishing Farakkha or building a counter infrastructure of Farakkha, …..etc. In sports a bio-mechanical-animated prototype of Mural like.
July 26th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
19# Farhad Bhai,
Thanks for the excellent example. Basically you see my point is almost same as you. I want to add why do engineers get the scope to treat our peons, clerks, drivers like an aliens ? these are very basic points and we even could not learn this very simple thing, I remember I visited one garments factory of Chittagong on 2003 to develop their pay roll
system. I was really shocked to see the salary
structure of these ladies who are developing
so efficiently the product. Even these products are going in to world famous Marks &Spencer.
I am Just amazed to see the professionalism of these workers. In a factory where they are working there is No Ac nothing else . I even could not imagine to work inside at a stretch 10/12 hours in such environment.
But Are they really getting their due valuation?
But To be very honest this is the common picture of every industry. So Our professionals should really spent their time to adopt the professional Culture in abroad.
I personally want to thanks you for higlighting Hawker issue.
20# Illumminator
“Please think twice before deciding to settle down in abroad and try to be patriotic rather than being a selfish.”
Ans: what is the parameter of the development of the country? Word “Selfish” is
too much emotional.
For your kind information India has already made their mark in the industrial sector. They do have National Capitalist like Tata, Birla, Hinduja, Bazaz or Reliance.Even they do have
the company like Infosys, Wipro, TCS and NIIT.
Indian companies have become brand and they can fulfill the demand of the NRI easily.
These all are possible because they have the
tradition and practice of the democracy and
they have several options to choose even inside the country. on the contrary we don’t have even freedom of speech. So to blame NRB is very unfair in here.
July 26th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Farhad
Has nailed it on the head, we are probably one of the most hypocritical race on earth, whenever I visit Bangladesh every where I see people acting as “holier then though” but in fact opposite is true, all I hear from every one is how moral and just our community is compared to the west but in fact we are no way near their level of honesty and fairness, it gets pretty suffocating by observing all the hypocrisy in their daily life, I for one have personally seen the suffering of religious minorities while briefly involved with an NGO, for people who complain about their 2nd call status here should probably change their name (to a Hindu or Christian name) and live in an isolated town in Bangladesh for few years to get a reality check.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
65000 indians work in Bangladesh on work visa- that is an staggering figure. Can anyone please tell the source? Boi’s report…or what. God! And they still do not want to give us our share of water!
July 27th, 2007 at 2:44 am
Ok, some of you have pointed out some problems with our national mentality. So do we just sit back and enjoy the comfy life here and not do anything about changing that mentality in Bangladesh?
I don’t know if its a vicious circle, but imagine feeding 150 million people with such a small piece of land with very scarce natural resources. Unfortunately we also happen to be mostly muslims, being which make us less caring about this world than the “next, eternal” world.
Those of us who understand the problems, shouldn’t we do whatever is possible from our respective positions. I know many of us are already doing that and that makes me so happy.
With the training, education, and professional experiences in the Western countries, we can play a much instrumental role in changing the the problems with our national mentality we pointed out!
July 27th, 2007 at 3:05 am
Rumi bhai,
I don’t know whether you were kidding or not, but in our social structure, wives have to put up with the amenities problem - they’re the ones who have to deal with problems with the kids’ schools, take them to the doctor, deal with the tradesmen if there is something wrong with the gasline etc.
A more general question. Do we really think that it would be better for Bangladesh if all NRBs, skilled and otherwise, returned? I am not sure this is the case at all.
I think Bangladeshis who can contribute to the society, above and beyond their immediate family, can do so wherever they live. To the extent that they can earn much more abroad, they will be better placed to give back to the society as expatriates.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong if one is not inclined to be philanthropic. Not everyone has to be an activist. Not everyone has to solve the world’s ill. So long as no one is infringing on anyone else, individual self-interest usually produces the greatest social benefits. But even if hard working and self-reliant NRBs don’t think of the broader society, they still contribute by their remittance.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:34 am
Yes Jyoti. Thats one side, other side probbaly is in laws/ joint family issue.
On a different note,
What makes all of us believe that NRBs are better professionals, more skilled than those who are working back home?
The fact that NRBs work in a better and easy system should not make NRbs better professionals.
In an inefficient system, I have no reason to believe that a specific NRB will perform better than his/her local trained counter part.
I always see this as one of the stumbling block in NRBs embracing their native land. If you keep on thinking that people back home all are stupid, unskilled, lazy, ignorant, don’t know anything, corrupted; and the country is dirty, hot/humid, insecure, crowded, dysfunctional, the bridge will never take shape.
The first precondition, I believe will be love and respect for the country and people who live in there.
July 27th, 2007 at 7:47 am
“What makes all of us believe that NRBs are better professionals, more skilled than those who are working back home?”
Thank you, Rumi (No. 27). I think this nauseatingly condescending and self-righteous discussion needed a dose of reality.
I can think of several former NRBs who have done extremely well in Bangladesh (Let me start the long list off with Yunus, Abed,…,). These people don’t have a victim mentality — they manage and overcome.
There are genuine reasons why an NRB cannot return home. Of these reasons, skills mismatch probably tops the list.
But if you are one of those NRBs who likes to whinge and whine (W&W), rest assured, nobody is asking you to come back. In fact, we have several home-grown W&Ws that we wish to export to wherever you are.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:26 am
What do Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Dr. Yunus, Fazle Abed. Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Mahfuz Anam etc have all in common? They are all returning NRBs and have made changes in the country that has had a lasting impact.
To me the biggest gratification an NRB can have after returning home is the impact he/she can have which would much higher than the impact that person would have had in a foreign land.
Among the newer generation people like Zafar Sobhan of Daily Star, Zayed Almer Khan of New Age are reshaping journalism in Bangladesh by in jecting new ideas and implementing them.
Of course, you can say that these people are all from privilaged classes and it was a lot easier for them. But with privilage comes a lot of responsibility.
I am not going to say people are less of a patriot by staying abroad like one commenter has done here. I think it is really important to get fresh ideas and experience abroad. Also I think after a you have gained that experience, if you feel strongly about making a difference in your country by having a big impact on whatever you do, it is worth considering returning.
Things are bad compared to the west, we know. But how will it change if none of us are willing to actively engage and change it and expect changes to happen automatically.
I think it boils down to what your expectation from life is. “Spousal Aliiance” of course is a very important here. If you have that and don’t mind the “dirt” everywhere, you can consider moving back for a much better impact and greater gratification from your life. Of course, there is a chance that you will fail. The inner urge in you — depending on how strong it is — will determine if you can take that risk.
Things are happening in Bangladesh for the better. There are changes everywhere led by the younger generation. It is up to you to determine whether you want to be a part of it.
Highly recommend seeing Shahrukh Khan’s Swades. If you can ignore the speeches, it has a great message.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:32 am
The following personal essay is very much relevant.
ESSAY: “Swades” Spoke to Me (reflecting on the movie “Swades” about an NRI
who returns home to look for his childhood nanny).
By Aseem Chhabra
EXCERPT: I left India when there was one television channel and that too in
black and white. I now return to India where young kids and adults in the cities are SMS’ing each other from movie theatres and the streets. My father demolished the house I grew up in South Delhi and built apartments on the same plot of land. It is the exact same location, but it does not feel and smell like my childhood home. India has changed a lot
and sometimes I do not recognise that country.
More on Aseem: http://www.saja.org/chhabra.html
Send him your reax: Chhabs@aol.com
Rediff.com
December 17, 2004
Swades spoke to me
By Aseem Chhabra in New York
Aseem Chhabra is the New York-based contributing special correspondent to India Abroad, the newspaper owned by rediff.com More on Aseem, including contact info: http://www.saja.org/chhabra.html
Several years ago, I had lunch with the then finance minister of India Manmohan Singh and his family in their sprawling government bungalow in New Delhi. During lunch Dr Singh had a brief private conversation with me. He told me that things had improved substantially in India and the country needed people like myself — foreign educated MBAs (one of the two master’s degrees I have earned in the US) to come back and work there.
Twenty-three years ago, I was a young student, when I first moved to New York City and in these past two decades so many people have asked me why I do not move back to India. There were friends who suggested that I should return to India to take over my father’s successful publishing business; aunts, uncles and cousins who hinted that I should come back and live in India to be with my parents who are now in their mid-70s.
Last year, another politician — the former Indian minister of state for external affairs and a friend from university in India, Digivijay Singh, said this in so many words. “What are you doing in America?” he asked. “Come back to India, and work for a newspaper there. So many more people will read your writing.” And two weeks ago a journalist friend from Mumbai asked why I live in the US where I really do not belong.
All of these thoughts and words played through my mind last night as I watched a preview of Ashutosh Gowariker’s ambitious, but at times flawed and way too long new film — Swades. In brief, the film is about an NRI, who visits India to look up his childhood nanny, and in the process rediscovers his connections, roots and falls in love with the land of his birth. The film is handsomely shot, with heartfelt performances and charming songs in the tradition of Gowariker’s last project — Lagaan.
Swades is very long — the second half could have easily been edited down by at least half an hour. Gowariker attempts to tackle so many problems that the film’s focus seems cluttered, just as the mind of its protagonist, the NRI scientist Mohan (played by Shah Rukh Khan). I wish Gowarikar had cut down the endless and rather boring scenes set at NASA — where Mohan works and instead have shown more of his life in the US. The conflict in his mind, whether to return to India for good would have seemed much more real.
But I felt connected with the film. A R Rahman’s haunting voice, set to his composition, a piercing piece shehnai and Javed Akhtar’s lyrics stayed with me the entire night and even now as I type on my keyboard:
Yeh jo des hai tera
Swades hai tera
Tujhe hai pukaaraa
Yeh woh bandhan hai jo
kabhi toot nahi sakta…
I know Swades is a movie, a piece of entertainment, an artistically made, commercial venture, which I hope will succeed. But perhaps it is a state of mind I have been in for the past several years. Swades spoke to me.
My 23 years in the US have been full of ups and downs. First the downs
– three-and-a- half years ago — five months before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, a fire burned down my apartment. Twenty years of my life in the US — at least the material life — was completely destroyed within an hour. A few months later my marriage of 16 years ended.
These are tragic events that can have devastating affects on people and their lives. But I am still standing here — in New York City. It is my home and I do belong here. I am a part of the city, its large and visible desi community. I am on the board of the South Asian Journalists Association. I spend my free time watching foreign and indie films in Manhattan’s many art-house theatres, attend book readings, political talks and panel discussions, and hang out in the city’s cool bars and restaurants. I often attend desi parties and dance to bhangra and Bollywood music, with my fellow NRIs.
I have a 13-year-old son, who was born in the US. More than anything, my son gives me a sense of belonging — the Saturday morning trips I take to Harlem for his baseball clinic; watching him play drums in his school jazz band; dancing to hip-hop music at a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah; and on Diwali night listening to him recite the Gayatri Mantra at his maternal grandparents’ apartment in the city.
I made my adult life in New York City and my world is here.
India is also my life and I cannot seem to shake that out of my system. Each trip I take to my other home — visiting my parents in New Delhi and friends in Mumbai, I watch, observe, and breath the changes that have taken place in the last two decades. I have friends who have moved to India (some have since then returned to the US) and I am always very curious about how they live their lives in New Delhi or Mumbai.
I left India when there was one television channel and that too in black and white. I now return to India where young kids and adults in the cities are SMS’ing each other from movie theatres and the streets. My father demolished the house I grew up in South Delhi and built apartments on the same plot of land. It is the exact same location, but it does not feel and smell like my childhood home.
India has changed a lot and sometimes I do not recognise that country.
Maybe as Manmohan Singh said, India needs me. I have not figured that out yet. But I know my parents need me, but out of choice and other personal reasons I continue to live in the US.
After nearly three-and-a-half-hours of film time, Swades’ Mohan makes his choice and resolves his conflict. He goes back to his nanny’s village. He is able to give it all up after Rahman’s voice and Akhtar’s lyrics speak to him.
My life is not as simple as Mohan’s. I have not made any decisions about where I will live for the rest of my years. But I know I will be in India, next year, for a vacation.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:11 am
What if you adopt a country, like you adopt a child, and that country becomes yours ? Your birth country could still be there, and you may feel for it, but that’s not your country. Many of our forefathers actively sought out new land because that land offered them opportunities, respect and hope. They were given a new nationality and equal rights (at least in theory) as every other citizen living on that land. Will he not then embrace that land as it has embraced him ?
For centuries it happened in the other direction, maybe at times forceably. The white North Americans, Australians and South Africans are prime examples.
We made conscious choices to take up citizenship of a different nation because we got something back in return. How about thinking about your new adopted country for a change ? If there are things you don’t like, you as a citizen is entitled to work towards changing it. It is refreshing to see when Anwar Chowdhury talks about ‘my country’ he means United Kingdom and not Bangladesh. And he is a first generation British citizen. How many of us are confident enough to do that ?
Farhad
July 27th, 2007 at 10:32 am
It seems to me that Bangladesh actually provides the perfect Rorschach test for expats. You see in it what you want to see in it, and a lot of it has to do with your own personality type. Those of an optimistic mindset will see the positives - the economic growth rate, the entrepreneurial energy, the tide of exports, the national pride, the young population, etc etc - and consider the possibility that Bangladesh could become the next Big Thing. Those of a pessimistic bent of mind will focus on the negatives - the overcrowding, the inequality, the economic and environmental pressures, the disinterest of the ruling classes to serve anyone else but themselves, the chaos and the incivility - and conclude that we are but two steps away from the apocalypse. Whether you make that vital jump depends simply on whether you believe or don’t believe.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:03 am
to add to what farhad (#31) has said,
how bangladeshi immigrants feel about their adopted country also has a lot to do with where they are placed in the skills hierarchy of their adopted land. first generation migrants who had little or no formal skills and had jobs in factories, shops, shipyards etc., were anxious to “fit in” with their adopted country, and did not talk much about going back. they were desperately trying to build a life for themselves in the UK/USA. they started their own families and had to worry about kids’ school fees etc. their main contribution to their country of origin was earning in dollars/pounds and then sending some money back home to help their parents etc. they couldnt think of going back. their desh-prem of their adopted home was based on economic necessity.
with the second generation of migrants, there is less anxiety about “fitting in”. specially within expats who have white collar jobs (may be second generation or first) there is more talk of identity politics. they are financially more secure and also probably have access to citizenship benefits. this gives them a post-materialist mind set where they can worry about going back to the country of their forefathers.
the discussion on this DP blog is by people of the second group.
going by my rather limited experience of talking to young brit-bangladeshis who were born and brought up here (i.e. second generation), they have a very strong sense of dual identities. in some cases, their bangalitto is more pronounced than in bangalis in dhaka. they get fairly defensive if somebody points out to them that they have very little idea of what things are really like in BD, since they have only gone back on holidays etc., which is more like a honeymoon than anything else! i can understand why they get defensive, after all, we all want to hold on to our roots, and who doesnt love all the good things about BD. but what i would like to see is for brit-bangladeshis to accept the fact that they are more brit-bangladeshi than bangladeshi. they were born here, schooled here, they support england AND bangladesh in the world cup. the culture that they have in their adopted country since birth is equally valid, and an integral part of their identity. i dont think there should be any guilt in not wanting to go back to BD.
just my 2 cents
-shahpar
July 27th, 2007 at 11:58 am
This is interesting. Makes good sense to me. Didn’t see it in that angle before. Farhad
July 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
This a good discussion. As an NRB I know it would be hard to fit myself within the current work environment in Bangladesh sine I don’t have any work experience in BD. I think it might take couple of years or so to get used to in that kind of environment. I also think that peoples mentality are changing in BD gradually. Don’t forget that Bangladesh has a male ruled society where women don’t have much say on decison making. Another aspect as some of the posters pointed out is that the class and race difference in bangladeshi society. We the NRB’s always talk about this things because we are living in a different society and environment for years, thats how we or I should say most of us have a changed mentality. But were we stayed in BD we would be in the same shoe as our fellow Bangladeshi. It’s upto every individual whether he/she wants to go back to BD and contribute their brain and energy for the country and I don’t think we should criticise any one who’s not willing to go back. We the NRB’s always talk about different mentalities but I know that not all the NRB’s have a progressive mentality. I even know peiople living in UK/US and their mentality is way back from even current bangladeshi’s . But I know people in BD are chainging.. I have seen it and hopefully one day we will be able to go back to our motherland have live freely in a society where there would be no class or race different and people will have respect for each other….
July 27th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
A lot of you have compared expatriate Indians to our own, but I humbly beg to differ, the Indian psyche is very different then ours, the Indian level of patriotism is authentic and widespread, as for ourselves “most of us” don’t have that kind of patriotic feeling for our Country, just take a good looks at our politicians, it seems there is a competition among themselves of who can sell the country for a better price, I know lot of you will not appreciate my opinion but I am a realist and have learned to speak my mind no matter how uncomfortable it is. Some times even when an expatriate (a true patriot) wants to do good it becomes almost impossible for him to operate in a country where the people in charge make it difficult and uninviting to say the least
July 27th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
First, none of us have the right to speak for ALL the NRBs. It’s the prerogative of the INDIVIDUAL NRB whether s/he likes to go back or not. Patriotism has nothing to do here. Also patriotism has different meaning to different people. Some says, “patriotism is the last vestige of a scoundrel”, while others never hesitate to die for it. Jyoti is right when he says #26:
“Not everyone has to be an activist. Not everyone has to solve the world’s ill. So long as no one is infringing on anyone else, individual self-interest usually produces the greatest social benefits. But even if hard working and self-reliant NRBs don’t think of the broader society, they still contribute by their remittance.”
July 27th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
With due respect to all other bloggers, I would also put some points here. To me it’s very simple if you have the urge and passion to help your country or any cause you can do that from any part of the world. As I say it if you want to help Bangladesh you can even help Bangladesh from the moon.
Being in Bangladesh and helping Bangladesh could be more satisfactory and more appreciative but what about the millions of migrant workers and immigrant who are helping their family in Bangladesh to get their next meal.Aren’t they helping as much as the person working and earning the next bread for his family in Bangladesh?
This is 21st century, life is connected and the world has become a global village. As we need patriotic people in the country with the same proportion we need patriotic Bangladeshi abroad to protect the best interest of Bangladesh in the international arena.Be a bridge for jobs and business and promotion for the country.
I have equal respect for people who are here and people who are in Bangladesh and also for people who are planning to go back to the mother land and want to help in Bangladesh by being there.As the size of the five fingers are not equal so as the level of love,affection or passion for something or the country is not same in everybody. We should respect that and go forward with positive attitude.
To sum it up, if I am not a solution to project, I would never be the part of the problem ever in my life. If people don’t want to
go back and settle in Bangladesh, they should not hinders the process and be supportive and helper to the people who would do that with passion and emotions and love for the nation.
As Asif metioned in #26 for that gentle man may be its too late to decide if India is his destination but for some of us we still have time to decide. I am not promoting people to just go back out of emotion or love or just passion I promote people to go with solid plan.As, if I promote people to just jump to Bangladesh that would be a suicidal and hypocracy as my own six blood brothers staying in USA for decades would never go back either but the good part is that as they are not a solution to Bangladesh they are not even a problem for Bangladesh either and also not restricting me to go back to my mother land and cherish my dreams what ever I have. They are supportive to me and told me they would help by any means from here when I go back and as a family also give me the strenght to cherish my dream.
We should respect peoples individual decisions and short coming.As for me I respect everybody equally as long as they are not the destrucitive forces for the developement of Bangladesh, no mattter they live in BD or abroad.
As far as becoming a NRB voice in Bangladesh to influence the government we need to be united and work as an collective effort rather than individual. We have to make a fist and fight rather than just be individual. If we can form a national group of coalition in Bangladesh for Non-resident Bangladesh from all around the world in Bangladesh make it institutionalized and take it under the umbrella of Board of Invesment of Bangladesh and become a voice than we can avoid lots of trouble that comes to us when we decide to do business or do any private intiative in Bangladesh.We have to be a force.
Any taker on this? thats what NRI did in India. They have institutionalized the NRI group out of the public beraucracy and red tapism. Can we do this too? I know even in this blog there are lots of movers and shakers of Bangladesh, can they help the country in this noble cause?
Wish you all the best.Atleast we are identifying the problem here next would be to solve them.
Problem identified is 50% problem solved.
thanks
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
Listen,Learn and than lead with courage and honesty.
July 28th, 2007 at 10:36 am
How many issues one raises for their reasons of not returning, it should be okay as no one can be forced into, when they can live comfortably outside their mother land.
Good food, health care, education, working environment, corrupt policymakers, neighbors, mud, rain, filth you name it, can also justify, as we all look for a better living.
But exceptions have been made by many, few names are already given, what made them stick to the mud and filth. Often they had to go through humiliation and all unexpected.
If you have heard of him, who is called ‘King of Chicken’ within few years of his return from a prestigious Business school and who settled in a very remote corner of the country. The sandy arid plateau had nothing to offer for a reasonable life style, may be until today.
There should be many such examples. So, when we wonder what made him to leave all the comfort in life to settle for such a misery, it is simply impossible to fathom their urge in life.
It should be the way you frame your thinking and set your objective in life.
As I land in Dhaka find it difficult to live mainly because of its congestion and pollution and travel to my village or home town. Then within a week I miss my city life.
He is an environmentalist, returned to BD, fighting Multilateral donors, foreign corporate politics, etc. in fact living with hardcore poor. With a saying – today I can offer you ‘piajoo muri’ which (piajoo) I politely avoid to eat because of its oil, still fighting the establishment often risking his life and living, can I fathom his objective and kind of luxury in life.
The question raised on working environment - a good company is run by a good CEO but majority of the company is run by at best by a patriarch. Who made his fortune only resorting to not standard business practices but connections. How on earth he needs to treat you to extract best out of you.
I couldn’t make (return) it after many years of attempts, as I fear most the poverty and my wife doesn’t’ want to hear about my going back.
What I consider more pertinent here, as there is no way I possibly can pursue anyone to change his position, however, we still can contribute a lot in many ways - helping education, health care, employment, skill development and bringing cohesion (spreading good wisdom) in the society.
Dr. Badiul Alam Mazumder, we all can help.
We can pool our resources for a sustainable cause(not charity), as you claimed of your western expertise etc. lets see how you come up.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:09 am
This discussion is soul food,thoughtful and very serious.Serious discussions on BD are increasing hard to come by. There are lots of discussions but none of them are talking about the issues that really matter for the country.
Reading so many responses its clear to me that thinking people feels a burden of guilt when so many in our 144,000 SQ KM languish for lack of basic nessesities. Will they be better off if I am worse off? seems to be a subconsious thought. We all logically know, no matter what we personally, professionally sacrifice we may in our lifetime never see Bangladesh above a middle income country. I have been struggling with this very issue internally for some time now..I will just share some thoughts on how I choose to have peace and internal direction on real impact I can have on Bangladesh.
1. I accept that I will not change the faces of all poor in Bangladesh
2. I accept that every flood I will watch and morn as innocents die
3. I accept that children who beg infront of my car, I will meet them again when I am 45.
4. I accept that a new nation, had leaders who refused to live by the principles of leadership.
5. I accept that I must do everything humanly possibly to right this great wrong.
6. I accept the responsibility of loving my country from my adopted economy, to understand her, love her, to proudly call her Sonar Bangla (even though logically its an oxymoron)
7. I accept to accept her with all her faults, my motherland.
8. I accept its going to take time, take time but figure out your unique service to country.
What I am trying to say is accept Bangladesh as she comes, align your own life’s mission and figure out a way to serve her. Geographic location is sad argument for impedence. If geography is really the big impediment, go tell it to the jews.
July 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
From the diversity of views here, it is clear that there cannot be a simple generalized idea for NRB’s to go back. Everyone will decide based on their own life situation.
It is unfair for us to call into question people’s patriotism and altruism, it is better to create a situation where people would find it lucrative and attractive to go back, if not for their emotional or psychological needs. The tribe needs its members, as much as the members need the tribe, it is a symbiotic relationship. When the members can make the tribe stronger, then it can help the members more and its a positive feedback cycle. In this area, Bangladesh and its community in Bangladesh or overseas provide ample opportunities.
We have close to a million Bangladeshi in North America and probably more than that in UK. We could start by getting more organized here in these overseas communities. I have seen how organized the Korean and Chinese communities are and how well they are connected with their community in their mother countries. We could follow a similar approach.
In Los Angeles I have seen young Bangladeshi’s started working in Gas Stations, then some have owned small Liquor Stores, now many are moving into slightly larger businesses such as Car Wash, Motels etc. There are quite a few people such as professionals and established businessmen who have equity and accumulated cash capital, but do not have connection with free and capable individuals who are working at dead-end jobs and would rather own a business. A community run bank, where all of us could keep account and deposit our savings could help these would be entrepreneurs as it would be very easy for a Bangladeshi community bank to separate a good credit risk from a bad one, using information collected from informal human network in the community.
I think there is a quite a bit we could do to organize our overseas communities to help ourselves, the above is just one example. Similarly, we could also get involved in state-craft of Bangladesh, as I suggested in “generals cannot rule” thread in post #4. Once there is a better investment climate in Bangladesh, we could direct investments there through mutual funds or similar institutions, if the return is good and risk is acceptable.
As many like Kawser Jamal has pointed out that it is not important where we are physically, it is important that we do our best, in our career and in our finances, so that we are in a position to help the tribe from where we are, and it is for our own selfish reasons such as a better future for our children and grand children and I guess this would be called enlightened self interest. A highly developed Japan, Korea, China or India creates opportunities for these communities where ever they are physically located on the planet, so it is for Bangladesh.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:16 am
NRB can think of creating a venture capital out of their contribution through a bank or other suitable financial organisation. The main feature of this capital is it should be cheaper than conventional financing. This should lure hard core intrepreneurs for equity or current capital.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Look at it from another point of view. Unless a NRB in going back is going to significantly change the way Bangladesh is now, or create jobs for local talents, it is clearly unproductive for him / her to just go back and occupy a job that could have gone to an otherwise unemployed or underemployed Bangladeshi.
July 31st, 2007 at 9:45 am
Thank you Kaiser (#28) for weighing in with a dose of reality (for the record, Kaiser is also one of the “bidesh ferots” who have done rather well in BD).
Every time I see one of these discussions (that almost always become exercises in W&W — good one Kaiser!),I am reminded of a comment by Nasim Manzur (another returnee): “Listen, come back or don’t, your decision. We need you back here, but if you stay out, that’s fine too. Just don’t waste our time moaning about how everything is bad in BD, merely to assuage your guilt about not coming back.”
I agree with Kaiser that just a foreign degree or work experience doesn’t necessarily make an NRB a perfect job candidate in Bangladesh. There is a question of relevance and, from that perspective, I find this harping on about “high tech” skills limiting. Perhaps people like Kaiser could better enumerate what kind of skills are really needed. From my discussions with him (and others) I sense there is a pretty acute skill shortage at certain levels and certain sectors.
The point about class segmentation is also well made elsewhere. Kids like Zafar Sobhan, Almer, et al come from a higher strata (for want of a better word)of society that is better connected and can provide a safety net (if the pay is not commensurate to skills).
Finally, although the wife as the swing vote does have a ring of truth, I am forced to provide a counter example: Dr Omar Rahman went back, partly at the instigation of his wife. She just loves living in Bangladesh. Of course, he finds reason — pretty much every day — to say “hotobhaga desh” and suggests a sense of mission as a pretty strong requirement to stay in Bangladesh without losing hope or sanity.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:15 am
Does anyone know about what skills specifically Bangladesh has the most need of right now? If so, please enlighten us.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:09 am
I’m joining this discussion late and perhaps this has already been said.
I was just talking to a friend who’s doing his PhD here and went back for a bit to see his prospects. I asked him what my chances are if I went back. He’s like: “Chances are fine, but socially everyone thinks you’re a loser.”
“That’s really not right,” I replied.
“Yeah,” he agreed, “But that’s the way it is!”
Anyone else with this experience?
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 am
Hang on, AsifY, I don’t get why you would socially be considered a loser. Is it that people would think you had to go back because you couldn’t cut it abroad?
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
So (47),
I don’t know exactly what AsifY (46) meant, but — at least from personal experience — I could attest to your statement. I suppose it’s not too surprising, but as AsifY said, “that’s the way it is!”
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm
So,
I really didn’t ask him about the details. I don’t think he didn’t know much either, just the “vibes” he got from people when he said that he was thinking of coming back. I was referring to moving back permanently, not say for a vacation or even short-term work.
I reported th conversation exactly as I had it. He’s the one who said “that’s the way it is”. Once again, I don’t approve of this, was just wondering if it was true or not.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I wasn’t suggesting that you do approve, AsifY. I was just wondering what your friend might have meant, and I did get that you meant moving back permanently rather than for a holiday. It may be true to some extent, but in my experience, it’s true of the kind of people whose opinions don’t mean much anyway…at least not to me or, I would imagine, to people who would be ready to put up with far more significant issues when moving back than the opinions of some shallow individuals.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:50 am
So,
You’re quite right. But some of these “shallow individuals” might just be our friends and families. In which case, it would definitely hamper the well-being and self-esteem of returnees.
No, I know you didn’t mean to suggest that at all. Just wanted to clarify. Online conversations can be tricky :).
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:10 am
Where Deshantori ends, Phiriye Ano Bangladesh begins
Mridul Chowdhury reflects upon making the film
One boat, 42 lives; 17 dead, 25 waiting to die — they have been floating on the sea for about 10 days without food or water. One looks at another as potential “food” and wonders which part of a dead-body may be easier to swallow, while another uses his last breath to look for something sharp enough to cut up a dead-body.
This was the experience that a group of young Bangladeshis had to go through as they undertook an illegal journey in early 2005 to reach Spain. They trailed through the Sahara Desert — sometimes by a jeep, sometimes on foot — with hardly enough to eat or drink, and always afraid of being shot at by border patrols. After barely surviving the desert, and spending weeks in jails in horrendous conditions, the group had to take a small rubber boat to cross the mighty Mediterranean Sea. The boat’s engine stopped after a few hours and they were stranded on the boat for about 10 days until the Algerian authorities rescued them. Some survived to tell the heart-wrenching story of the entire journey — the inhuman suffering in having to drink one’s own urine, the pain of watching a brother or a friend slowly starve to death, and the horror of making the cruel choice between death and eating up body parts of a dead friend.
The making
It was in March 2006 that we started interviewing the survivors of that harrowing journey. What unfolded was a picture that we did not quite expect — almost none of the 26 people who went on that journey came from families suffering abject poverty. Most had TV in their houses and many had other family members sending money from abroad; two even came from a middle class family with own apartment in the heart of Dhaka. Clearly poverty was not a major factor behind these people taking such life-and-death risks in trying to emigrate to a developed country. But then, what was?
Our quest to find the answer to this is what forms the underlying basis of Deshantori. In the process of making the film, we roamed across the nation interviewing the youth from various walks of life asking their views on Bangladesh’s future, their possible role in it, and their reasons for wanting to migrate so desperately. What we found was a deep-rooted frustration caused by the endemic injustice that in their minds was almost a permanent phenomenon. Widespread corruption, extortion by politicians and their allies, unpunished crimes, armed politics in university campuses — these are only parts of why they felt that they do not see any future in Bangladesh. One interviewee summarised the widespread psyche of many young people in Bangladesh: “With my qualifications, I cannot do anything worthwhile in Bangladesh; if I can go abroad, I know I can.”
Even those who came from relatively well-off families and had the ability to gather some decent amount of money did not seem to have the confidence to use it for any investment in the country. Rabiul, one of the survivors of the journey, had borrowed a substantial sum of money from his relatives. He said during the interview: “If I were to ask my relatives money for starting a business in Bangladesh, none of them would give me money, not even my parents. If I tell them that I will use the money to go abroad, only then will they give me money.” We found that the thought that “Bangladesh is not a country worth living in if there is a way out” is quite deeply embedded in the psyche of much of the young generation.
However, that was not all that we found.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/08/03/d708031503121.htm
Mridul Chowdhury is currently a graduate student at Harvard University. Updates on upcoming Deshantori screenings can be obtained from: http://www.deshantori.com.
I thought this was relevant. The movie trailer at youtube is here:
http://www.deshantori.com/trailer.html
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:13 am
Nah, AsifY, I have decided that you have insulted me under the guise of “online conversations can be tricky” and have used a smiley face to throw me off guard. I insist on a duel (read: fistfight) to be held somewhere convenient for the both of us. I suggest a rock in the middle of the Atlantic. It will have to be big enough to hold me and my DP London posse. We will come, we will kick a**, we will return quietly triumphant. And then I shall ask you on the blog why you have made friends in BD with shallow people. But I shall ask nicely.
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
:D@So …. trust me after some of the online encounters I’ve had in the last month or so, I needed that laugh.
Perhaps I’m already in London….. in spirit.. maybe we can meet at Brick Lane or perhaps the Bayswater side of Hyde Park (my favourite side)… just a suggestion.. or perhaps, more provocation.
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:27 pm
I only go to Brick Lane when I’m tryin’ to keep it real. And I only go to Bayswater when I’m having delusions of grandeur. But I shall be happy to meet your spirit and introduce him/it to my friends. You may already know some of them.
August 4th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Distance should not be a factor. All is important if we are really contributing to the social, political and economic development of our motherland.
No matter what it is, in the Westland I am not afraid of expressing my opinions to the highest pitch of my voice. It helps to keep our soul clean and remain “non-hypocritical”. Whereas in Desh, “jodi lokey kichu boley” - may it be a cliché, I am threatened when it comes to speaking bluntly.
Bottom line: you can only do all this tall talking(s) since you are not in Desh. Dhaka has changed my out-spoken loved ones too. Strictly, they now avoid personal attacks or perceived criticism in the context of getting excommunicated from the society. No matter how truthful and honest you are in the heart, you will never be appreciated there. The total societal pressure determines how I should behave. “be yourself” is no longer valid at home.
That does not mean that I don’t want to go home. I am still home-sick after being here for over 3 years. These days I don’t think about returning home for good. I have made up my mind. I will help BD from distant. In this techno-era, living that dream is not unworldly.
I don’t want to change myself. I am too innocent to live in BD!
Shall we start thinking about changing or improving the mindsets of people?
I want to tell my Deshi friends that there is no wrong to be true, to be honest.
In the end honesty always pays off.
August 6th, 2007 at 7:43 am
So,
After living in BD for last 3 months I must admit it is hard returning to and living in desh. Not necessarily due to any material discomfort but huge differences in mentality that develops on many issues. Perople are not receptive to changes here so easily.
As regarding to skill shortages I have come across project management, senior level finance are two areas. I am really surprised to see number of foreigners working in BD especially Indians and Pakistanis. I am sure these post could have easily been filled by NRBs.