The Land of Young Hypocrites (From Nepalnews guest column)
We do have an unfortunate poverty and illiteracy rate, but Nepal’s problem isn’t at the bottom but rather at the top
By Nishchal M.S. Basnyat
As Nepali youths line up along the passport lines and security checks at the Tribhuwan International Airport with the hope of living the cinematic “American dream,†they leave behind a country tattered and torn in political pandemonium. With heavy-hearted patriotism they depart and ritualistically hang their Nepali flags in their college dorm rooms. Yet, the ambition of going back to Nepal and taking charge of their beloved homeland becomes only a distant priority once they taste the freedom, democracy, and hamburgers of the materialistically satisfying life abroad.
Such is the perilous future of the nation; even with the Maoist insurgency, political turmoil, and economic crises resolved, the country faces another monumental obstacle: patriotic hypocrites. As the trend of educating children outside the country increases, what happens if this minute population of youngsters who are wealthy, bright, and fortunate enough to go overseas doesn’t return? The result: something I like to call “the great divide.â€
A country where the educated elite are ready to point fingers at the government, but none of whom are ready to work for it. A nation where all the sophisticated citizens seem to know the solution to the country’s troubles, but no one is intrepid enough to return and work for five or six thousand rupees per month. What happened to all the patriotism? What happened to all the “Jai Nepal†rhetoric? In the face of self-satisfaction, a country’s cry seems trivial. So how can we simply blame politicians when we’ve also forgotten out promises? The Nepalis that go abroad usually do so with a one-way ticket, only to return for brief visits. Unfortunately, these are also the same people that seem to have the loudest voices and seem to know all the answers to Nepal’s political friction. Such brain drain will impair Nepal in ways unimaginable to us now.
Think about our future government. No matter how many shrewd businessmen, erudite journalists, “well-informed†NGO-workers or caring human rights activists Nepal might have, for a country to prosper, we will need a strong government. For a strong government we need the best to actually work for the government. Who will be the future bureaucrats of the country? The era in the later half of the 20th century for Nepal when the best and the brightest were enthusiastic about a post in the government is over. The educated, capable and accomplished are no longer willing to work for the government for such nominal salaries. Instead, those who were unable to get jobs elsewhere or those who were the least competent will be running the show, further widening “the great divide†between the privileged few and the government, thus giving birth to an intellectual civil war in the near future.
Of course, there could be counter-arguments from nationalistic charlatans who claim that a flood of brainpower from Nepal to other countries will not affect Nepal. Some claim that in countries like India and China, where millions have gone abroad for work and study, there is not only development but these nations are already emerging super powers. Although it is easy to get carried away in such romantic optimism, pragmatically speaking, we cannot compare ourselves with these two giants just because we share borders. Likewise, we cannot compare Nepal’s “human capital flight†with that of India or China. If millions of Indians go overseas for education and employment, millions who are equally as educated and capable will stay back home. As much competition as there is to get into the best American and European Universities, there is even greater competition to enter educational institutions like Beijing University or IIT. Such conditions foster motivation to stay at home, which Nepal lacks.
India and China also enjoy a geographically decentralized reservoir of brainpower, whereas in Nepal only those from Kathmandu and a handful from other cities are privileged enough to receive the appropriate amount of education to go outside the country. Therefore, with every Nepali youngster that leaves the country, Nepal slides further into difficulty. Of course there are those that do return to the country and much praise should go their way. But this is a minuscule number. Even for the nominal amount of bold youngsters that return with the readiness to work for their government, passing the primitive and strictly Nepali-based ‘lok seba’ government exams is an insurmountable task.
There is also the logical argument that money being sent back home from Nepalis abroad is the only thing sustaining the Nepali economy. Although this argument has great credence, we cannot take the fact for granted and must move ahead with long-term goals to bring back our educated and capable few. The overwhelming population is made up of those with the determination and patriotism to return, but lack the initiative. Although taking a complete U-turn from a brain drain is an evolutionary process and not revolutionary, there are three innovative approaches we can still take to head towards the right direction. While criticizing the young educated elite for not being true to their country, we should also acknowledge the government’s errors.
First, the archaic “lok seba†exams will have to be reformed and made less of a daunting task to those who were educated under the English based system. This is an effective way of reaching out to those that are actually willing to work for the government. Second, we must now adopt what is referred to as the ‘Taiwan method’. A couple of decades ago, Taiwan, in the midst of economic and political instability, called back a handful of Taiwanese Princeton University graduates and promised them the post of political and economic advisors. With full gusto they implemented novel yet pragmatic policies that were highly successful and helped to catapult Taiwan to what it is today.
Nepal has far too many brilliant and determined youngsters for the country to be suffering like it is today. We do have an unfortunate poverty and illiteracy rate, but Nepal’s problem isn’t at the bottom but rather at the top. The ‘Singapore method’ is another approach Nepal can adopt to lure in the country’s best while simultaneously reducing corruption in higher offices of power. In Singapore, at the height of corruption, the country implemented a unique strategy of paying its government workers, especially those in higher posts, very large salaries. This will not only provide a strong monetary incentive for the best to join the government, but will also alleviate the need for corruption within the government. Such innovative approaches are key, not only in enticing the young, but also in long-term development of the nation. The third approach to reverse this brain drain, which stemmed from a late night conversation with a young Pakistani friend at Harvard, seems to be the most pioneering. Amidst mushrooming manpower agencies and student-help institutions in Nepal that help export migrant workers and students, why not start an agency that promises a future in Nepal for Nepalis living abroad?
The idea might seem illogical at first thought, but this has worked not only in India, but also in Pakistan. The idea is not to take advantage of the booming IT market, which Nepal doesn’t have, but rather set up agencies that can persuade organisations like UNDP, UNESCO, UNICF, CARE Nepal, and other INGOs to hire returning Nepalis to fill their domestic employees quota.
Such agencies in Pakistan, started only a few years ago, have been successful in bringing back hundreds of educated nationals with the promise of well-paying jobs at home. Even in Nepal a thousand dollars salary will go a lot further than a salary in the US that is three times that. Such approaches will also persuade the large crowd of Nepalis living abroad who are working in unsatisfying odd jobs.
Regardless of government efforts, ultimately the choice belongs to this particular age group of twenty and thirty-year olds that can make the difference. This next generation has the toilsome task of repairing and renovating a country that was raped and dishonored by the self-satisfying generation that came before it. The next generation will be no different if it forgets its duty towards the troubled native soil.
We might be poor, yet we have been blessed with a part of this world that is rich in a myriad of resources, natural, and now also intellectual. Both these resources must be utilized if the country is to get back up on its feet. There is only one thing that can set this country on a long-term path to prosperity: selflessness of the young. Most of these youngsters left the nation with the promise of returning, unfortunately as the nation dies a slow death, many have already forgotten their promise.
(Currently studying in La Sorbonne (Paris), Basnyat is a student at Harvard University and can be reached at nbasnyat@fas.harvard.edu)
