Let's
talk about brain-drain before immigration reforms
Smart
anti-immigration exponents love it when Doctors, Nurses, Scientists and
looted government funds from third world countries slip in through their
boarders to enrich the American economy. But they are so ignorant to assess
the two-sided repercussions.
By Anthony Obi Ogbo
Immigration reforms in the United States has been bastardized so badly that every politician has some kind of solution or the other. Even most candidates in next week's ballot who have no convincing winning strategies hold on to criminalizing this cause to woo conservative votes. Confused voters are also mired in this issue, under the influence of exaggerated media campaign on broken boarders - attributing all surmounting socio-political problems to influx of illegal immigrants. No wonder, in polls released by the Houston Chronicle, 52.1% of likely voters consider War in Iraq and Afghanistan as the most pressing issues facing the country, while 20.5% believed Illegal Immigration and Open Boarders needed to top that problem list.
Well, folks like me who originated from the jungle never saw any boarders since I comfortable flew into New York in a 12-hour first class Nigerian Airways flight, and this of course applies to most immigrants who came from countries not sharing boarders with the United States. However, the big question about illegal immigration has remained unattended to by our law makers, while they burn tax-payers money on fruitless deliberations on how to deport millions of undocumented residents, or how to send them back to their home countries and ask them to reapply for entry. Some even suggested denying their born-in-America kids citizenship and any necessary benefits. Well, may be that the law makers should start addressing questions about brain drain which sucks manpower from these poor countries to boost Western Imperialism and nurture their economy.
Does it border our law makers that Africa, for instance, has lost a third of its skilled professionals in recent decades to the West and that it is costing this Black continent about $4b dollars a year to replace our stolen professionals with expatriates from the same Western countries? A report, by the Pollution Research Group at Natal University in South Africa, found that this trend, known as brain-drain, has strangled growth on the continent. It has also nurtured poverty and delayed economic development. According to the report, Africa lost an estimated 60,000 middle- and high-level managers between 1985 and 1990, and about 23,000 qualified academic professionals emigrate each year in search of better working conditions. Worse - while the continent dwindle in corruption perpetrated by the West, visas are granted to dishonest government officials who cart away billions of dollars from their various constituencies to build the Western economy. Furthermore, expatriate replacements for the departing Africans, concluded the report, are very often more expensive than African professionals.
A situation which makes sustainable economic and environmental development even harder. A South African Education Minister Kadar Asmal once accused British recruitment agencies of "raiding" the country of teachers it could afford to loose. Agencies in New York have raided West African countries recruiting well and better trained health professionals, offering them residencies and all kinds of financial incentives to flee their regions. The United States Government even has a special Visa designed for such run-away professionals. Canada once touted it "Shoe-Me-Your Money-Visa," which simply welcomes with red carpet immigrants coming to invest large money funds. Origin of these funds are usually not questioned.
I have a solution for lawmakers who are still grappling with dots-connection on how to control influx of immigrants: You cannot take away the scepter that holds the development of these poor countries - I mean their professionals, their natural resources, their money (in form of looted funds) and prevent their suffering masses from coming here - whether legally or illegally. Until this pressing issue is addressed in its entirety by our heartless and incongruous law makers in Washington, these poor countries should reciprocate brain drain with some kind of human shield - that is, build gigantic boats and start bringing their poor disadvantaged masses to United States for greener pastures.
o
Editor, Anthony Ogbo is Vice President (Print) of Houston Association of
The Black Journalists.
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