The Migrant Mind-Set Of Sri Lankans
By Roel Raymond
Whether it is the 490 Tamils that fled aboard the MV Sun Sea to Canada, the receptionist at your office that dutifully clicks on every ‘Apply for Green Card Today’ advert online or the distant relative’s relative who attempted to smuggle himself out to Italy by boat, the migrant mind-set in Sri Lanka is the same; going abroad means greener pastures.
The reasons for leaving, wanting to leave, waiting to leave, trying to leave and thinking about leaving are many. Harsha Jayawardene, a banker by profession was clear. “I want to give my children a better education” he said. “The local education system is most definitely not up to standard and the private education system is a massive drain on funds.”
“The education system in itself is a mess and lagging far behind international norms” he said, adding bitterly that while he would “like to live in his country” the “flawed system” made it impossible. As such, his wife and he were working on using their energies to migrate to New Zealand, where he had ‘relatives’ that would sponsor him.
Sameera Munasinghe echoed the same sentiments. “I studied in the local stream here” he said, “but after going to the United Kingdom for my higher studies, I saw what a difference in the system there was. Here you are made to learn from textbooks, there you actually learn in a very different and interactive way, its a whole new way of thinking”.
The difference between the two systems of education wasn’t the only thing that attracted him, Sameera said. The vast socio-economic differences and a greater level of ‘personal freedom’ to do “whatever I want to do and be whomever I want to be” added to his intrigue with the UK. He is now seriously considering shifting his attention to “finding ways to leave the country somehow”.
Andre Perera is an accountant by day and musician by night. He longs to be able to play music professionally, but knows that there is no opportunity for it in Sri Lanka. “The first thing is that there are no proper music schools”, he said. “The other thing is that it is not easy to reach international levels of professionalism here”.
“Its easy enough to be popular in this country”, he said dispassionately, “but to become a true professional is an entirely different thing. There is no way that I can earn enough to stay alive and play as much as I need to in order to make it big in this country. I plan on leaving. Its a risk to take, but its better than nothing”.
Pritiva Tirumagal’s story was different. Having lost her father at a young age and her mother later on in life, Pritiva was ‘forced’ by circumstances to marry fast into an Indian family. “I had to marry” she said quietly. “I had a younger sister to look out for, and as the older sister I had to marry first’’.
Why an Indian family? “I didn’t want to live in Sri Lanka”, she said simply. “At that time (when I got married), the war was not over and things were very different. It wasn’t easy for a Tamil, especially two Tamil girls to live in Colombo alone. We also couldn’t be a burden on our relatives, and so I agreed to an arranged marriage and left the country”.
Natalie de Silva, a divorced mother of three also cited social reasons for wanting to the leave the country. “There is a certain stigma attached to a divorced woman in this country”, she said. “The male dominated culture is such that it inevitably becomes the woman’s fault for not being able to ‘keep’ a husband”.
“I have relations in Australia and I plan to migrate”, she said. “Not only do I plan to migrate but I am also looking forward to the day I get out of this country. I will be able to hold my head up high and work and earn enough to keep my family afloat. My children will be well educated and especially not have to deal with the unhealthy social restrictions that come in the name of ‘culture’”.
Chandrani, a house cleaner, is also trying to leave. With a nonworking, abusive husband at home and five mouths to feed, Chandrani works day and night — often in two shifts — to cover the family’s combined expenses. She has a brother in the U.A.E. who has promised to help bring her across and Chandrani says she is desperate.
She explained that she worked herself to the bone in order to provide for her family. She said that although her husband was ‘useless’ she could not leave him for what would “a woman without a husband do in this society?” She explained that as long as she was in this country she would need him for her “protection” and for the protection of her three daughters.
She added however, that she would give it all up for a chance to earn more and have her children safe and with her. Chandrani has no idea of how the migration would come about, but says she has faith that ‘God would save her from her plight.’ At the very least, she said, if she were unable to go, she would send her oldest son, who would “no doubt” get the family across.
Shifani worked in the house of a business family in Kuliyapitiya. Being extremely intelligent, she soon learnt to speak English and basic computer skills. She got married to Mohammed, a bricklayer’s assistant, who lived in the same village and the couple had two children. Although Shifani’s marriage and family life is going well, she says the lack of jobs has made it hard to survive.
“There is no steady work for my husband”, she said. “His income fluctuates. I can no longer work all the time in the businessman’s house I grew up in because I have two children of my own who need me. I now wake up early in the morning and make string-hoppers to put in the shops so that there is a little extra income. It’s not easy”.
In 2007, Shifani and Mohammed put together their meagre savings, borrowed money from relatives and paid an agent enough money to ensure their departure from Sri Lanka. The agent disappeared with the money. The couple now have loans to pay, in addition to the day-to-day battle they face to feed their two children.
Shifani bemoans the lack of opportunity in the country. “If I had the chance to be educated, if my family didn’t expect me to be married at a certain age, I would be in a very different place right now”. Mohamad was vociferous about the lack of a system that can be trusted. “We have no one to go to”, he said. “The government doesn’t care and people don’t care”.
“I don’t want to and will never beg”, he said bitterly, “but even though I am willing to work, there are no jobs that will pay me what it takes to keep this family fed. I am now considering going away, even alone. I can get my family to wherever I go within a number of years. It will be a sacrifice, but what’s to be done?”
Suranga, a beach boy, has already left the country and says he will never come back. He had met a young girl from Greece who was holidaying in Sri Lanka and the two were — predictably — soon involved in a romantic affair. But when the girl left, she took him with her. “She understood”, he said simply.
“We hang around at the beach and make friends with tourists because it is the only way to earn a decent amount of money. We have no skills, no proper education and no proper job opportunities. The jobs offered in this country are stereotypical and mainstream and there is no diversity. In order to earn we are tied down doing something useless for nine hours of the day’’.
Suranga doesn’t feel bad about leaving the country with a girl, although he knows that “people say things”. He explained that in spite of what people said, he was glad to be out of this country and out of the narrow social and economic scales that restricted him. “I only miss my beach”, he said, promising that he would be back, on holiday. While there is a steady influx of tourists into this island, equal amounts of her own people are looking for ways to escape. The reasons are economic, social and political. Corruption is rampant, there is no social security system. There are few ways to earn money, to be free, to be a professional.
The war is over, a relative peace has dawned but the migrant mind-set of almost every Sri Lankan remains the same. All across the board, be they Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim or Burgher, they want to migrate! It is almost as if it is a psyche of Sri Lankans.
Simply do not understand the migrant mind set of Sri Lankans..You leave your country to live in other countries where the White man looks down on you…Will the respects you have in your country can be gained in these countries..No way..You are someone in your country but in another you are just another migrant even if you are citizen unless you have blue eyes and blond hair..
Only some are ”somebody” in this country. The vast majority are powerless. They go abroad and are offered a vast array of assistance to help them settle in, start a new life. I am not talking about Arabia, I’m talking about the desirable places in the West. The elites never leave their homelands because they can never have elsewhere the good life they already have here. And those places have strong rules against racism. So you find people of Sri Lankan origin designing spacecraft for NASA, building bridges, designing eco-friendly vehicles, in very high positions in academia and governments and many live in the best neigbourhoods in their cities. I have never heard them complaning about “white man looking down on them”. On the contrary, they command high respect. I, for one, will not say sour grapes.
What is there to understand?
Sri Lanka is not a paradise for her citizen. It is hell, ruled by tyrants who beg, borrow and openly squanderer without an iota of shame. There is no law and order and no voice to speak. Everyone, including the Sinhalese wants to flee for good but they give you bullshit instead of the real reasons for wanting to do so.
They send their women abroad as maids for a share of foreign exchange but provide no security or protection whatsoever even when these women approach their embassies with complaints of rape, torture and murder. These **** suckers of Sri Lankan government do not wish to challenge or embarrass their source of income.
They don’t want you to question them either. Instead, temporarily give up all your humanitarian outlooks and concerns; come as tourists; stay out of politics; eat, drink and get yourself a nice tan; get a massage and f**k their young boys and girls without questioning or being concerned about their age and go back to your country. By the way, when you go back write and say only good things about Sri Lanka and Sinhalese.
Is that really complicated?
It’s true that all countries have problems, but some more than others. And some places are less corrupt, less dangerous and more fair than others. Some places respect the rule of law; in others its a joke. In some countries, ministers storm media establishments with kudu karaya gangsters and tie the powerless to trees and humiliate them. And they are untouchcable! In some countries, it’s not what you know but who you know that matters where prospects are concerned. In some countries, if the powerless have a problem with the powerful, they dare not walk into a police station to lodge a complaint. In some countries, a woman can walk the road or go in a bus without being the target of obscene harassment. In some countries, people follow road rules. Some countries have laws against uncivilized rubbish disposal. Some countries are more clean and healthy than others. In other countries, things are in general far better than here. So some people might prefer to live in such countries. And 2,500 years of history is just that — history. People are living in the here and now and some want a better present, more than a glorious history. (And no one knows what life was like for ordinary people in the past. We know only about the elite and their power and glory.) So why vilify those who went abroad and made a better life for themselves than what this country could ever offer them?
It’s true that all countries have problems, but some more than others. And some places are less corrupt, less dangerous and more fair than others. Some places respect the rule of law; in others its a joke. In some countries, ministers storm media establishments with kudu karaya gangsters and tie the powerless to trees and humiliate them. And they are untouchcable! In some countries, it’s not what you know but who you know that matters where prospects are concerned.
In some countries, if the powerless have a problem with the powerful, they dare not walk into a police station to lodge a complaint. In some countries, a woman can walk the road or go in a bus without being the target of obscene harassment. In some countries, people follow road rules. Some countries have laws against uncivilized rubbish disposal. Some countries are more clean and healthy than others. In other countries, things are in general far better than here. So some people might prefer to live in such countries.
In this country, if the powerless have a problem with the powerful, they dare not walk into a police station to lodge a complaint. In this country, a woman can’t walk the road or go in a bus without being the target of obscene harassment. In some countries, people follow road rules. Some countries have laws against uncivilized rubbish disposal. Some countries are more clean and healthy than others. In other countries, things in general are far better than in this country. So some people might prefer to live in such countries.
This article highlights the mindset of people in an island desiring to leave it one day for greener pastures. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everyone should be free to decide what they want to achieve in life. The country has had a serious lack of good political leaders since its independence from the Brits in 1948. There is no vision, no planning, no recognition of professionals who are absolutely essential for the nation’s development. Despite the 50 years since independence most Sri Lankan’s seem to have a subserviant mindset thinking that foreigners and foreign countries are much better than their eminently qualified fellow countrymen and their fantastic island paradise. The only exception seems to be their self belief in their expertise in cricket (well proven too). Even in that the country has not had a single native born national cricket coach! Go figure!
Not everyone has this mindset. But having said that Sri Lanka has been ravaged by war. A war created by our politicians. I grew up in a country that burned during the 83 riots. A young girl a neighbhour died on her way to work by a LTTE bomb. She was preganant with her second child. Our experiences in this war torn country leads us to want to flee this hell hole. Eventhough the war is now over we have the most violent and corrupt government. We elected this government because no other more decent and tolerant alternative could do what has been done to defeat and wipe out the LTTE. Now we live with the consequences. Instead of hope we see more of the same. All the while the cost of living keeps going up while the country sinks to new depths at the hands of inept thugs.
hehehheehe . . Sunday Leader could not dare to publish my earlier comment. That says it all . . . !
Can anyone in Sri Lanka openly criticize the Sri Lankan government and get away with it?
Welcome to the only place in the world ruled by paranoid schizophrenics! That is our 60 years of history. 60 years of rule by traitors, thugs, bigots, liars, murderers, and officials who squander state properties.
If Sunday Leader has to write, write about why the numb-skulls of Sri Lanka repeatedly keep electing people like these to the parliament, instead of “Migrant Mindset”.
Why are the Sri Lankans incapable of recognizing statesmanship, decency, and leadership qualities in another Sri Lankan and elect him to power?
How can you blame the mindset of migration of general public when considering the acts of JVP, LTTE and successive governments as well as disparity between Srilanka and other developed countries in terms of the economic development. For any inteligent person in the country it is very clear that things are not going to change for good in near future. So what do you expect? I am not sure about the honesty of the people who claim that they stay back because of the patritism! May be there are few but not in tens of thousands.
The main reasons why people want to leave the country, are that firstly, there is no law and order. Two MPs were recently assaulted by policemen, inside a police station, and the magistrate remanded the MPs, who were released by a higher court! This is unheard of in any other country and shows the level of impunity. Police murder citizens who antagonise them, and also kill those arrested on various pretexts. Murder in custody – by police and prison officers is now common and have been documented by UN experts, but noone cares.
17 journalists who antagonised the government have been killed during past six years, but noone has been arrested.
People regularly disappear and again noone cares. White Vans even now abduct people and again noone cares.
Secondly, the system of education is rotten to the core. Teachers do not teach anything worthwhile in schools, but teach only during tuition classes. Children mostly of affluent parents/politicians attend private ‘international’ schools and are educated in english and prepare for entry into schools/universities abroad.The universities are places of unrest due to indiscipline and teaching is such that only the most bright students survive.
Thirdly, we are indebted to the hilt and our resources are still being wasted on political ventures, by corruption and mismanagement. We must be the only country where a top beaurocrat punished by the supreme court for fraud, is reinstated as head of the public service, and an accountant unqualified in economics is head of the central bank!
There are many more reasons why people want to run away to other countries to live and prosper even as “second class” citizens. Those who are contemptuous of such a life are out of touch with reality.
Roel Raymond’s judgemental and cynical portrayal of Sri Lanka as a nation of migrants, conveniently ignores the larger picture. Why? Because he expects his bumbling, fuzzy observations/comments to be a reflection of our ”mindset”.
It is best he changes his mindset first. The mindset of ignorance. The mindset of cynicism.
He would have us believe, that outward migration is a disease that has infected just us Sri Lankans. He would want us to think it is such a shame.
Oh well, if it were, many of the world’s continents would be be bare. America would not be a nation; indeed Australia would not be a country.
In fact, from the supposedly wealthy Australia, which ironically calls itself the lucky country, people still flee for better prospects. Australian emigration data show that in the last six months of 2009, 40,509 left for good. Permanently. This must be a shocker for those of the calibre of Roel, who provide us dim-witted analysis.
And wait, nearly 40 per cent of that number was Professionals! Not domestic helpers. Another 16 percent were managers! By Golly… another jolt for Roel! Why we wonder they are leaving? Are the kangaroos invading the city centres. Have the poison toads infiltrated their water taps? No Roel, they are ECONOMIC MIGRANTS; migrants heading for Oceania, Asia, Europe and elsewhere, seeking greener pastures. Just like Sri Lankans and million of others in the world. Such as:
1) About 10 million Filipinos who have left for work. In another 20 years, this number is projected to rise to 36.7 million (to put that in conctext, the numer would ladd up to more than Hong Kong’s and Sri Lanka’s population combined). Most of them are in the 25-44 year age group. Young, productve people.
2) From the UK, 243,000 left permanently in 2008 alone; from Switzerland 53,000 left that same year. From Norway, 15,000 left for good.
3) Six million Indonesian women are working overseas.
4) It was estimated a few years ago that of 130,000 engineers in the US, 30,000 were Chinese. Chinese began to go to North America in 1849. In fact, the Chinese name for San Francisco is gold mountain. They went to prosepct for gold; the British Columbia section of Canada’s Canadian Pacific Railway was built by Chinese immigrants. And China’s outward migration requires more space than this site allows.
Cynics such as Roey Raymond needs should know than we Sri Lankans have a global outlook, and we are a part of the human face of globalisation.
@Kapila Bandara If the ‘larger picture’ you speak of is the fact that people all over the world are migrating in search of greener pastures, then you are possibly right. I don’t know. But that is because I am not speaking of the ‘larger picture”. but of the the smaller picture, ‘our picture’, that tells the story of the Sri Lankan migrant mindset. Why would I talk want to write about the rest of the world’s migratory habits?
There are clearly a lot of Tamils who move to different countries for economic reasons as stated in this article. However vast numbers of those people arrive and try to claim refugee status instead of applying as immigrants.
That is simply taking advantage of the the host countries generousity and drains the funds reserved for those who are true refugees.
Just because you are a struggling musician who wants to be able to dedicate more time to your art and hopefully make it big, or want to live in a cleaner country, or want better free healthcare or education, or want to be more financially secure is not a valid reason for seeking refuge in a different country. ( examples taken from the article)
If those are the types of reasons that make you want to move then take the proper route and apply legally to enter the host country. Try to remember that EVERY country is in recovery mode following a recession and are not immune to poverty either.
In Canada we have record numbers of homelessness, unemployment, hospital and school closings all due to lack of funds even though we pay half of our wages in taxes. We have huge numbers of residents who are poverty striken but because of our lax immigration and refugee programs we are flooded with people who prefer to take the route of asylum seeker which comes with all the frills without having to contribute a dime.
Yes, some countries have better schools, medical care etc. but we pay through the teeth for it, it didn’t come free. Everyone pays for the social programs etc. that we enjoy in our country, even the poor.
The point I’m trying to make is that people seen to think that everything is just rosey in first world countries but the reality is that at this time even they are struggling to keep their own populations working and healthy. There comes a time when even those countries cannot take in any more people until they get back on their feet and can properly care for the population already in the country.
A lot of countries are reaching that stage, and when that happens all of the good things that make people want to move there suffer cutbacks, including healthcare and schools, etc. Growth is good but not when it happens so quickly that their own people suffer the consequences.