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Yo Estoy Aqui
Julian
Bailey
During my
visit in Spain, I had the pleasure of
meeting a man who is
from India. Salil had spent three weeks visiting his brother who had
moved there five years prior. After spending those weeks visiting his
brother, he decided that he wanted to stay in Barcelona, Spain. When I
asked him why he would choose Spain over India, he simply replied
“Spain is a much better place to live for my interest industry”. I
later learned that he was a chef who had been training in India, and
came to Barcelona to pursue a career in hotel and restaurant
management.
When Salil told me his
story, it reminded me about our class
conversations regarding India and emigration. In Global studies, our
port-to-port lecturer, Professor Prasad spoke to us about India and its
problem with the ‘brain drain’. In Anna Lee Sexanian’s article “From
Brain Drain to Brain Circulation” she explains that “The brain drain
has been a curse for developing countries like India”. She explains
that during the post World War II era “the best and brightest routinely
left for the economic opportunities and higher standards of living in
the West.” My friend Salil can definitely be considered part of those
emigrants that make up the ‘brain drain’. Although there has been a
significant reversal of the ‘brain drain’ in the last ten years due to
improvement in India’s economy, people like Salil still venture into
the west in search of greater opportunity.
After searching for
signs of migration in Spain, Salil appeared to be
the perfect story. I proceeded to ask him about his migration process,
and what it was like for him to leave home and go to another country.
Salil, who openly admitted to being of upper caste explained that he
had been easily granted a visa to enter Spain. If he can secure
employment within a year he will be able to reside there with his
brother permanently.
After my short
conversation with Salil, he appeared to be very
intelligent young man who spoke four different languages. I can only
hope for him that he will be successful in pursuing his career in hotel
and restaurant management. Maybe one day he will be part of the brain
drain reversal and contribute his skills by reinvesting them in his
homeland.
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