Face it, foreign talent's much needed
By Neville Stack
March 29, 2008
By Neville Stack
March 29, 2008
IT'S OFTEN hard to live with them. But even harder to live without them.
They are called expats or migrants, guest workers.
They are called expats or migrants, guest workers.
Whatever the name, many countries have come to rely on them. Heavily.
In my time, I was one: An expat expert, head-hunted by this newspaper group to train journalists, to advise on writing and ultimately to be a prolific correspondent for their newspapers.
But I was struck then, as now, by the reliance Singapore places on workers from other countries.
I am certainly not complaining, for I was treated extremely well and made many local friends, whom I still treasure.
Increasingly, skilled foreigners are being recruited in Singapore to keep the country moving ahead.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has pointed out the need in stark terms. Earlier this month, he said that Singapore has no choice but to attract foreign talent if it wants to progress.
But this is not just a Singaporean phenomenon. Where I live now, in Europe, the foreign worker is an accepted - though sometimes controversial - part of our lives.
The waitress, the plumber, the computer guy, all from elsewhere in Europe. In the local hospitals, Filipino nurses and Indian doctors are the norm.
In general they are all educated, English-speaking, smart. And courageous enough to leave home and work in a faraway country of which they knew little.
What would we do without them? What indeed...
Yet some of the richer countries, who naturally attract the largest numbers, are quite scared of what is happening. 'Flooding in' is how the migrants are described.
No matter that the hosts caused the problem in the first place.
Current estimates on the total number of international foreign workers stand at about 25 million, with a comparable number of dependants accompanying them.
Sometimes, a host country sets up a programme in order to invite guest workers in time of need.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Now the hosts are having second thoughts about their capacity to absorb so many newcomers.
The 'anti' movements are quite passionate. Dangerously so, in some cases. Where foreigners - even tourists - are physically attacked.
No one can do anything about workers from other European countries because the European Union has abolished controls and guarantees free movement of labour within the member states.
In the American election campaign, what to do about 'the undocumented' is a major issue.
In Germany and France, especially, strict standards of language and civic-awareness are currently being imposed, especially on would-be workers from Africa.
Most other European countries are doing the same.
In Britain, belatedly, curbs on arranged brides from other countries as well as language skills are being introduced.
That is all very well - except for the harm that is being done to the countries of origin. And that can be very serious indeed.
The brain drain is sucking badly-needed doctors and nurses from the very parts of the world where they are desperately needed.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Only last week I met with a black doctor from Sudan. He is studying to be a consultant physician and doing very responsible work in an Irish hospital.
Then he plans to go back home, to Darfur 'where I am desperately needed'.
Good for him, say I.
That is what is called 'technology transfer', where the rich countries get help in return for training. And then he - and others like him - will then go to where he is needed most.
I do hope they stick to what they plan because that would be a mutually beneficial arrangment - the best of both worlds, in fact.
Nothing but good can come from the host country's acquisition of the skilled workers who come from other countries in search of a better, fuller life.
This encourages countries like the Philippines to develop 'brain factories', whereby professionals in fields such as medicine and music are exported and money sent back home to help their families.
In this age of global commerce and communication, the more people gain the know-how of other cultures and varied skills the better. In that way, dangerous misunderstanding, uninformed criticism, inadvertent offence can be averted.
If, as in the case of certain fanatics, this leads to envy, hatred and resentment, then that is a risk that must be accepted.
The good far outweighs the bad in a worldwide interchange.
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