• The grass is always green; a popular and stable government is the need of the hour

The brain drain and brawn drain from Sri Lanka have rapidly increased during the last few years, with the year 2022 being the highest since 2019, a pre-Covid year. 

The number of people who have registered to work overseas during the first half of 2022 alone is 173,685 as compared to the total numbers registered in 2021 of 122,750 for the whole year – an increase of nearly 50% over the last year and within only the first six months of 2022. 

The total number of passports issued in 2019, a pre-Covid year, was 570,676, whereas 612,278 passports had been issued by the first week of September 2022 – an increase of nearly 61% over the similar period of eight months in the pre-Covid year of 2019.

Brain drain

A number of reasons could be adduced for the brain drain. From job losses to the inability to provide in a sufficient manner for the family to frustrations arising from the lack of opportunities for a future and lack of motivation due to economic turmoil and the tendencies of youth to be more adventurous in life. 

However, it is useful to keep in mind that migration is a global phenomenon which has been constantly shaping economies and societies since the beginning of humankind. Humanity has always been on the move. Throughout history, people have migrated in search of new opportunities or to escape persecution, conflict, and poverty. This phenomenon has also resulted in global development through contributions by our creative diversities and talents. 

Therefore it is important to have a good understanding of how to manage migration. Sri Lanka is presently experiencing a hike in migration due to its economic crisis brought upon by mismanagement, corruption and waste, ill-timed decisions, and an unstable political climate, arising unfortunately from the type of governance the country has been subject to. 

Brawn drain

On the other hand, the brawn drain in Sri Lanka involves mostly the unskilled and semi-skilled workers who usually look for work in Middle Eastern countries where such opportunities commonly exist. They largely comprise housemaids, labour, construction workers, drivers, and domestic workers. 

They are the ones most likely to send back regular remittances for their families to survive and comprise the sources for a major proportion of the foreign remittances, which have become a key pillar of the country’s foreign currency earnings, which amounts to around 8% of GDP as per the Central Bank statistics issued in 2020.

It has been so for the last 10 years and the sum reached a good $ 7 billion in 2020. However, only $ 1.6 billion had been received for the first half of 2022. This has been attributed to informal remittances techniques (a more lucrative black market rate) that prevailed during the period due to the low rate for the dollar – with it having been pegged at just over Rs. 200 from 2021 to the first half of 2022 – and also a lack of confidence in the Government, thus causing a massive dent in the country’s foreign earnings and also contributing heavily to the present foreign currency crisis.

Deeply worrying

In Sri Lanka, the brain drain is worrisome since a majority are the youth who are the future of the country who are emigrating at an increasing rate and they are the ones who impact most on the key areas required for value additions for economic recovery, such as engineers, IT professionals, management professionals, and healthcare professionals, who are very costly to educate. They are also most unlikely to return since they have better chances of earning well and settling down as permanent residents in developed countries. 

In such situations, it is important for Sri Lanka to ensure more investments into education and the development of 21st century-skills or rising skills such as IoT, big data, AI, blockchain management, and Global Value Chain (GVC) additions and also enhance focus on soft skills development to enable transferable skills. 

Brain gain

Brain gain can only happen if the migrants return, bringing back new skills and ideas. The key to attracting them to return will be to strive to make Sri Lanka a stable and sustainably developed country. Hence the importance of making the country one which is good to live in, to visit, and to invest in. 

This calls for a just and efficient system of governance which ensures a strict application of the rule of law, a country where there is reduced corruption and wastage, a country united in diversity with all contributing towards a common cause of uplifting the motherland, a country committed to preserving its beautiful and limited environmental resources, and a country that provides a good social security net to ensure an inclusive society and also good health and education to enhance human capital development. 

If such an enabling environment is ensured, the rest can look after themselves and the country can achieve its potential.

Popular and stable government needed

It is therefore apt to conclude that only a popular and stable government that has the unanimous, lasting, and sincere support of the people, will be in the best position to address the issues that beset the country today and be able to contribute to sustainable development involving peaceful living, good health and education, and inclusive societies – all of which are the foundations for economic progress.

But, the grass shall always remain green! It has been reported that many doctors in the UK are migrating elsewhere since they are overworked and underpaid. Then there are Canadians who are leaving Canada due to the high costs of living and the prolonged winters lasting over six months. 

It will be migrants from the global south who are looking for comparatively better earning capacities who will fill those gaps in the Northern and Western hemispheres. Let us, therefore, celebrate our creative diversities that stem from the global phenomenon of migration with humanity always being on the move.