Bring Home The Brood To Roost

During a recent conversation with Dr. Karma Phuntsho of Loden Foundation, one of the subjects that we touched upon was the issue of the exodus of Bhutanese youth to Australia. I expressed the view that when our own backyard is experiencing a state of perpetual drought, it is imminent that people will begin to venture outward – in search of greener pastures. The loss of human capital notwithstanding, I accepted that it had a good side to it - the burgeoning inward remittances by these migrants do contribute to nation building.

Travel to places far and wide - but come back home to roost

Quite remarkably – because it was outside my own perception – he feared that it was more than “human capital drain” – he worried that it bordered on the “brain drain”. He seems to be aware of a number of brilliant Bhutanese minds who are currently domiciled in Australia.

The recent revelation by the Royal Monetary Authority that inward remittances early this year fell by more than 50% caused the clanging of warning bells in my mind. What caused it?

Is this an early warning sign that the migrants may be turning immigrants?

All things considered, Australia today represents a destination where the Bhutanese seem to be welcome, in preference to other wannabes. Hundreds of Australian Visas being issued every month to our youth can only mean that the country is rolling out the welcome wagon to our lot. It is also a sign that our brood down under is behaving themselves and keeping themselves in the straight and the narrow. We need to encourage them to remain so.

Does the Bhutanese Ambassador Sonam Tobgay in Australia have the wherewithal to provide quality leadership to inspire and instill a sense of continued nationalism in the minds of the Bhutanese lot in Australia? Are there other Bhutanese capable of keeping the brood herded and on track - and the home fires burning in the minds and hearts of their fellow Bhutanese?

Recently I chatted a senior and respected person who too seems to have landed herself in Australia – I encouraged her to provide leadership and guidance - every opportunity she got, for the sake of the nation.

It is about time that the Royal Government of Bhutan sends someone to Australia – a person who is respected, a person with charisma and proven capability – to remind the Bhutanese there that WE NEED THEM BACK IN THE COUNTRY, when their stint there is done.

The late Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew declared that should there be a demographic imbalance in Singapore, he would import Chinese from China to make up the numbers. Unfortunately such an option is NOT open to us. Thus we have to hang on to what little we have.