Australia Ho!

In Bhutan every plume of smoke will eventually turn into fire and every rumor is the foundation of truth. And, what is believed to be a most jealously guarded secret is no secret but a conversation piece spoken in subdued whispers and hushed voices.

Whether founded on truth or falsehood, the rumor doing the rounds in the social media is that the RGoB is trying to torpedo the plans of the Bhutanese youth making a beeline for Australia. If true, it is worrisome and most ill-conceived. I hope it is not true. If it is, I believe that we are now in the cusp of an anti-progressive era.

If the Bhutanese youth find acceptance in Australia, it bodes well for the country and our youth. It means that they are receiving preferential treatment over other few million visa applicants from other nations. It is testimony, if any were needed, that Bhutanese are accepted by the Australians as a safe and responsible race of people worthy of domicile in their beautiful country.

Destination of choice - AUSTRALIA!

I encourage every parent, every kinsperson, every friend and every well-wisher and every government official to encourage our youth to venture out to Australia or elsewhere, if that is what they believe is where their calling is. It is good for their parents, it is good for the country and it is very good for the unemployed and the listless.

• Job vacancies created by those who leave - whether in the government or in the private sector - can be filled by the unemployed and the jobless - who are numerous.

• The remittances that outbound youth send back home help strengthen our foreign exchange reserve, although I suspect that they now prefer to deal through illegal route of transfer - for better bang for their bucks. This is not possible to be controlled - if the government does not regulate imports and monitor how payments for goods are transected.

• The new found purchasing power of the non-resident Bhutanese is now the driving force behind Thimphu's unusually upbeat real estate market. But it appears that they have recently discovered that real estate prices outside are more attractive for investment than those of our own - it is rumored that increasing number of Bhutanese are now investing in real estate in the country of their domicile.

• The best of all reasons is that the money the outbound youth earn abroad and that which they send back home every month, provide comfort and ease of living to their aged and frail parents living in rural Bhutan. They are now delivered from the drudgery of backbreaking farm work and fighting a loosing battle against the marauding wild animals. It is not only the parents - but a large number of their siblings still living in Bhutan who are also supported by the youth working and earning abroad.

Now tell me - what would you choose? --- a life lived as a small time thief stealing office printer toner and photocopy paper to sell to shady stationers in the market place, to help make ends meet or, a life lived in dignity with pockets lined with $$$ doing an honest job outside, where the opportunities abound? Is the joy and pride of being able to care for your aging parents and delivering them from having to clang empty tins all night long to chase away wild animal destroying their crops - a better and worthy choice than worrying all the time how you are going to see through the month?

It is our youth’s birthright to make their own choices - between life and livelihood. No one should interfere.