A clarion call to the Sri Lankan Diaspora

One of the highlights of President Maithripala Sirisena's address to Parliament on Tuesday was his impassioned invitation to Sri Lankan professionals living and working abroad to come back to Sri Lanka on a permanent or temporary basis. The premise here is that they could again work for the betterment of their Motherland which had nurtured them in their formative years.

Not counting the 1.5 million Sri Lankans who are working in the Middle East, South Korea, Italy, Singapore and other countries on a short-term basis, around 500,000 Sri Lankans are more or less permanently domiciled abroad.

Domiciled

Of course, there are persons of Sri Lankan origin who have been born in the countries where their parents are domiciled but would nevertheless like to come to Sri Lanka and begin a new life here. The President's appeal is a timely one, given the need to propel the economy forward. A number of major development projects are underway, for which the expertise and insights of Lankans living abroad will prove to be useful.

In this context, the recent re-introduction of the Dual Citizenship scheme must be lauded. It will give Lankan expats and Diaspora an opportunity to live and work in Sri Lanka for as long as they like without necessarily renouncing the citizenship of their adopted country. There are instances when they would like to leave their children behind in that country mainly for educational purposes. Dual citizenship thus gives them the "best of both worlds".

Many professionals in the prime of their lives left Sri Lanka either because they lacked opportunities for career growth or because they could not improve their financial prospects with the kind of jobs on offer here. This massive brain drain has negatively impacted on our economy and growth.

Changed

Indeed, there was such a dire situation several decades ago. But times have changed now and many opportunities have opened up for those with the right knowledge and skills. The salaries many still not match those seen abroad, but they come close now. Besides, the whole idea is about serving one's Motherland and a little sacrifice will not be in vain.

This 'sacrifice' must be seen in the proper context. It must be remembered that most, if not all, of those who went in search of greener pastures abroad have taken advantage of the free education system in Sri Lanka. While it is hard to put a price on this from a moral perspective, the Government spends around Rs.400,000 to produce a doctor and not much less to produce an engineer - without counting the cost of primary and secondary education at Government schools. It goes without saying that any attempt by Lankans domiciled abroad to pay back this 'debt' will be highly appreciated.

I have so far been focusing attention only on those migrate on the basis of their professional skills to countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and USA. This is an ongoing process and every year, hundreds of Sri Lankans families migrate to these countries. But thousands more Sri Lankans took wing to Canada, Norway, UK, Australia and several other countries in the aftermath of the July 1983 ethnic riots targeting the Tamil community.

Diaspora

Known mostly as the Tamil Diaspora, sections of them have been working against Sri Lanka especially after the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. Unfortunately, some of the younger members have not even been to Sri Lanka, so they have little or no idea about the real situation even though they display anti-Lanka slogans. A bit of give and take is called for from both sides to resolve this dilemma and get their contribution to develop at least the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, where most of them were originally domiciled.

As Sri Lanka marches towards reconciliation and lasting peace, it is time to shed our ethnic differences.

Hence it is better to call all Sri Lankans living abroad as the Sri Lankan Diaspora. It is also a fact that not all members of the Diaspora support the remnants of the LTTE still active abroad. A majority of the Diaspora have realised the need to live together in one Sri Lankan nation, eschewing divisive and separatist policies. The authorities should invite them here to experience the post-war situation firsthand including the measures taken so far to achieve ethnic harmony, and positively contribute to the nation's rapid uplift.

With the authorities mulling the setting up of a separate agency for handling the return of Lankans living abroad, we need not look any further for inspiration than neighbouring India. It has perhaps the best mechanism in the world to facilitate Indians living abroad who wish to contribute in whatever possible manner to develop their country. Many privileges are granted to these Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to ensure their participation in the process of developing the country. Among the facilities granted to the NRIs are; a special ID card, special bank account and deposit schemes and investment facilities for commercial and residential properties. In line with granting dual citizenship, a similar scheme could be operated here.

Return

It is ideal if more expatriates can return to Sri Lanka for good, but some may find it impractical. But they need not necessarily come here on a permanent basis because there are many other ways in which they can help the Motherland from where they live. For example, some expats have sent books to school libraries while others have sponsored schoolchildren by granting scholarships.

The authorities should encourage more Lankans living and working abroad to contribute to such good causes, even if they are unable to be here in person.

The 1.5 million Sri Lankans working in the Middle East and elsewhere remit around US$ 6 billion a year, which has become a vital component of the economy. There is no reason why professionals and skilled persons living abroad cannot make a similar contribution by lending their expertise for various projects in their Motherland.

The challenges ahead for Sri Lanka are enormous and the close involvement of Lankans living abroad in surmounting them will augur well for the nation.