Brain Drain from Pakistan, But All is not Lost
WASHINGTON, 14 April 2008 — Faisal Raza is well on his way to achieving the American dream that drives thousands of immigrants to America’s shores every year.
“This country has allowed me to easily make it from being a broke college student to holding a stake in my own company in five years,” says Faisal. Faisal moved to the United States with his parents after a year of college in Pakistan. After transferring to Kent State University in Ohio, Faisal did everything from working in the cafeteria, to being a fitness instructor, to becoming a web designer, and then became the assistant to the Dean of the School of Technology and finished up his last two years as a software engineer.
After college he moved to Washington D.C., started his own company, sold his stake, and now works for MyPublicInfo.com, a web startup company which has won two Red Herring awards for the 100 most innovative products of 2006.
“I initially came to the US with the intent of working in a large corporate firm and pursue a position which would help me work internationally. Soon I realized that I was more fascinated by the thought of having my own business from the start of my career. If there was any country where a young entrepreneur can make it in the mainstream market, it’s the US,” says Faisal.
Many Pakistanis go to the US to earn a higher education or professional experience to put to use in their own country, but many don’t make it back. More than two out of every three adults in Pakistan want to go abroad to work; compared to an earlier Gallup-Pakistan survey from 1984 that had the number at seventeen percent. The latest survey also points out that it is not only skilled workers, but semi-skilled and unskilled workers who also want to leave the country for a better life elsewhere. The term “brain drain” is commonly used to explain the transfer of resources in the form of human capital from developing countries to developed countries.
The Developing-8, a group that pursues economic cooperation between developing countries, reported that Pakistani migrant workers sent home well over five billion dollars in remittances during the last fiscal year. That is higher than any other member of the organization and the highest in Pakistan’s history. Some experts question if this reliance on foreign-earned money is helping Pakistan in the long run. Is Pakistan on the losing end of the deal or can these remittances take the place of an actual human being working within the country?
Dr. Marvin Weinbaum from the Middle East Institute states that the “brain drain” phenomena in Pakistan is balance-positive.
“The opportunities for those with marketable skills is limited in Pakistan and those going abroad do at least provide remittances that bolster the overall economy as well as individual households,” says Weinbaum. He also says that the “drain” serves as safety valve, absorbing individuals who might otherwise be unemployed, frustrated and liable to engage in political activism.
Some believe that Pakistan still has something to offer in terms of education and employment opportunities. Moe Khakwani who graduated from high school in Pakistan, started his undergraduate career in California, but shortly after September 11th moved back to Lahore, where he remains today.
“If I had stayed I don’t know maybe I would have tried to get into pharmacy because doing medicine for eight years is not plausible in the States when you can do it in five in Pakistan and give your boards and start your residency,” Khakwani said in an e-mail.
Khakwani saw a lot of people he knew getting laid off after September 11th and felt that he would be more secure in Pakistan. Khakwani has a Pakistani degree which will allow him to work as a dentist, but plans on going to New York University for a higher degree in dentistry. The US has a large demand for workers in the fields of science, technology and engineering, but not all Pakistanis fit the stereotype of the South Asian doctor or software engineer.
Misha Lakhani works as a producer for the 24-hour television news channel Express News in Karachi. She said she didn’t have any post-graduation plans after finishing at Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish.
In an e-mail Lakhani said, “I was interested in TV so I returned to Pakistan given the media landscape had transformed as a result of the governments liberalization. Plus, it was a hot place in terms of broadcast journalism.”
Before Pervez Musharraf’s rule, private television and radio channels were virtually non-existent. Despite Musharraf’s turbulent tenure, under his rule poverty has been reduced, foreign investment has started to trickle back into the country and the foreign debt has been cut, but the majority of Pakistani’s who leave Pakistan would rather stay in the US.
Lakhani says, “People want to stay in the US because of a more plush life, better pay. It’s also more liberal. Pakistan tends to be conservative, suffocating, and insecure and so that in itself acts as a deterrent.”
Nonetheless, the social fabric of Pakistani society hasn’t deterred Lakhani from pursuing opportunities in Pakistan.
But George Washington University graduate Kalsoom Lakhani (no relation to Misha Lakhani) says, “I like how liberated I feel as a woman in the US. If I was to work in Pakistan I would face sexism on a daily basis which would constrict how easily I could move about in my work environment etc. In the US, sexism exists, but it is much less.” Kalsoom worked in the political/foreign affairs industry previously for the Lincoln Group, but now is maintaining a full time blog about Pakistani current affairs and consults at the Wilson Center’s Asia program.
Faisal Raza also says that the society, culture, economy, food and travel are some of the reasons that keep him in the US.
But again he sums it up quite simply, “One word: Opportunity.” Yet he says, “there are elements of uncertainty in Pakistan, but with a positive attitude and vigilance, I think the country has a lot to offer. Pakistan is a virgin market and open for development.”
Although, not in the majority, many Pakistani’s are moving back home or contemplating it as a viable option. Omar Mir who is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Texas and is originally from Islamabad came to the US with the intent of moving back to Pakistan.
“Over the past few years, the trend has shifted to move back and work or start something of your own because of the high volume of businesses and developing infrastructure in Pakistan.” He says you still make more money working 70 hours in the states at a gas station in the US than you do as the manager of a bank (in Pakistan). He says, “the opportunity is there and the chance to make good money (in Pakistan) is only increasing.”
Some may choose to stay in the United States and some may choose to go back but more than 36,000 highly skilled doctors, teachers and engineers have migrated out of Pakistan in the last 30 years, according to official estimates by the Pakistan Overseas Employment Corporation. These numbers only reflect the number of registered workers and there are probably many more that aren’t registered or are in the process of gaining immigration documentation. That kind of “drain” on human capital can make a significant difference in a developing nation.
Sebastian Mallaby of the Council of Foreign Relations said over the phone that, “if you give AIDS medicine to a country in Africa with all the proper equipment, what good is that resource without doctors and nurses to administer the treatment?” That logic can be applied to Pakistan; all the money that is being sent back to Pakistan can only do so much, because the people sending the money are not in Pakistan to help develop the infrastructure and the economy. Pakistan needs more than money: Pakistan needs educated professionals to invest their time, money, and commitment to their home country. These educated professionals are required to lay the foundations for a sustainable and growing economy, and remittances can only partially make up for the worker not being in the country.
Omar Mir, Kalsoom Lakhani and Faisal Raza all say that being in touch with your roots, being near their families, and contributing to Pakistani society are the biggest incentives to go back to Pakistan. In the future Kalsoom can see herself working for a foreign company that allows her to work for the betterment of Pakistan and allows her to travel to Pakistan often. Omar would like to run his mother’s moving company in Pakistan and raise his kids within the Pakistani culture.
Economic opportunities may not be as abundant in Pakistan as they are in the US today, but cultural ties and patriotism are signs of hope for Pakistan.
Faisal Raza says, “I do believe that as a country Pakistan has made me who I am today so I do owe a lot to it.” He goes on to say that the priority for Pakistan is to build a larger educated class and the career opportunities will follow. In the next ten to fifteen years he would like to set up a base in Pakistan, open a business that employs locals but caters to a foreign base, if not live in Pakistan permanently.
Faisal has established the roots of his career in the US but says, “I think anyone can make anything happen anywhere.”
