Life is Short, Try to Keep Moving...
Amid the ongoing economic downturn, it is easy for people to start believing that a certain degree of globalization has to be temporarily rolled back. Ever since moving to the UK, we the foreign students have been living the fear of not being able to remain on the island after graduation due to the recent government decision to stop automatically issuing 2-year Post-graduate Work Visa. Every time one sees "do you have full authorization to work in UK?" on a job application, an overwhelming sense of anger often boils over, leading to practically meaningless self-blame of living in a wrong country in the wrong age.
It is, however, a bit premature to conclude that a country's ruthless reduction in acceptance of foreign labor, even highly educated (and hopefully, skilled), is equivalent to a country becoming more "selfish" and focus on concerns for her own citizens at the expense of others living within her boundaries. After all, the tide of human migration, in an age of rapid and convenient international transport, can easily overwhelm policy frameworks to discourage further movements of "unwanted" or "undesired" alien personnel.
Thankfully, at the more private level, the ruthlessness of the government has yet to be transmitted. We, especially here in the well-developed welfare states of Europe, can still count on an exceedingly protective social environment to prop us up, both financially and logistically when something does indeed go wrong and permanent home is too far away for immediate salvation. We can still take comfort in the fact that, here, a sense of social ethics commanding total protection of all constituents have not been defeated by sensationalized imperative of limit "economically damaging" foreign presence.
Whether it be hospitals and, well, many private companies, the initiative they have taken to counteract any government-generated impressions of newly found self-isolation is by all means admirable. Even today, there are (albeit decreasing) stories of a person from and educated in country A, currently working in country B, finding his or her more ideal employment in country C. And amid the sheer poverty in the transition stage, the said person can still receive much needed aid for free when there are unforeseen emergencies.
Such bottom-up Good Samaritan actions, despite government discouragement, are what is necessary to continue driving the global movement of talent. And we, those who have taken advantage of such informal processes, must be at the forefront of preserving its rigorousness and vitality so that others with global dreams like ours can continue to realize their ideals by taking advantage of the same processes. Especially, we all have the responsibility to keep open and increase the number of different channels with which people can utilize for their desired movements.
The best way for us to do so, in the most basic way for the least experienced and skilled new graduates, is to keep moving. Most remaining venues for accepting foreigners in any country can only remain an active venue if there are continued demands for their services. If foreigners are discouraged by detrimental government actions and stop trying, then even those desiring foreign presence will be forced to shut down due to perceived lack of their necessity. By applying to those international jobs and frequently using those international services, we are using the most theoretically economic way to signal the continued existence of demand.
Such signals are perhaps most important in the so-called global periphery. So many in the developing world have in a way came to the conclusion that developed countries, hit by serious financial crisis, can not only not assist them with their situations, but also will try to seek whatever means to use the cheaply obtained resources of the developing world to enhance their own dire conditions. A fear for their own safety can easily lead to suspicion of all foreigners as unwanted leeches sucking the already limited resources.
To counter such tendencies, those of us with the capabilities to do so, must personally make our positive presence felt in those peripheral regions. As those supposedly educated in the domains of political and economic development, we have the responsibility of turning education into something that can become clear methods of assistance. The world is big, if the traditional destinations of immigration (such as the UK), I do not see why people cannot take up new adventures in the global South, fulfilling our own globalizing responsibility and executing our own ideals...
It is, however, a bit premature to conclude that a country's ruthless reduction in acceptance of foreign labor, even highly educated (and hopefully, skilled), is equivalent to a country becoming more "selfish" and focus on concerns for her own citizens at the expense of others living within her boundaries. After all, the tide of human migration, in an age of rapid and convenient international transport, can easily overwhelm policy frameworks to discourage further movements of "unwanted" or "undesired" alien personnel.
Thankfully, at the more private level, the ruthlessness of the government has yet to be transmitted. We, especially here in the well-developed welfare states of Europe, can still count on an exceedingly protective social environment to prop us up, both financially and logistically when something does indeed go wrong and permanent home is too far away for immediate salvation. We can still take comfort in the fact that, here, a sense of social ethics commanding total protection of all constituents have not been defeated by sensationalized imperative of limit "economically damaging" foreign presence.
Whether it be hospitals and, well, many private companies, the initiative they have taken to counteract any government-generated impressions of newly found self-isolation is by all means admirable. Even today, there are (albeit decreasing) stories of a person from and educated in country A, currently working in country B, finding his or her more ideal employment in country C. And amid the sheer poverty in the transition stage, the said person can still receive much needed aid for free when there are unforeseen emergencies.
Such bottom-up Good Samaritan actions, despite government discouragement, are what is necessary to continue driving the global movement of talent. And we, those who have taken advantage of such informal processes, must be at the forefront of preserving its rigorousness and vitality so that others with global dreams like ours can continue to realize their ideals by taking advantage of the same processes. Especially, we all have the responsibility to keep open and increase the number of different channels with which people can utilize for their desired movements.
The best way for us to do so, in the most basic way for the least experienced and skilled new graduates, is to keep moving. Most remaining venues for accepting foreigners in any country can only remain an active venue if there are continued demands for their services. If foreigners are discouraged by detrimental government actions and stop trying, then even those desiring foreign presence will be forced to shut down due to perceived lack of their necessity. By applying to those international jobs and frequently using those international services, we are using the most theoretically economic way to signal the continued existence of demand.
Such signals are perhaps most important in the so-called global periphery. So many in the developing world have in a way came to the conclusion that developed countries, hit by serious financial crisis, can not only not assist them with their situations, but also will try to seek whatever means to use the cheaply obtained resources of the developing world to enhance their own dire conditions. A fear for their own safety can easily lead to suspicion of all foreigners as unwanted leeches sucking the already limited resources.
To counter such tendencies, those of us with the capabilities to do so, must personally make our positive presence felt in those peripheral regions. As those supposedly educated in the domains of political and economic development, we have the responsibility of turning education into something that can become clear methods of assistance. The world is big, if the traditional destinations of immigration (such as the UK), I do not see why people cannot take up new adventures in the global South, fulfilling our own globalizing responsibility and executing our own ideals...
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