“You guys are so much dependent on our neighbors. You rely on them for almost everything.” a friend from the south stated. It felt quite harsh. A sharp pinch on the conscience. I was speechless. My mind, boiling with anger and frustration. “We survived the ‘unofficial’ blockade imposed by your government” I almost said. But then, there too, we were quite dependent on our northern neighbor. I pretended to have lost interest in the conversation. I stood up and walked away.

These are some pertinent questions; how dependent are we?   What do we actually own?

To be honest, the Range Rover you drive is not yours until you cough up regular EMIs for the next few years. It holds the same for the house you call home, electronic appliances inside the home, the list goes on and on. I was quite hit by the fact that even the roads we drive on is not ours unless the construction company (From abroad) hands them back to us post the project-completion.  On the hindsight, flocks of people travel abroad in the name of employment. What irony!!!! People travel to the Middle East as labors, constantly working in the screeching heat. And the loo (a strong, dusty, gusty, hot and dry summer wind) shows up only to worsen things. They work intensely and manage to send some thousand rupees back home. Now, when there are projects being declared by the government almost on a daily basis, is it fair to let these workers go somewhere else instead of managing them back home? Think.

The problem is adamant. It’s massive. It has been recognized. Yet, why do we constantly turn blind eyes and deaf ears to it. On one hand, we keep complaining about brain-drain and youth emigration. While on the other, we always fail to identify our people’s contributing prowess on various nationwide projects. China, India, Japan, Europe… why only them? Why not us? Can’t we encourage our home-fostered engineers to participate in such projects? Rather than letting this uncontrolled outflow of people, can’t we hold them back and for once, recognize their efforts.

Here is logic- Canada, USA, and Australia are enlisted as the largest countries of the world. The ratio of the population to the land size is minimal. Therefore they require people. They have enough untouched lands where new civilizations can be built.  Various immigration programs are proposed by these developed and civilized countries. Its then, we fall for the schemes. We fill up forms and wait for our chance to live the dream. We apply to the best universities and leave, never to come back with a fixed mentality to settle back here.

“Hyaaa!!! Yo desh ma kei chhaina. Yaha basera kei hunna mero. Ma jaaney ho bidesh!”  This is a common dialect I listen to everyday. Young and middle-aged Nepali keep ranting the same thing. Let’s go abroad. Let’s find a better life. They are so assured that the life out there is cozy. It’s like a walk on the park. Not once do they think; “What if the better life turns bitter? Who will I look forward to then?”

We seek our own independence in a foreign land!!! It’s a pity. As a youth, you are programmed to get back home by 8 PM, sober, and most importantly, free of any forms of intoxication. You have lost your freedom here. Now you apply to a below-average university abroad. Lo and behold… you get the freedom you always sought. You mingle up with seniors (Age bar) and take this chance to ‘Enjoy Life’

Post studies, you look for work. At the end of the day, will u not find the same work here? Yes! The pay scale will definitely vary. But it’s the same skill sets required. You start earning handsomely. You then send money back home. And the government’s biggest revenue is that money (remittance). Just think. We live in a country where remittance is a game changer. Can we not come back, and work together. Blaming the government is a different thing. Let’s all gather together and work hard. So hard so the government gets revenues by something unsynnical as remittance. Let’s help the government to imply newer game changers in the economy.

Who would not want to settle abroad? I know, it’s difficult, but not impossible. Let’s take our stances in owning our rights to the country. Let’s learn to become independent. Then the list of things we own shall only magnify.

Give it a thought!