One of the things that have come up in conversation with local Ghanaians is “how can you help me…will you help me get to Canada?”
I spent the afternoon with my new friend, Pricilla. While I was enjoying her generous hospitality, a TV program came on showing typical streets of America. Many shots were of people asking for change, living under bridges, and working low wage jobs. She began to translate for me and I discovered that the program was talking about the lives of many immigrants living in the US. It featured Ghanaian Diaspora, talking about how hard it is to get started and make a life in America. It explained that after emigrating many people find themselves struggling with low-skill jobs that pay low wages. People talked about working long hours to make ends meet to send a little money home, only to find that everyone in the village thinks you’re rich now, so instead of using the money to build a house, they just spend it all, thinking there’s plenty more where that came from. A woman living in Texas explained that she is afraid to return to her home in Accra because during previous visits she has been followed, and she is afraid that she will be robbed.
This program seemed to want to do 2 things:
- dispel the myth that America is all milk and honey and that everyone is living well, and
- encourage Ghanaians to stay in Ghana and make a living contributing to the development of their country.
Priscilla and I in her home
Hmm. I can see why Ghana is spreading this message, not only is it dispelling many misconceptions about life in America, but keeping skilled, educated people in Ghana is good for development! Yet, I also see competing messages when I look at Canada’s immigration site where it reports welcoming record numbers of immigrants to satisfy its demand for skilled labour. (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2008/2008-03-14.asp)
I asked Pricilla her opinion of this program and she said that it is common for people to believe that just by living in Canada or the US you will have so much more. She said that is silly, and that she is happy to be Ghanaian and living in Ghana. Pricilla has finished university, and is looking to find a job now – she is talented and a hard worker, and from what she tells me of her mother, she comes from a stock of strong women. I have no doubt that Pricilla is happy living in Ghana, and will work to create the life that she wants. She’s not afraid to dream, and she’s got the determination to see them come true. I wonder what percentage of her classmates from primary school she represents.
Our discussion made me think of many that I have had in Canada with my friends and colleagues about the “brain drain” that flows to urban centres and western countries. It is a pattern that evolves among educated young adults who are looking for more opportunities for a better life – and deservedly so – that leaves the communities with a lack of professionals with higher educations. Nick Jimenez, who is from the same EWB sending group as myself, just spent a week in a rural village. There, he had his whole stay interpreted through the only person who could speak fluent English. Nick shared stories of several evenings spent talking with Joshua (his interpreter) where the conversation would turn to Joshua asking him how he could help him get to Canada. Nick struggled to explain that getting to Canada is very difficult, and just getting there doesn’t solve his problems of poverty.
In many ways, comfort and affluence still seem to be a birthright; in that it is easier for some to secure that hard earned reward than others. Because I was born in Canada, the system was setup to help me. New Canadians still have a difficult time getting professionally certified and trained to enter the workforce. From my friends in school it seems that in many ways, it is only through children growing up in Canada that they begin to fully take advantage of the benefits of a western society. But who am I to question people where they live? And why should people settle somewhere, and not move? A study of international migration at Georgetown University(http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=381) states that migratory living was the way of many African tribes before colonization. So this idea of settling in one area and making things work there as opposed to moving somewhere for more opportunities is a bit of a construct in itself. Is migration a natural evolution of society? Is regarding the “brain drain” as negative only because we’re using a short term perspective rather than a long-term one?
5 comments:
Agreed with all this--it was one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating things to hear (constantly) from people in Burkina Faso, and it was often such a struggle to open a dialogue and start talking to people about what their preconceptions are vs. what the reality of immigrating is.
A friend of mine worked out, with her guide on Kilimanjaro, that her income in Canada and his income in Tanzania, in terms of relative purchasing power and what each of them was putting in savings, was equivalent. They were both astounded because neither had had the chance to crunch the numbers and see things that way.
Thanks for your comments Emily!
Yes, I find myself often explaining how much we pay in taxes, and how much we pay for rent, utilities, food, etc. etc. I think maybe the difference comes not so much in how much we have, but how many opportunities we have access to. Somehow I feel like I'm missing something by allowing that statement to sum it all up though...
Jen
I moved to the United States from Ghana in 1997 mainly to further my education. There were only five universities in Ghana then and a backlog of students waiting to enter. Due to the cronyism and nepotism that plagues my country and most African countries for that matter, I spent a year and a half at home, waiting, before deciding to look elsewhere for continuation.
I can understand clearly why a lot of people want to leave. I agree that sometimes people miss the point about what it takes to make it here. 40, 60 and 80-hour work weeks just to get an undergraduate degree and the maximum allowable hours of employment in order to get through law school. Some people get it as evidenced by similarly-situated Ghanaian expatriates who came here (US, Canada) with nothing but dreams and some rough idea of how to make those dreams into reality.
I think what motivates some of the "how can I come to ????" questions is the notion that in these other societies, you are not anchored to your current plight by dint of your pedigree or social connections: that normally if you show some potential you would be afforded a chance.
An aunt once told my Mum to stop wasting her money on my education. She predicted I would make a fine carpenter and my little brother would could complement me as a mason. If I had remained in Ghana, maybe her prediction would have come to pass because I watched less qualified candidates take up spots in the universities while I made the rounds looking for someone to vouch for me. The hope that a more objective society would hear them out is what drives people who are in the situation I used to be in to migrate elsewhere. Nonetheless, if they just want to leave on account of some fairytale notions, I hope someone is able to disabuse them of those ideas because I have seen people crumble under the weight of what it takes to make it here.
Wow Fibbens,
Thank you for your insight. This is such a huge issue with so many implecations - I'm almost afraid to talk about it with people because I don't want my ideas to come across as advice necessarily.
The system here almost seems to depend on cronyism and nepotism at times. I'll here people complain about corruption in the government, and then ask if there are any special favours I can do for their village. In some ways it seems to be the way of doing business because personal relationships often stronger than any institutional relationships, government or otherwise.
In every case of people wanting to migrate from Ghana that I've heard so far, it's so that they can be in better position to support their family back in the village or elsewhere in Ghana. It seems that it's difficult to save up enough to do anything substantial here, because as soon as any amount of money accrues there are a host of desperate demands for that little amount right now. With distance the thinking is that they can avoid the constant pleas and save enough to do something like build an entire house, that will do more for the family in the long run.
This introduces the whole subject of individualist societies versus communal societies - and I see advantages and disadvantages to both.
There's so much to consider...
Jen
Jen,
I married an American girl and one of the constant struggles of our marriage is the issue of "individualism vrs. communalism." My wife has a hard time dealing with the concept that in I have to contribute to the welfare of my kin back home. We have made some strides, but we are still very far from arriving at a common ground on the issue. To me, it's a common obligation I have to those I left behind. To her, it is an unreasonable demand on our shared resources. It's funny because whenever the issue rears up its ugly head, I resort to my mantra that "I did not come here (US) for my individual benefit." Without the benefit of walking in the other person's shoes, I am doubtful that we would arrive at an understanding. I definitely agree that there is so much to consider and unless one approaches even the simplest of questions (issues) with consideration of a myriad of surrounding factors, there is a very high risk of over-simplifying.
Hope you are doing well.
Post a Comment