Is the grass really greener overseas?

Illustration: TBS

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question often asked of children. While it is inspiring to hear about their ambitions of becoming doctors, teachers, musicians and athletes, it is unsurprising yet concerning that Bangladeshi adolescents are increasingly dreaming of moving to 'first-world' countries to pursue these ambitions.

It has become a tradition to equate success with migrating to the West, where regardless of how hard Bangladeshis work to make a name for themselves, they are not shielded from racial prejudices and mistreatment by natives who see them as outsiders "stealing" opportunities that "rightfully" belong to their native-born counterparts.

It is ironic how Western hegemony itself was established through a series of exploitative expeditions involving plundering, looting and murdering native populations, leaving those nations impoverished and struggling to recover from the devastation inflicted upon them. 

One of the examples is the prolonged silence of the Canadian government on the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, which comes as no surprise. This silence mirrors Canada's colonial genocide of Indigenous Peoples and its establishment of a settler-colonial nation through theft and violence. 

Back to Bangladesh. 

Driven by despair and a loss of hope, Bangladeshi immigrants leave behind the only home they have ever known and dive into the unknown in search of better prospects, prepared to start from scratch, at the cost of their sense of belonging and cultural identity. 

They must navigate the complexities of integrating into new societies while preserving their roots—a duality that can create a feeling of displacement, where the struggle to adapt is juxtaposed with longing for the familiarity and traditions of their homeland. 

Bangladeshis fear that our labour markets cannot fully employ them and seek opportunities abroad, often settling helplessly for underemployment – as emigrants in receiving countries, such as when a scientist becomes a cab driver – resulting in inevitable 'brain waste.' 

UNESCO data reveals that in 2023, 52,799 students from Bangladesh migrated overseas to pursue higher education, with 8,524 going to the United States, 6,586 to the United Kingdom and 5,835 to Canada. 

Media portrayal vs reality 

The media's portrayal of New York City, London and Toronto in popular films like When Harry Met Sally, Manhattan and the Bollywood tear-jerker Kal Ho Naa Ho exemplifies Eurocentrism: these cities are depicted as places where all problems cease to exist and dreams come true. 

Yet beneath their glittering skylines, the stench of fear and violence permeates the air, and daily life becomes a grim struggle for survival in places that promise dreams but often deliver nightmares instead. 

Racist hate crimes have claimed the lives of innocent people of colour like Sharif Rahman, the Bengali-Canadian restaurant owner and father of a seven-year-old, who was brutally assaulted after a confrontation with two white men who refused to pay their bill in Owen Sound, Ontario. 

The overwhelming amount of media we consume daily shapes how we perceive the world and our place in it, fostering internalised racism—a psychological process that causes individuals to constantly measure themselves against Western standards and subconsciously reject their own cultural identity, resulting in self-loathing tendencies. 

Those affected by internalised racism accept negative societal beliefs, stereotypes, racial prejudices and discriminatory behaviour about their own racial group. They devalue their heritage to assimilate into a white supremacist society, leading to self-degradation and alienation from their own identity. 

Idolising Western celebrities, mocking those who are not fluent in English even though it is their second language or promoting Eurocentric beauty standards are ways in which individuals try to belong to a group they will never fully integrate into, isolating themselves from their own culture. 

Our not-so-perfect perspective 

As Bangladesh enters a new era of technological advancement with the Metrorail, many Bangladeshis share the sentiment, "Wow! This looks like a foreign country; it does not look like Bangladesh." 

Unpacking this statement reveals our reverence for anything foreign and our belief in our own inferiority, viewing the West as the apex to which we attribute all positive things. This is a byproduct of colonial thinking that illustrates how deeply entrenched Eurocentrism is in our society and psyche. 

The future of Bangladesh is threatened by the depletion of the country's human capital assets due to brain drain. Students with outstanding academic achievements are leaving the country and choosing not to return. One reason behind this is our subconscious association of success with living abroad. 

Global university rankings, including those published by Times Higher Education, have been criticised in academic circles for cultural biases and their alignment with the hegemony of the Global North. 

The aggregation of disparate metrics into a single score or rank and the lack of universally applicable measures for evaluating inherently variable concepts influenced by cultural contexts, such as teaching quality, reflect methodological issues that result in unjustified rankings. 

The ground reality 

Despite the vast and unfair disparity in tuition fees between domestic and international students at 'highly ranked' universities in North America and the UK, Bangladeshi families willingly sell property to send their children to these 'top education destinations,' which are, by the way, well known for their complicity in Israel's violation of international law and involvement in genocide profiteering. 

In 2023, Romim, a 22-year-old Bangladeshi student, was fatally shot in St. Louis, US, during an apparent robbery attempt; Arif Sayed Faisal, a 20-year-old Bangladeshi-American student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was killed by police in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Anik Paul, a teacher from Dhaka University pursuing a PhD at Purdue University, tragically died by suicide allegedly by jumping into the Wabash River in Indiana. 

According to a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, international students face greater vulnerability to mental health challenges than local students due to financial and academic pressures, social anxiety, loneliness and the challenges of adapting to a new culture. 

The high demand for mental health services often results in waitlists of at least two to six months, making it difficult for those seeking help to receive timely support. 

Furthermore, tightening job markets in these popular student destinations disproportionately affect international students: lack of job opportunities and the backbreaking costs of living and healthcare force students with medical or engineering degrees to work as cab drivers or in retail stores and restaurants; thus, crushing their dreams of financially supporting their families back home, as the students themselves struggle to make ends meet. 

These overseas universities exploit the desperation of parents willing to compromise their lifestyles to secure their child's future, effectively importing cheap labour under the guise of education, as many of these students never attain the white-collar jobs they aspired to with their North American degrees. 

Of exodus and solutions 

We are witnessing the exodus of a promising young generation to the West, lured by false promises and relinquishing the potential benefits of our demographic dividend. No nation can achieve development and progress without its brightest, most knowledgeable, skilled and deserving individuals. 

Addressing brain drain will not yield quick fixes; it is a complex issue requiring sustained efforts over the years. While numerous action plans exist, pursuing ambitious strategies without first addressing foundational issues is futile. By acknowledging the problem and taking decisive steps, we can reverse this trend.

Fostering a culture that values and incentivizes talent, alongside government initiatives to retain skilled individuals, can create an environment where our brightest can thrive and contribute meaningfully to Bangladesh's progress. 

Internalised racism drives our pursuit of Western validation. To counter this, we must foster deep love and appreciation for our nation, ensuring that our cultural heritage is celebrated both at home and within our educational institutions nationwide. Research consistently shows that embracing one's national and cultural identity enhances self-esteem and forms a crucial part of personal identity and self-perception. 

As Mahatma Gandhi aptly put it, "Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it even if I did not have it in the beginning." 

Self-belief is crucial for us to achieve our potential and understand that the grass is not greener overseas.

Reesha Ahmed. Illustration: TBS

Reesha Ahmed is the founder of the youth nonprofit, Share Your Closet.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.