The NRBs are ready to help Bangladesh
by Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Definition: NRBs or Non-Resident Bangladeshis comprise people of Bangladeshi
origin who live outside Bangladesh. The émigré community that has settled in
various parts of our planet also fall under the NRB category.
Facts: Wherever they have settled as the new residents (e.g., citizens,
dual citizens, permanent or temporary residents), the NRBs and their children
and grandchildren are amongst the best educated and successful communities in
the world. Today, the NRBs or the Bangladeshi expats constitute a significant
and successful economic, social, and cultural force in the world. They have
made significant contributions to the economy of the country of residence and
have added in considerable measure to knowledge and innovation. They have also
been a major source of foreign remittance for Bangladesh.
According to the
Government of Bangladesh, some 12 million are estimated to be the NRBs. There
is hardly a country today in the world where Bangladeshis, once dumped as ‘ghar
kuno’ (i.e., averse to leave home), cannot be found.
General Observations: There was a time when very few Bangladeshis would prefer living
overseas under an alien culture. When they lived overseas, it was often a
temporary stay in which they were expected to return home after their education
or job had ended. Typically, their spouses did not accompany them. Immigration
to foreign countries was also difficult in those days. As a result, a large
fraction of those NRB families who had settled with their families in Europe,
Australia, and North America in the 1960s-1980s included professional
engineers, doctors, and educationists. The number of illegal immigrants and
those asking political asylum was too small.
However, with the
ever-increasing globalization, since at least the early 1990s, and the acute
need for cheap and skilled labor from the third world, let alone the alarmingly
low population growth rate within the indigenous population, new immigration
laws were enacted that allowed immigration to many of the western countries. The
character of migration began to change, and a ‘new Diaspora’, led by high
skilled professionals (esp. in the IT sector) moving to the western world, and
semi-skilled contract workers moving mostly to the Gulf states emerged.
As the political
situation in many of their native countries deteriorated drastically, adding
inter alia to insecurity and politicization of employment opportunities, many
of those who had originally come to western countries temporarily, e.g., as
foreign students to pursue higher studies, were forced to find gainful
employment and ultimately settle in the more prosperous western countries that
allowed their easy integration.
In this regard, it
is worth sharing here that from my BUET graduating class of 1977, the top 80%
of the engineering students earning First Class who had come for graduate
studies in the USA and Canada in the late 1970s ultimately chose to settle in
their host countries. The record for subsequent graduating classes was similar.
Many of their classmates who had at one time worked in the Middle East in
engineering projects in the late 1970s and 1980s would later join them, rather
than settling back in Bangladesh. Such an “exodus” can only be described as a
colossal “brain-drain” phenomenon. This experience is not unique to Bangladesh
though. Politicians have failed them to feel secure and needed for the good of
their country! Even their best of the intentions has been questioned as if they
are the winter-time migratory birds who are not going to stay around too long!
The emergence of
significant diasporas has in recent years brought into sharp focus two key
facts.
- First, there is a large expatriate
population of skilled people from emerging economies in the developed
world.
- Second, overseas communities can
constitute a significant resource for the development of the countries of
origin.
What was, thus,
once a “brain-drain” phenomenon for the native countries can easily be
transformed into a “brain-gain” phenomenon if there are willing undertakers on
both ends.
Points to ponder
upon:
The diaspora community
can serve as an important ‘bridge’ to access knowledge, expertise, resources
and markets for the development of the country of origin. As experts would tell
us, the success of this bridge is often predicated upon two conditions:
- the ability of the diaspora community to
serve as goodwill ambassadors of their native country in developing and
projecting a positive image that is coherent, intrinsically motivated,
and progressive, and
- the capacity of the home country to
establish conditions and institutions for sustainable, symbiotic, and
mutually rewarding engagement.
As to the first of
the above two conditions, the NRBs have earned the trust of their hosts
projecting image as good neighbors and workers, and are, accordingly,
recognized for their positive contributions made both inside and outside their
workspace. Many NRBs are recognized professionally as great teachers,
researchers, scientists, doctors, engineers, bankers, accountants, and business
entrepreneurs. Many of them are practically running many of the major
corporations in their host countries. They have not forgotten their birthplace;
they crave for opportunities to helping the people of Bangladesh in every way
that is legal and possible. Despite demoralizing government red tapes, they
continue to fund many institutions either at individual or collective level, through local and foreign NGOs. More
importantly, these caring and highly talented and experienced NRBs are capable
of transforming Bangladesh into an envy of the entire South Asia. As the co-founder
and advisor of the NRB Council, USA, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Bangladesh Expatriates Council, I can testify to the depth of their sincerity
to bringing about a positive transformational change.
Sadly, as to the
second condition, Bangladesh government did not prove to be a sincere partner to
grab the stretched arms of the NRB community. In fact, its irresponsible policies
penalized them making the lives of their family members living inside
Bangladesh unbearable. Their paternal properties became easy targets for
illicit land-grab by those affiliated with the ruling parties and the
government. The sad experience has left many NRBs bewildered and utterly
frustrated. Nothing good could come out of such a painful experience when their
precious time and money are lost fighting land-grabbing criminals and forced to
bribe corrupt and greedy bureaucrats who are seemingly oblivious of their
accountability.
It is, however,
never too late to modify and correct such mistakes and deficiencies. And what
could be a better time than now when the 5-week long student-led protests
morphed into people’s uprising, toppling the most corrupt and criminal
government in the history of Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. Never in the history
of this landmass has its people seen a movement of this kind that drew support
from every segment of the population – the silent majority that were not led by
either a party or a personality. This movement is uniquely different than the
movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League against the British Raj
that established Pakistan on August 14, 1947. This movement is also different
than the two-decades-long struggle for political and economic rights of the people
of East Pakistan that was led by politicians like Sheikh Mujib of the Awami
League against the military junta, culminating in the liberation of Bangladesh
on December 16, 1971. This movement is also different than the political movement
in 1990-91 that was led by major political parties like the BNP, Awami League
and the Jamat, which toppled the Ershad regime, burying the ‘military
democracy’.
Sadly, the people’s
aspirations for a better, safer and secure life with equal rights and opportunities
continued to be dashed by the ruling parties who with a ‘winner-takes-all’
attitude plundered the country as a fiefdom. Every new regime was in a
competition to outdo its predecessor in setting new records on thuggery, crimes,
and corruption.
The toppled Hasina
regime, thus, turned out to be the worst regime in which human rights for
non-partisans simply did not exist; no dissent was allowed; abduction and
extortion defined the norms of her autocratic government. The Police and the
RAB, let alone the hoodlums affiliated with the ruling party, became the
enforcers to prolong the life of her hated regime that was out of touch with ground
realities faced by the masses of the people. Sycophancy and not honesty and
meritocracy defined the character of the government and its agenda. In most
major investment projects, appointments and policy matters, the appeasement of India
ultimately sealed the fate. The constitution of the country was soiled beyond recognition
to justify and sanctify the state crimes and solidify her hold onto power by
any means plausible. In essence, under Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League,
Bangladesh was turned into a republic of fear and unmatched crime and
corruption. She destroyed the very image of her father Sheikh Mujib, once
revered as the Bangabandhu and founding father of the nation. The destruction
of Mujib’s home, museum and statues reflects people’s fury with Hasina’s
15-year misrule.
Sheikh Hasina’s
removal from power is a welcome event in Bangladesh’s history. The NRB
community is hopeful that the Interim Government will work diligently with
utmost sincerity and well-thought-out plans that fulfill people’s expectations.
And the list-to-do is too long. It will take years, if not decades, to properly
put together the steppingstones for Sonar Bangladesh where everyone feels happy,
productive, and energetic to become a force of change for the better. People in
Bangladesh don’t like to be revisited by the bad experiences of the past
regimes; they don’t like dynasty or family-centric politics; they don’t like to
see a return of chandabazi (or extortion) and thuggery; they don’t like a
government bureaucracy and judiciary where without bribery nothing gets done;
they like to see a patriotic and not a puppet establishment that is
uncompromising when it comes to the interest of Bangladesh.
Based on a crude
survey that we conducted recently, we found that our people are willing to give
the Interim Government enough time (3-5 years) to deliver some of the
essentials for a better future. They don’t desire an election any time soon,
and surely not within a year.
The NRB community
are committed to transforming what was a ‘brain-drain’ phenomenon to a
‘brain-gain’ phenomenon as a comrade in this new journey. If the Interim
Government sees a value in such a collaboration to transform Bangladesh into a
global player of significance, the time has come for a strong and sustained
engagement between those living inside Bangladesh and the NRBs that live
outside.
=================
Dr. Habib Siddiqui is a human rights and peace activist. He is associated with the ‘Esho
Desh Gori – Let’s Build Bangladesh’ as a member of its steering
committee.
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