03.12.2006
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Brainy Man JORDBUR's View on Brain Drain and Burma
_ JORDBUR (Just ORDinary BURmese)
It was a rainy Saturday and JORDBUR was too lazy to go for window shopping at fancy super markets or free browsing books at BORDERS bookshop.
Instead he decided to watch Bollywood movie as JORDBUR always has a soft spot for hot Indian female film stars. The film is about an engineer and a gorgeous US trained accountant chic an MBA type who both works and lives in United States, met in Paris, date in London, and engineer's old flame beautiful doctor diligently serving her homeland, India. In Bollywood style, they run, sung and danced and JORDBUR was fully immersed in the belly waves of gorgeous Indian a-kars dances.
After 2 hours, the engineer goes for poor doctor leaving MBA chic high and dry. Possibly be Indian censor scissors boys are as conservative as Burmese.
They may prefer home run stories to happy endings for affluent ran away sons. Anyway that left JORDBUR on deep thought, since he thinks himself as a talent which countries like to woo and keep, a real brain that can drain.
He always fancies the thought that Ministry of Manpower and employers of his host countries on their knees begging him to move in although in reality he needs them more than they needs him.
JORDBUR, being a man of reasons, always has excuses himself. He thinks it is justifiable to leave Burma for greener grasslands and cleaner water across oceans and continents for tax he paid to the Union of Burma embassies around the world, the inbound remittance he made to his family and investment he made in his country.
He thinks himself as an unpaid ambassador of Burmese Education promoting the college degree he earned in Burma, but he conveniently forget the possible fact that advanced degree he earned elsewhere probably add more value to resume'.
JORDBUR sometimes think of scenarios if he were stuck in golden land, he wonders what he would be alike. He might have been teaching computers, injecting life juices to grandpa electronics rescued from trash bins around the world, hacking GSM phones with illegal tools or perhaps he may be wearing Burmese traditional jacket TypePone, driving Mazda Jeep and occasionally yawning at National Convention in NyaungNitPin.
Here in his adopted country, JORDBUR thinks he is doing ok. Special report about talent emigration in the Economists reinforces his belief that he is a poster boy of win-win immigration. The most important person for his life, JORDBUR, Burma and the host country all three parties win from drain of big JORDBUR brain.
He is not a bond breaker of a state scholarship, although his college education is heavily subsidized, his taxes might have more than compensated those subsidies back. He reasons that person of his calibre needs bigger room to grow as he wants to become a senior corporate executive, or a tenured track well known academics, or technopreneur business men creating thousands of jobs for his host country and old sweetheart Burma.
He thinks defensively that he is making an honest living outside Burma not bribing or being bribed, a living out of his brain and hands. He hopes the money remit to his home boost Burmese economy, help educate his families and his investments indirectly creating the jobs for local construction industry. Sometimes, when he is high on cheap booze, he like to think that those kids in the satellite towns of Yangon whose parents work as masons, carpenters or labourers in construction industry should appreciate JORDBUR for his patriotic investment in Burma. JORDBUR sometimes think of a beach house in Ka Be island in southern Thailand or Copacabana beach in Brazil but his unrivalled patriotism, lure of potential high yields/profits made Burma preferred destination for JORDBUR to invest. But JORDBUR think overseas education and exposure is invaluable for Burmese youth, if they choose to return with their skills, qualifications, capitals and know-how that will be good for country. Even if they don’t keep Burmese passports they could become lobbyists for Burmese affairs, source of capital for investments and professional network for people of Burmese origin.
JORDBUR thinks Burma has nothing to lose being nice to her wanna-be expatriate sons during some phases in their life. They will always remember Irrawaddy, Bagan, Thingyan, Kyite Hti Yo hiking, Shwedagon, beaches, Mohingkha, WakTharToteHtoe and HtanYae.
JORBUR becomes dizzy now, he does not know the correctness of his logically correct reasoning but he knows one thing for sure. It is time to cool down heated JORDBUR brain with Californian Red.
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