Is it the finish of the Gulf Boom? Is it time to create the obit of the Gulf Boom? By all offered indications, yes. A regular stream of expatriates is returning to India and other countries of the Third Planet, with broken dreams in their suitcases.
The fortunate ones are these that have already made their pot of gold, and have to appear for a job in their country, much more for an occupation than for subsistence. The unlucky ones are these that had borrowed money to chase their dreams, and have now to go back to their locations and face the moneylenders. It is a tragedy being played out across the Indian subcontinent, and some other countries in the much less developed planet.
So how do we rationalize this tragedy? Who do we hold accountable for this unfolding tragedy? The Government, the Citizens, fate, circumstances? On balance, it would seem that the Governments and their citizens are accountable in practically equal measure, with the scale tilting slightly towards the Government.
A single of the easy and abiding truths of life is, when you rely on others for something, you are risking your own interests, and putting yourselves at the sweet mercies of the other individuals. The overdependence of nations like India on overseas jobs to take care of their unemployed millions has now boomeranged on them, and it may possibly be only a matter of months just before the deluge of returning for good expatriates delivers a body blow to their already wobbling economies.
It is an undeniable reality that Governments in several of the much less developed nations like India, Pakistan, Philippines, and so forth., have taken the effortless way out to deal with the unemployment problem by encouraging their citizens to migrate to the Gulf and other prosperous destinations, alternatively of generating concerted efforts to fulfill their standard responsibilities towards their citizens. What’s much more they get low-cost foreign exchange by way of remittances from the expatriates. On their portion, the citizens of these countries have also not bothered to fight for their rights in their personal land. Rather, they have taken the effortless way out by taking up jobs abroad, than traverse the rough road of activism to bring about accountable governance in their own countries.
So long as the going was excellent, neither the Governments, nor their citizens bothered about the implications of their respective actions or inaction. But all very good factors have to come to an finish. And so it is with the Gulf Boom. What now? Increase in unemployment, social tensions, religious strife, political instability, financial chaos, crimes and so on., and so forth. We are in for some fairly challenging occasions ahead. It is a scary situation alright!
On the brighter side, this circumstance offers each the Governments and the citizens of the affected nations, to ponder over their past mindless conduct, and their penchant to skirt chronic troubles, and to lastly put their collective heads with each other and discover solutions for the exploding issue of the Gulf Doom.
And if that takes place, there may possibly however be a opportunity to escape the worst consequences of this developing tragedy.
