Articles
Op-Ed: Nepali Society Needs to be Less Emotional and More Practical
Even for a young girl playing in the dirt road in front of her home in rural Nepal, the entire world is her eventual playground. That's the reality of this digitally free world of today. While elders may lament the dryness of the local bazaar, devoid of young blood, if they were able to see 10-20 years down the road, they would realize that the lost boys and girls of rural Nepal may be the harbingers of future prosperity in their towns and villages, the same prosperity that conniving politicians have been promising for the past several generations.
Moreover, for a qualified young person with an ADSL internet connection in a single-room apartment in New Baneshwor that he/she shares with a friend, the world is limitless. The walls of the apartment have crumbled and the opportunities for success anywhere in the world are abundant. The thousands of Nepali youth who go abroad every year, in search ofbetter future, don't need to fear the world nor lament losing their homes. Because when they make themselves better and more skilled, they help not just themselves and their family, but society as a whole. Think remittance and how it has supported the Nepali economy. However, regular remittances aren't enough, we need to establish more sustainable ways to contribute to Nepal's development.
Since the days of long ago when the inhabitants of the Deccan plateau moved north and those beyond the Himalayas moved to the fertile south, migration in search of better opportunities has always been a constant phenomenon in the history of human civilization. It is a shame that we have yet to learn the value of migration and capitalize on the new skills and knowledge gleaned by our sons and daughters abroad to help our society at home. On the contrary, we as a society of emotional mothers and fathers, are soaked in self-pity and live in constant lament of the departed. We need to stop with the pity. The tears need to stop at the airport or the bus terminal.
The youth of Nepal are sweating in the sweltering heat of the Middle East, erecting scaffoldings 100m high with dust control mechanisms for skyscrapers. These can be used in Nepal to reduce the dust in the streets of Kathmandu. They are learning how to irrigate the acres of bone-dead land in Jordan; the technology for which can help irrigate the hills of Baitadi and Bajura. They are designing INTEL Pentinum microchips in Oregon, USA, and they are diversifying investments and loan risks for Merril-Lynch, which can be helpful to our banks to reduce their dangerous dependence on real-estate. Nepali youth are managing factories and malls from London to Belarus, they are designing drinking water systems in Brisbane, Australia. If there are any true leaders in Nepal, they will prepare the road for these lost boys and girls to return and contribute to the growth of the country.
Given the incompetance of our current political leaders, it is up to the Nepali diaspora to lobby them to ensure that these roads are paved so that skills and knowledge can return to Nepal more easily and efficiently. One of the ways to do this is to get donor agencies, like World Bank, the ADB, DfiD etc., to require local consultant teams comprising of skilled Nepali diaspora in their applications for development projects. If this mechanism is implemented, companies from all around the world will seek out skilled Nepali diaspora and use their skills in the development of Nepal. What better and easy way to help Nepal than this? The NRN Association, Nepal Engineers Association and other diaspora groups would be well-advised to take up the issue. Nepali society should not look down upon emigrants but instead, embrace them and find creative ways to utilize their new skills to develop all facets of Nepali society.
Sagar Onta
Sagar Onta is the founder of Entrepreneurs for Nepal, a support group for new, upcoming entrepreneurs. He is also the Chair of the Nepali Liaison Committee of American Society of Nepalese Engineers. He is currently looking for people to serve in the committee. Contact Sagar at sagaronta477@gmail.com.
( Nov 27th 2010, 11:22 PM ) says:
It was great until:
"One of the ways to do this is to get donor agencies, like World Bank, the ADB, DfiD etc., to require local consultant teams comprising of skilled Nepali diaspora in their applications for development projects."
I think there are plenty of Nepali people involved in development projects, and of course plenty of foreigners too - but surely it is the best qualified person who gets the job, right?
So should it really be about affirmative action, or should you just be pushing the diaspora to apply for jobs with those agencies - or are you worried about the salary difference for foreigners compared to national staff? you should be because there is a great gulf!
Anyway, please get on with it and get on the radio network to work on a) evaporating that sense of self pity you claim and b) the sense of responsibility to the nation, as give current evidence, its in very short supply c) support the folks on the ground here trying to weed out the corrupt relentlessly and with no mercy.
Then diaspora might come and start to do development work here.
And keep writing good articles.
( Nov 28th 2010, 12:32 PM ) says:
Nice heading Mr Onta but you are not going to net any balls with that.
While I agree with all the remittance and migration phenomena, how can you be so sure that, "The thousands of Nepali youth who go abroad every year, in search of better future, don't need to fear the world nor lament losing their homes. Because when they make themselves better and more skilled, they help not just themselves and their family, but society as a whole."
Don't give us isolated case studies, though.
Also, how simple do you think, "These can be used in Nepal to reduce the dust in the streets of Kathmandu."
Don't give us isolated case studies again.
Lastly, you say, "One of the ways to do this is to get donor agencies, like World Bank, the ADB, DfiD etc..."
Give us a break, you neo-capitalist for if you believe, "hey are designing INTEL Pentinum microchips in Oregon, USA, and they are diversifying investments and loan risks for Merril-Lynch, which can be helpful to our banks to reduce their dangerous dependence on real-estate." then you are contradicting yourself with your pro-support for donor agencies because they invite nothing but dependence.
( Nov 30th 2010, 03:56 PM ) says:
Drat. And, reluctantly I have to agree with the Vidrohi here.
I would also love to read about individual stories. This is the place for you to write those crucial stories that will help the society to aim further. Generalization is good, but makes a good read. It's a feel good story. Something you read and then forget.
I for one want hard facts, statistics --something, anything that I can drop in conversations. "Hey, did you know that so and so number of Nepali dudes are making INTEL chips in the states?" I want to say, rather than, "Nepali dudes are also working in the place where thy make INTEL chips re." That the thing I want to leave behind : re.
The tendency of attaching a 're' on every sentence is making us sound feeble. It's precisely the same reason why I don't choose to drop vague (sorry, I didn't wanted to use that term here, but have to) numbers, data (these are not yet information, they are still data - raw and unprocessed) when I talk about the 'lost generation'.
While I'm sure, Sagar ji and his organization has done and is doing great work in Nepal, I want to fall back on the dependency of numbers and statistics to boast about it. Yes, I do talk about Entrepreneurs for Nepal in my friends circle and have been following them a bit. But, results are what I want to foster what I say. I don't want to generalize, add a 're' on every sentence I speak. When I speak, I want every word to count.
And, that's is precisely what I expect from the author. Impress us. We're waiting.
( Dec 5th 2010, 09:16 PM ) says:
I have to disagree with Indra Dai.
While I think that yes, the article could do with more of a practical outcome, it is without a doubt important to say these things, even if you have no answer. The attitude may seem just as emotional as the mothers and fathers whom Sagar Onta is critisizing, but it isn't. Mr. Onta has a valid point and there is no change without an ideological basis- you need to put ideas out there and discuss them and only then can there be meaningful change. In fact, I would say the criticism of the article is more similar to that of the mothers and fathers in that it is overly stained with a glass half full attitude.
That being said, I would also have to disagree with Mr. Onta's analysis of the situation. Somewhat in line with the criticism of the article, I think it is slightly overly idealistic. Saying that the tears should stay at the airport is only inherent to a slightly monochromatic view of life- of course, yes of course self-pity is only detrimental, but there's a distinction between self-pity and grieving over something which, while temporary, naturally(and should do) cause genuine feelings of loss- which allows a proactive conclusion.
Also, I would say that while it is true to say that skills are being learned abroad and that they need to be more actively brought back, Onta's analysis is again, slightly naive. Many of the examples Onta mentions are beyond that resources of Nepal's limited capacity, either monetarily(where equipment may be too expensive and is dependent of a richer economy) or in terms of other resources such as personnel( while micro-chips are being designed, it takes a lot more than one person to put such a skill into practice, and probably more than one person to design a competitive micro-chip itself).
The overall message thought is very good.
( Dec 6th 2010, 11:15 AM ) says:
Firstly, thank you all for the comments and giving your opinion. I truly appreciate it and love to have the discussion on the topic. Yes, it is an optimistic view of things, but aren't we all tired to reading how bad and hopeless things are? It might be naive to wish for things and easy to point out what should be. And I agree that in the dust and gloom that shrouds Nepal these days, it is difficult to see the light, let alone try to shift through the mountain of difficulties to get some positive things done. Believe me, I have tried. Yes, one person cannot do it, but if we can get a critical mass of positive thinkers push the agenda of positive change forward, and have a problem-solving attitude along the way, may be it is possible, just may be.
I do want to address the criticism of WB/ADB and the lot by the younger generation. I understand that these organizations build dependency, but I think the majority of that blame lies in us, our society and leaders. When we are not able to use the resources they provide to make us stronger in the long-term, but instead use it for short-term, personal benefits, and wait till the next round of aid to line our pockets, who is to blame? If the govt. use aid to support their political cadre, who is to blame? So do not blame others for our society's handicap. Accept our weakness and try to make the situation better.
( Jan 17th 2011, 07:51 AM ) says:
At least there is someone who is optimistic about development prospects in Nepal. I came back recently from Nepal and can't see much optimism there. In these two and a half years, Nepal does not seem to have improved a bit. Things won't change until the change comes from grassroots level. And to make a difference on grass root level, it has to be integrated into five year national development plan. One person or one organization can only bring localized benefits. To change a country, the policy has to be drafted on a national level by the political leadership which seems highly elusive in current political context.
I also wanted to come back to Nepal and work for its betterment but it seems like I will have to wait at least another decade to even do that. How can anyone do any business without continuous power supply or political stability? Nepalese people have adapted themselves to overgrowing uncertainty, the diaspora doesn't want to deal with all that.
I agree. If looking for better opportunities has been an established evolutionarily phenomenon in the past, why look down to people for trying to do the same thing now?