Where to from here for all of us?

Economic instability, political crisis and many other negative factors drive many professionals overseas whereby the country is in danger of facing brain drain in the future.

A tumultuous year in Sri Lanka seems to be never ending. The island lurching from one disaster to another. Looking at home from afar, it always gives you the sense that its internally perched on a precipice. 
Maybe it has always been like that. But these few years spent away from Sri Lanka, the longest stretch I have been away, makes you look at your own country differently. The loss of opportunities is just mindboggling. 

Several friends have returned after spending time in Sri Lanka and their recent memories are laced with despondency. Being let down by those that we elect is a universal feeling, but Sri Lankan politicians have made an art of fattening their own lot at the expense of millions of fellow country men, women and children. 
We just celebrated 75 years of independence at great cost. But after three quarters of a century of being free (from?), where do we find ourselves? Sri Lanka as a nation lies among the main problem cases in the region. 

We just celebrated 75 years of independence at great cost. But after three quarters of a century of being free (from?), where do we find ourselves? Sri Lanka as a nation lies among the main problem cases in the region 

“The hunger crisis in Afghanistan has persisted for over a year, 
with unparalleled levels of acute food insecurity. Conflict and political turmoil in Myanmar are driving up needs and exacerbating economic fragility. 
In Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the underlying economic and climate vulnerabilities will challenge the capacity of governments and people to cope with the global food crisis” the World Food Programme said in a recent operational update. 

When we celebrated our 50th Independence, there was a war in full throttle, in fact a major attack was carried out days before the celebrations. But we were still considered a nation with enormous potential held back by the war. Now there is no war, there has been no war to speak of for the last 14 years and we are worse off than ever. 
When I joined journalism after leaving what then appeared to be a secure career at the Foreign Ministry, the field held so much promise. Don’t get me wrong, it was not for the faint-hearted. There were very real threats, especially if you were working for a newspaper that was viewed as the harshest critic of the then government. But there was career promise both within the country and outside of it. 

When we celebrated our 50th Independence, there was a war in full throttle, in fact a major attack was carried out days before the celebrations. But we were still considered a nation with enormous potential held back by the war. Now there is no war, there has been no war to speak of for the last 14 years and we are worse off than ever 

Now most colleagues I speak with has one intent; how to get out and get out quickly. I woke up this morning and one of the big news items on a chat group was that a prominent Sinhala television anchor had decamped to Canada. There was an image of the beaming gentleman in a winter coat accompanying the post. If this is confirmed, this would be the second occasion a colleague has sought relocation in this nation. 

Where to from here for all of us? 

If we remain where we are, we are looking at an abyss on a daily basis. No one can keep doing that. If we leave, then there is another set of pressures. Relocating overseas during the second half of your career and life is not as easy as when you are starting off. Your body sometimes feel like an old rusted bicycle which really does not want to move. 
And if you find yourself without a close-knit support structure, you might as well be on Mars. 

Twenty-five years ago, when we celebrated 50 years of Independence, if someone were to say that this where we would be 25 years down the road, we would not have believed that prediction for a minute. We were probably doing better than the current rot even with the war 

Twenty-five years ago, when we celebrated 50 years of Independence, if someone were to say that this where we would be 25 years down the road, we would not have believed that prediction for a minute. We were probably doing better than the current rot even with the war. 
For the sake of our individual and collective sanity, it is probably best we not even contemplate the next 25 years. 

 The writer is a journalism researcher and the Project Lead at the Dart Centre Asia Pacific. He can be contacted on [email protected]