What kind of society are we creating when the future of the society, young people, feel that there is no future for them in that society?
That is what I was asking myself when I read the Observer’s article pointing out that most young Jamaicans want to leave to improve their quality of life. The main take away message is that when asked about their prospects in a number of traditional destinations for Jamaicans, a consistent majority of respondents felt that they would have better life chances if they left our shores.
A number of things stood out about the article. I am surprised that the numbers that think they would be better abroad are not far higher. This could be because although prospects are not great here, an increasing number of Jamaicans know that life overseas is not easy and comes with its own set of distinct challenges. Additionally, Jamaicans are some of the most robustly patriotic people in the world. I would have been far happier with the article if the writer made some attempt to seriously grapple with what such a large number of young people wanting to leave means. Surely it an indicator of deep, societal dysfunction.
Some of the sentiments of one of the officials on hand also intrigued me:
She went on to say that the survey has provided interesting and critical data about Jamaican youths and shows how best the country and government, including her agency can engage its young people and cater to their current needs.
It annoys me no end when news articles or speakers on the nightly news make claims that they do not go on to substantiate with evidence. Sorry, I’m a researcher. I have not seen the survey, so I can’t comment on the contents. But I would be surprised if a survey (especially in isolation) was used to determine how to engage our young people. And if the spates of violence in schools, constant Ananda Alerts and often troubling exam results don’t tell you that our young people need help and spur genuine change, then I am not sure a survey is going to do it. Surveys are very good at tracking long-term socioeconomic trends and less good at developing effective means for addressing pressing social problems. Participatory assessment and planning approaches exist. However, if our government cannot see that it needs to develop genuine partnerships with the successful ‘big people’ of the diaspora, how are they going to do it with disenfranchised, frustrated youth as their partners?
By now you know I like to throw numbers at you.
Figure 2 is taken from the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief 4 and illustrates that quite a high proportion of our tertiary graduates leave. More generally, the Caribbean has the second highest proportion of tertiary graduates which emigrate. Sub-Saharan Africa takes the gold medal in this unhappy contest. What is the impact of such a tremendous loss of human capital on institutional development? In non-international development speak, I am simply saying that it is hard to tackle some of the deeply embedded impediments to our progress, if our best minds feel they have no choice but to leave. I can’t tell you how many Jamaicans I have met in my overseas travels who are so angry and upset that they had to leave to find success. Too many of them want nothing more to do with their homeland. Change requires a critical mass of people who want something better and have the skills to turn this desire into tangible progress.
All the vast majority of Jamaicans, young and old, want is to live in a society that rewards their efforts, allows them to fulfill their professional potential, make valued contributions to their community and raise their families in a secure environment. Is that too much to ask? Well, take a look in the mirror. It is going to require the effort of each and every one of us to redress rot that has been unchecked for some time. Pick and issue and get involved. I know one thing. We cannot continue like this.
About Astley Henry
I leverage my research expertise to help both public and private sector organisations better understand the people they wish to serve. I am especially interested in policy evaluation and market research. Connect with me on Google+
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