Bring them back

Sometimes it seems that Lebanon is in a race to the bottom. It ranks at the top of lists in corruption, inflation, and instability. The tradition of leaving the nation to provide and support is an over-lived one. 14 million, both Lebanese-born, living abroad and those born-abroad, but of Lebanese descent, are roaming the world...anywhere but here. A recent report from the International Labor Organization found that there are over 1 million registered refugees from Syria in Lebanon. There is a pattern here, a dangerous one. When we think of brain drain in Lebanon, we think of doctors, lawyers, and engineers leaving their country to earn a living and a life elsewhere. We now must think in other terms. Skilled youths, the cornerstone of any economy are leaving. A recent study published by the World Bank compared the migration rates of different countries with their average scores on an international test called PISA. It found that for every 10% increase in migration, there was a 10% decrease in reading scores on PISA. The new digital economy demands skilled workers in all industries, especially services, contextually to Lebanon. Be it that we still suffer from a dangerous lack of industrialization, to export and help ourselves, we are reliant for now on enhancing the services sector. It is what people know generally and is comfortable with here, hence all the good word of mouth about Lebanese hospitality. I see this as an opportunity, i.e. with the accelerated post-pandemic - mobility of work, service providers, creators, and youths who are leaving us, can capitalize on their skills to use it anywhere. The goal should be: work internationally, but from “home”. Yes, this is a bit too much to ask, from people who lost it all. Individuals who lost their patience with this country will not just come back because telework exists. Although I understand this, I need the reader to comprehend that, living here is different from just visiting and looking from afar at a certain situation. We all support campaigns, in the best ways we can. I fear it is not enough. It is not enough to say: When I’ll make it I’ll be back, or that it is just too much to take or that there is no future here…I'll send my loved ones fresh dollars, that’ll fix it, that will be the equivalent of helping my nation. In truth, I find this not enough. When the majority of our diaspora is made of youths, when we are in the middle of the biggest digital revolution yet, one that is making distances meaningless, there can be hope.

I understand that one cannot just ask people to come back. But witnessing the myriad of families I know who are torn apart, as their kids live somewhere else, while parents stay in Lebanon, growing older by the day, and alone. When thousands just picked up and left, for justifiable and honorable reasons, whom did they leave the country for? Yes, one person doesn’t matter, all the time. The decisions made individually but en-masse will slow our nations' recovery, as general sadness fills the air. Establishing a life abroad, is to be commended and I hope it brings its’ pursuers what they hoped for and more, but I believe that there are palpable consequences to this very soon, and the responsibility lays equally on all. It is not enough to send money, not enough to wish for the best and share updates over social media. It will be enough if all those who left, “magically” have it in the back of their minds to come back. Not to make it outside of Lebanon, but to aim to literally come back and build a better equipped and more just and industrialized country. Change political players by advancing new political parties and “colors”. We need the numbers to reach a critical mass of thinkers and doers that refuse the Status Quo. We, back home, those who decided to stay, are weaker now somehow. We will face an even slower recovery, as most of our fresh energy has left us. Our services sector will be once again slow to grow and adapt to new technologies that are surely taking over.

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People assume that when you come back to Lebanon you've failed. You can't blame them for leaving. Lebanon is a place where there's no job security, where the political situation is still dire, and with corruption everywhere. There's also a feeling of hopelessness among many. But I do believe that more effort, on the part of the Lebanese state, should be done to make “coming back” a choice at least. There may be no way to empirically prove the negative and direct effects of brain drain on Lebanon, but what we witness daily is hard evidence relating to the general sadness and dismantlement of the Lebanese family. The right to prosper, near those who love and care for us, is inalienable.?Lebanon has never been short on talent but it is losing its best and brightest to other countries. My wish is for you, abroad, to think again, think how you can come back, what skills can you develop that will allow you to at least come back more. I believe that when there is a will there is a way, and that despair and sadness on the faces of so many disenchanted parents is motive enough to at least propose this idea.