KARACHI: These days a large segment of Pakistan’s middle class parents are advising their children to ‘leave Pakistan and never come back’. Such an attitude has led to the massive brain-drain that the country is currently experiencing. Those who are competent enough to achieve something — despite the countless flaws in our education system and the difficulties one faces in the professional world — prefer to leave their country in search of better opportunities rather than striving to make their own country a better place to live in.
The fear of living in Pakistan has led them to ignore all the drawbacks associated with living in a foreign land. I agree that serious problems like terrorism, inflation, lawlessness, corruption and unemployment have made our country a difficult place to survive in, but if Pakistanis themselves — especially the youth — are afraid of confronting these problems and solving them by staying here, then who is going to make things right for us? John F Kennedy once said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. I think there is a dire need for Pakistanis to adopt this approach and contribute what they can, in their individual capacities, towards the betterment of Pakistan and those who live here.
Fariha Fazal
Published in The Express Tribune, April 2nd, 2012.
