The brain drain

    I’ve met a lot of New Zealanders who like to think they’ve adapted well to our ‘multicultural’ society. They eat Italian and Chinese takeaway and know how to introduce themselves in French. But many of them have never had the opportunity or inclination to travel anywhere further than Australia. Those that have gone a little further usually stick close to the borders of America and the UK – English speaking countries.
    Not that it is a bad thing to travel to other western nations. Taking two weeks to drive across the States will make you think nothing of the eight hour drive from Auckland to the Capital. Making a visit to a castle nearly a thousand years old might even give you a sense of humor about New Zealand’s historical sites that have been standing just over a century.
    Perhaps it is a result of being surrounded by the ocean. It can be a long flight from the rest of the world and as a result we don’t have the same free flowing traffic of peoples that can happen in the greater continents. But I’m starting to suspect more and more that we look at current events through very thick Kiwi goggles and use that to form our opinions. I support the brain-drain because I believe it is important for us to travel and see where and when our assumptions hold up and in what areas we have been completely inaccurate.
    Governments that look merely at short-term effects during their stay in the Beehive worry that the newly educated leave these shores rather than stay and contribute their knowledge within society. But if they took any time to talk with and understand the former students now based around the world they might soon find that a large number are simply saving up enough money to buy a house when they move back home.
    With global travel and communications more prevalent than ever before it is becoming increasingly crucial to become a society that understands the world climate and can use that information to better position itself economically and politically. Today’s students are tomorrow’s decision makers. Which type of leaders do we want? Those who only have a understanding of New Zealand and its short history, or those who have the additional benefit of seeing what is done in the rest of the world as well?
    Rather than complain, let’s encourage the brain-drain. In ten years this country will reap the benefits.