I have a new neighbour and they moved here from their home country to have a 'better life'. I noticed with us Asians, we always seem to think if we can migrate and live in a western country, we are considered seeking a better life for ourselves and our family. But is it really just our Asian perception that our Asian country is not good enough? I am one who used to think the same that a better life is in a western country.
But what is a better life? My new neighbour is an exec in his home country but now have to work in a petrol station as a pump attendant. They have no car and he says life is so difficult but it's OK, I am giving my family a better life. I met taxi drivers who tell me that they were doctors and engineers in their home country but are now reduced to being a taxi driver and finding it so difficult to make ends meet.
I guess I feel that unless you are living in a war torn country or where you are barely surviving on necessities, then migration to get a better life is justifiable. But if it is just perception that you can get a better life, better education, etc in a western country, I think we Asians have to wake up and start seeing the beauty in our own country.
Now that I look back, a better life would be where I am loved, where I can spend time with my family, where there is always laughter in the house. Education is the same everywhere in the world - it's how we make the best of it.
If life in your home country means less stress, I cannot fathom how struggling financially and being stressed all the time can constitute a 'better life'.
Today I guess, I am feeling like the prodigal daughter...
Well said! I always feel very envious whenever my friends tell me that they are migrating to a western country and I still have that feeling now. But, whenever I go for biz trip to a foreign country, I miss home. I guess what you have, you don't appreciate. And what you don't have, you tend to crave for it. I am reminding myself nowadays to be happy with what I have now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie. Actually quite the contrary, I am envious of you. :) Whenever I see pictures of your family, your house (not carpeted!) and your extended family (your brothers and sisters), I feel such longing for home. I think sometimes you think those that migrated is happy because we put on a front for the sake of our ego. To return home, it's like admitting 'defeat'. But now, I long for nothing else but return home with my son...
ReplyDeleteSome of my friends quit their jobs, went to Australia and couldn't find new jobs ended up coming back to Malaysia after 6 months or so, FML
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