Hi Everyone Wish You all a Very Happy 2015 and Beyond!!!
I know the topic of immigration horror stories has been dealt with rather adequately with by many forumites. I however would like to share my views too. I personally am in touch with a lot of people who have migrated to Canada and some other countries like Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and some even to destinations in EU.
Most of the people I know did face hardships and some even have had to endure extended periods of dissatisfaction but I am very happy to inform the forum that most if not all are now extremely successful and happy people.
Migration is a very personal decision and has nothing to do about your home country unless you are from an extremely unstable and violent states we all know of. It is definitely not a question of Pakistan or India. Pakistan like any other nation on this planet has its own share of problems so does my home country India. But both countries house millions of people who are not only happy but are successful in their chosen fields of endeavor. I must say that like many of my generation I too was brought up on the vitriolic stereotypes but as I grew up I have had the privilege of meeting some of the most warm, gracious and cultured people from Pakistan. I am in fact surprised that people find the similarities between India and Pakistan surprising! With a common origin and lineage, how different could we have become?!!?? So any suggestion that seeking immigration is more justified if you are from Pakistan is a very myopic interpretation of what are essentially personal decisions.
The issue of migration is also not about your standard of education. Suggestions that you may not need to migrate and probably should not do so if you are from Ivy league institutes suffers from the flawed premise that migration is an option only if you are not “good enough” to make it in your home country. A few months ago, some forumite had queried why an IIM forumite was looking to migrate. Again the same assumption was at play there too. My humble opinion of this issue is that is that neither does an Ivy league education guarantee success neither should your education, lvy league or otherwise, be a determinant of where you would like to live and work! I personally have not been to an ivy league and I find such assumptions ridiculous and slightly demeaning.
To all those forumites who find merit in these horror stories and who are in fact dead worried about migrating to Canada, I have a simple message; You are not alone! Most if all of us know that it is going to be difficult! Most of us will be leaving cushy comfortable lives and will voluntarily be taking on a life of uncertainty and risks. But I assure you, it is no more difficult than anyone trying to do anything anywhere! I assure you, getting a good job and setting up a decent career is as difficult in india and I am sure it is so in Pakistan, Philippines and other countries too! There mere fact that we know it is going to be difficult is a huge advantage in our favor! We know what awaits us and we can plan! We can learn from other forumites and we can learn a lot from these horror stories too!
And that ladies and gentlemen is the solution! Learning and Planning! We are all educated professionals and we cannot be so helpless!
Let us take the modulus of each story we read, positive or negative. Let us then glean valuable workable intel from these stories and prepare a plan for ourselves. Let us be like the explorers of the past and go out into a journey, which will be a journey of self discovery as much as a journey to a new country.
I wish you all the best! Godspeed!
P.S: I look forward to flying kites on the rooftops of Lahore at least once in my life!
Sorry to bore you guys with such verbosity!
