The 18th of June, 2023: it was a perfectly ordinary summer day until it wasn’t; the media and news outlets all round the country were blaring the same headline. More than three hundred individuals and families lost their loved ones in a tragic incident— a boat, boarded to maximum capacity with migrants, drowned near the Greek coastguard. What’s worse is knowing that these migrants were baited into these menacing illegal activities under the dream of attaining a better lifestyle abroad, an escape from the local dystopia. But is achieving this “better lifestyle” as easy and promising as it sounds? 

While immigrating to a foreign country is a fresh start for many, the struggle to establish a stable lifestyle, to settle into a new and alien environment, to find your rhythm amongst a sea of foreigners takes decades, if not a lifetime. Reality hardly ever matches up to our idealistic dreams: even if one does find success abroad, does it ever compare to the home you grew up in? It is a hard choice to make, always, to be put in a position where you have to choose between your homeland and a better future. 

The idea of leaving Pakistan for a better future has been prevalent in recent years. While foreign lands might offer a better life, the struggle to establish the said lifestyle is a long, strenuous journey; many migrants spend their lives struggling in foreign systems to secure a better living for their future generations.

Why do people feel compelled to leave the country? 

Well, the other side of the coin enforces the idea that the driving power behind brain drain is a lack of opportunities. The dearth of available jobs, despite skills and degrees, leaves people with few opportunities and forces them to look for sanctuary in other countries. On a secondary level, people from various socio-economic groups go to foreign countries to experience a new perspective in terms of education and career prospects. Those who can leave the country (the upper classes) go and return at their leisure, while those that face the brunt of Pakistan’s issues (the lower classes) are forced to resort to illegal means, as seen in the incident.

Extremism is another issue that compels people to leave the country for reasons such as safety and opportunities. Oftentimes religious, sectarian and other minorities become victims to the dominant religious extremist groups, leading to discrimination of varying extremes. Women have to put in twice the effort as men to get access to the same wages while communities like transgenders are struggling to earn basic humanitarian rights in our society.

The tragic farce that life overseas will immediately solve all your problems is incorrect. The overseas lifestyle is glorified to such an extent that to most Pakistanis, it just boils down to a false belief that it’s all sunshine and rainbows. One should certainly aspire to have the best education and opportunities for themselves, but while being mindful of how western media idolizes its own ways of life while demonizing foreign cultures. 

Gen Z has started deeming that their self-worth is defined by what they accomplish in life. That’s indeed a metric in judging your worth but your national identification plays an important role as well. For momentary bliss, you cannot and should not forge or hide that part of your identity, rather, accept it with an attitude of confidence. Globalization through mass media has made us look down on our own country and culture, thinking of it as less than the apparent “dream life” the West generously offers. 

So what does a better Pakistan look like? Imagine a Pakistan that could be a better place for your family, your children, and your lineage. Isn’t it a glorious ideal to chase? Suspend your belief that the nation cannot change. Suspend your belief that you won’t be heard. And on the second day of the three-day dialogue, you better turn up, roll up your sleeves and get down to work.

By Sohaira Waheed
Writer (Team 2023-2024)

Note: the views expressed in the article solely belong to the writer and do not reflect TLC.