Where there is will, there is way

There are just too many defeatists and escapists in Bangladesh society today. They are very good at shifting blame on this or that to make a case for their misdeeds like wasting foreign scholarships, contributing to the brain drain and other ways of cheating or depriving their country and their people. We were amused to read recently a writing in the editorial page of the FE. What the writer of that article wrote amounted to building up a case for the above such persons, saying that they sell their services overseas from a lack of opportunities in their homeland. But this is a lame excuse really. The hard reality is that many of the so-called highly educated people from Bangladesh are compelled to lead the life of an odd-jobber year after year in foreign countries. A realistic and brilliant article -- that also appeared in the FE sometime ago -- focused on how a relative of the writer with a Phd degree, was forced to work for years in a fast food shop in New York for a long time as no one wanted to hire him to do a job befitting his high academic attainment. So much for the better opportunities for our highly educated or professionals in foreign lands! Bangladeshis in many cases turn their back on their motherland out of a very selfish motive and a wrong sense of a better life abroad. Surely, the PhD holder, if he decided to stay in Bangladesh, perhaps would not have to waste his academic qualifications by working in a hamburger shop. Even amidst the alleged lack of opportunities in Bangladesh, he would very likely be assured a decent job in his country of origin. There are challenges in every setting. The truly able and well intentioned ones make their way, notwithstanding the odds. Bangladesh is blamed for lack of opportunities. But despite the alleged lack of such opportunities, thousands of smart and young Bangladeshis have founded enterprises within the country over the last 20 years. They have flourished and they have also created employment and means to live a good life for thousands of their fellow countrymen. They did not leave Bangladesh on the plea of inadequate opportunities but identified their opportunities here and exploited the same all the way. They also added to their country's well-being in the process. Ahmed Farid Shantinagar, Dhaka