Xenophobia - A universal phenomenon?

Recently I came across a thought provoking article* which puts forward a case not to curtail H1B Visas and advocate reforms in the US policy while dealing with immigrants. Traditionally, it has been well established that the immigrant population does serve the community in more than one sense. US has been a pristine example of that. National Health Service (NHS) in UK is another example where immigrant population has contributed significantly. No one can really take away the contribution of immigrant Farsis’ to Indian economy. Why then are we so paranoid about foreigners? Be it a US citizen or a common man in Bombay, we feel threatened by the incoming exodus. We do not recognize the potential opportunities that may/will be generated but are stung by the insecurity at the core. Are we as human beings Xenophobic by nature?

I believe part of an answer would lie in human nature. Part of it in the education system that we are brought up with and the economic system we live with. It is scientifically estimated that only 2% of the entire human race is enterprising. That signals that only 2% of us can bear the 24x7 tension that comes with a high risk, high gain job. The success rate is further limited and given this fact most of us are not accounting for job creation but are a part of the herd finding one. Education system does very little to alleviate this problem. As per educationist KenRobinson(http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html), the first aim of the contemporary education system is to create academicians. Next is to create a technical workforce that could serve the industry. Most of the candidates entering higher education programs (including MBAs) aim for top notch corporate positions or academic positions that provide higher social status. They do not count for job creation. Some of them do turn entrepreneurs but the ratio is fairly limited and there is a huge competition for existing jobs as the new jobs are seldom created. No wonder then that the entire education system is inflated. The jobs done by baccalaureates’ in yesteryears are accomplished by employing Masters’ degree holders and the jobs to be done by Masters require doctorates of today. Moreover, we believe that we are taught team work through games, dance performances etc. but we are also taught to compete amongst our team mates unnecessarily. GPAs and not the learning becomes an objective. The toppers are eulogized more than required while the failures are stigmatized beyond repairs. The ranking system many a times acts perfectly to kill the co-operation amongst students. We rarely grow as teams but harvest sub-groups within groups.

Nobody would deny that we as a society are much more materialistic than previous generations. Things that can potentially wait longer have become a necessity of today. Banks are willing to facilitate loans for anything and everything and we as customers fall for the trap**. Our possessions turn our liabilities making us more insecure day by day. It further kills the risk taking appetite on the whole and we spend half of our lives paying mortgages of our houses, cars and other loans. Can such an economic system make oneself secure to take higher risks, generate jobs over longer run... Only those who act wisely in such circumstances thrive. One needs to use bank loans wisely to create more assets than liabilities. Most of the US citizens tend to do the opposite and as a result feel more and more insecure. Immigrants in US on the other side, try to build savings enabling themselves to launch businesses at opportune times. Gururaj Deshpande of Sycamore networks is a classic example of that. They do put their heart and sole into what they pursue and as a result the society is benefited. A common man in Bombay is simply facing lack of avenues. Bombay once used to be a textile hub is no more a centre of attraction for textile houses. Most of them are now migrated to Gujarat for the cost reasons and the common man in Bombay is helpless and in search of opportunities that have not grown.

In an Indian context, the insure feeling of the common man is exploited by the myopic politicians – the polity makers resulting in retrograde decisions. When I was working in John F. Welch Technology Centre, GE-ITC, Bangalore I heard a grapevine. John F. Welch, then CEO of GE wanted to leverage on the research done @ National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune for GE-Plastics and desired to set-up a research centre in or around Pune. When he approached Maharashtra State Government with the proposal, not only the government offered him a land full of debris, Mr. Bal Thakare demanded reservation for Maharashtrians in the jobs at the centre. I am yet to imagine a more ludicrous reason to lose business and welfare of the region. The fiasco created by Mamata Banerjee in the Tata’s Nano project in West Bengal would certainly impact the state over a long run too.

Unfortunately there are only a few places in the world that hail meritocracy and dump mediocrity, where industriousness is devoured and risk taking abilities, innovations are encouraged irrespective of race, cast and creed. US – A dreamland for the globe and Bombay – A dreamland for Indians deserve their status as meritocratic cosmopolitan houses where everybody feels welcome and I hope this status would be preserved and perceived in days to come…

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=ViewsSectionPage&id=26183b7b-d7fe-4db4-a081-f54262ab1fd7&MatchID1=4924&TeamID1=4&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1244&PrimaryID=4924&Headline=Anti-immigrant+song

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This is not only a personal experience. :p