Then the crisis continues. And brain drainage intensifies.
But what would happen if there was a way to reverse brain leakage? This is the question that the International Migration Organization (IOM) has been asking about Somalia.
“There has been a lot of cerebral drainage in Somalia. How do we bring back the skills they have been able to achieve in your country of residence to your country of origin?” Said Yvonne Jepkoech Chelmio, an IIM official, focused on work and migration in Africa.
The Africa Migration program for the development of the IOM (MIDA) selects members of the Somali diaspora who are experts in their chosen fields and places them in local national hospitals, schools and ministries to build the self -sufficiency of Somalia.
In the last 20 years, Meida has sponsored the return of more than 400 somali from 17 different countries. These returnees have worked in many fields, including education and health, as well as climatic action, urban planning and the rule of law, all in hope of advancing in sustainable development in Somalia.
Through the MIDA program, the Somali diaspora was placed in hospitals for mentor of local doctors.
‘Change conductors’
The Somali Civil War that began in 1991 caused the massive displacement, both internally and externally. More than 30 years later, the situation has improved, but security continues to be a problem, which in turn is imperative to sustainable development.
“What happens in countries like Somalia is that someone becomes skilled in a field, educated, does not want to stay here. So you lose talent, you lose skills,” said Pedagogy expert, Shire Salad, a diaspora participant in the Mida program that was placed in the Ministry of Education to work along with his evaluation development team.
With two million Somalis living abroad, the Somali diaspora has long played an integral role in the country’s economy. The money they send as remittances sometimes exceed direct foreign aid, totals more than $ 2 billion annually and contribute at least a third of the national GDP.
Solar panels provide a constant power to the university in Abudwaq, Galmadug.
But measure deviates from a unique understanding of the contributions of the diaspora, instead of creating ways for its return that emphasize its technical skills, experience and international networks.
“(The diaspora) serves as bridges, as ambassadors, as promoters of the change and development actors,” said Nasra Sheikh Ahmed, one of the IIM officials in charge of the program.
And according to Mrs. Ahmed, who is a member of the Somali diaspora, one of the most notable things about the MIDA program is that something that already exists is acquired: the Somali diaspora wants to return.
“(The diaspora) still sees him as his home. They are not immigrants in another country. They still see themselves like SomalÃes. They see themselves as an extension, basically living elsewhere.”
Education in the center
While the MIDA program has operated in many sectors, one of the main sectors on which the MIDA program has been centered is education.
Mohamed Gure, a professor at the Somalà National University, participated in the MIDA program as a local professional who worked together with members of the diaspora to improve the curriculum for teachers aspiring.
When Dr. Gure began his studies years ago, he said there were no programs in Somalia that offered a doctorate in education. Then he, like many others, went abroad.
Today, he sees a new type of problem: not enough Somalis want to become teachers, and those who believe they do not need formal training.
“Classroom teachers have no training to be a teacher. This will affect the quality of long -term Somalia education,” said Dr. Gure.
In the course of a few years, Dr. Gure worked together with diaspora professionals to develop a new curriculum and create a lasting association with Helsinki University in Finland.
For him, the benefits of this new curriculum are already clear: students are learning more and in -line collaborations with students in Helsinki are creating an international network of experience.
“All this (training) is a resource for the country. All the curricula that were developed for the country will remain. They will be used by teachers who can train other teachers,” said Dr. Gure.
The MIDA program has focused on empowering the education sector in Somalia.
A double meaning street
The associations, such as the one experienced by Dr. Gure, are an essential part of the long -term impact of the MIDA program, ensuring that even after the professional license of the diaspora, their contributions remain.
“We have not only provided a transfer of skills to two people, but these two people can now transfer to four people. Therefore, there is more sustainability in terms of process,” Chelmio said.
But this skill transfer is not exempt from challenges. Many of the diaspora who return to Somalia have gone for years, sometimes decades. The Somalia they return is quite different from the one they left.
“Although the language can speak and can understand that culture, they still see it as a foreigner,” said Dr. Salad, who left Somalia when he was quite young and “returned with gray hairs.”
The adaptation of experience to the Somali context is essential for sustainable development, and this is something that local professionals are uniquely equipped, creating a two -way street with both parties that act as experts in their own right.
“(The diaspora) does not understand the context, the dynamics of the country itself. The local expert can give the expert in the diaspora perspective,” Chelmio said.
A future in which the Somali stays
Measure, smallly, has reversed the brain escape of the last decades. He has brought hundreds of diaspora members back. And even if they have not stayed, their skills and experience have.
But, the Somalis continue to leave the country, risking their lives in boats to the Gulf and Europe for pure despair and many of them die.
Dr. Salad hopes that one day for Somalia, there will be no brain drainage to reverse.
“If they had hope in this country, they would have stayed. If they believed that this country was going to be a better country, they would have stayed. I hope that younger generations have that hope, to stay.”