“Building bridges of opportunity: migration and diversity” that was the theme of
a round table discussion sponsored by the U.S. embassy to the Holy See and the Pontifical
North American College here in Rome Thursday.
The President of the Migrant
Policy Institute, a Washington and Brussels-based think tank, Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou
was one of the partcipants of the event, together with Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
the President of Pontifical Council for Culture and Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the
Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the International Organization for Migration.
Speaking
to Vatican Radio on the sidelines of the discussions, Dr. Papademetriou said the economic
crisis in countries like his native Greece has led many people to leave the country
or consider emigrating to another nation in search of a better future.
Himself
a naturalized U.S. citizen, Dr. Papademetriou notes that countries in Europe like
Greece, Spain and Ireland, which were once emigrant nations, have seen a reversal
in that pattern in the last few decades, with large numbers of immigrants arriving
on their shores.
“Places like Greece, Spain or Ireland, in a decade or a decade
and a half, had as many immigrants per capita – per head – as the United States has,
which is a remarkable statement,” Papademetriou says.
He observes that the
people who left these countries in the last 70-100 years were mostly farmers or poor
people from small villages who emigrated to another country seeking better opportunities.
“Now,
a new phenomenon has emerged,” he says. “First of all, those countries that very
suddenly became countries of immigration are in a sense now returning back to their
own norm: they’re becoming again significant countries of emigration. But this time,
the people who are leaving these countries - my country of origin/birth, Greece; Spain
and Italy…and many other places - what they’re losing is young, very educated, very
dynamic people who are really leaving because they don’t think that there are any
prospects for them in their own countries.”
“Believe me, the interest in talented
young foreigners in countries like the United States, the U.K., Australia, Canada…
is very, very high because what they see…is an opportunity to have young, talented
people…(who) also bring their education and talents to the service (of their economies)
and society. That’s great for the receiving countries. At some point, it becomes
problematic for the sending countries because in order for them to…go back into a
pattern of economic growth, they need the very talents of the young people that they’re
losing today.”
Countries like Italy and Greece, he notes, are losing the best
and brightest of their academics, scientists, engineers and health professionals to
countries like the U.S. which invest heavily in these fields and offer greater financial
rewards.
“This is not a new phenomenon – it has nothing to do with the economic
crisis. It has to do with the reward structure, particularly in the United States”
Dr. Papademetriou affirms, stressing that private endowments and government funding
have helped create and maintain some of the world’s finest research institutions in
every field.
“Which makes it a no-brainer,” Papademetriou asserts, for an “up-and-comer”
or “an established brain” to turn to a country like the U.S. seeking better financial
rewards and professional fulfilment. “There are almost endless opportunities over
there.”
In this interview by Tracey McClure, Dr. Papademetriou offers some
suggestions on what states and private enterprise can do to stem the emigration abroad
of their best and brightest…