The Diaspora of Chitral and harnessing its potential for sustainable development

A person is the most precious asset of a place and a diaspora is a person placed away from the ancestral homeland. In this brief note I intend to highlight the power of the diaspora of Chitral that can be harnessed for building sustainable society within the Chitral Valley.

Since the diaspora is emotionally attached to their relatives, historically the diaspora has played a critical role in the development of their ancestral societies. In this regard the contemporary successful example is that of the Turkish Guest Workers in Germany and their role in the development of their ancestral regions and societies in Turkey. In Pakistan and several other developing countries the diaspora has been a stable and sustainable source of foreign exchange in terms of home remittances, for example, in Pakistan during 2011 to the tune of US$ 3.5 billion - accounting only for cash transfers through official channels.

The Chitrali diaspora in the Gulf region started in 1973-74 through a crash-program introduced by the personal initiatives of the than Prime Minister of Pakistan. This first batch of the diaspora comprised entirely of manual and semi-skilled workers. In the early Eighties some of us started entering into the professional and semi-professional markets through our individual initiatives. During the Nineties a number of Chitrali professionals also started settling in North America and United Kingdom as naturalized citizens. Hence over the past few decades the number of diaspora from Chitral has increased significantly, spreading in several countries of the world and engaged in professions ranging from domestic and construction workers to heart surgeons, financial sector specialists and educators.

“Work globally” and “serve locally” are the opposing ends of a diaspora’s motivations and state of mind. The motivation to work and earn globally pushes the diaspora out of the ancestral homeland and the emotion to serve local societies in the ancestral homeland pulls the diaspora to revert to its original place in most cases with more empowerment. There is always a conflict between these “push” and “pull” forces. The turning of the enhanced resources of the diaspora into valuable assets for the ancestral homeland requires understanding the complex nature of the forces at work and resolving the pull and push conflicts. For example, in the first phase - the diaspora’s outward movement is bound to create an initial condition of brain-drain from the ancestral homeland. However, in the second phase, if properly managed by interventions of government, civil society and diaspora organizations – in the immediate future there is the potential of a reverse inflow of financial resources, management and work skills to the diaspora homeland. Viewed in this two-tier policy perspective, diaspora has an immense power that can be harnessed for the sustainable development of the ancestral homeland – in this case the Chitral Valley.

The two-tier approach requires promotion of a diaspora outflow in the framework of a strategy that works to ensure an enhanced reverse inflow of financial and human resources in the near future. Such a planned approach needs understanding the dynamics of a number of other basic considerations. The first and foremost among these considerations is differentiation between the mental state of the diaspora – between immigration and assimilation in the new homeland on one hand and maintaining a guest worker capacity in the country of work on the other. Assimilation in a new foreign homeland and simultaneously maintaining an emotional and direct attachment to the ancestral homeland is financially costly and often not sustainable. In this case it is best to indirectly participate in the development of the ancestral homeland through institutional processes. Those institutional processes must exist to harness the diaspora power.

If diaspora is purely viewed as the state of being a guest worker outside the ancestral place, than there is a diaspora within the boundaries of a country as well. In other words it is rational to view the diaspora as a borderless phenomenon. To put this in other words, if professionals, skilled and manual workers from Chitral are able to travel back home more easily from the GCC countries by air as compared to travelling from Karachi, imposing a foreign border condition in defining diaspora is irrational. In other words if the productivity of an individual in a foreign country like GCC region in terms of net earnings increases significantly as compared to working in another part of the home country, like Karachi or Lahore etc., cross-border diaspora is preferable for maximizing the society’s wealth and welfare.

To conclude this brief note – diaspora has an immense power in promoting sustainable development in the ancestral homeland. There should be a two-tier approach to harmonize the push and pull forces and an institutional process to harness the power of the diaspora. There should also be a rational and effective remedy to remove the biases against cross-border diaspora.

The idea of establishing the Global Association of Chitrali Professionals (GACP) emerges from considerations including the above. The GACP shall strive to utilize the potential of the Chitrali diaspora in promoting sustainable development in the Chitral Valley and set an example that can be replicated in other parts of the country. People strive with motivations and one great motivation is to contribute to the development and welfare of the people whom one knows. That simple fact attracts the diaspora back to the ancestral place and its power must be harnessed. -- Tariqullah Khan, Moreder Chitral 12 Nov 2011

Comment 1

This is with reference to Dr. Tariq’s article, The Diaspora of Chitral and harnessing its potential for sustainable development. The learned author has pointed to a much needed response to the current state of affairs whereby Chitral’s most valuable resources; its working population outside of Chitral have not paid due attention to their potential role in its development.

As a young Chitrali, I have no complaint against people’s moves in search of better job opportunities which leads to their leaving home but complacency and negligence specifically on part of the educated professional cadre is quite intimidating specially when contemplated against a potentially difficult and uncertain future. In this context, Dr. Tariq’s initiative of creating THE GLOBAL ASSOCIATION OF CHITRALI PROFESSIONALS is a commendable move for two important reasons, as I see it. First, it can, provided he himself continues to give his input, mobilize the professional cadre of Chitral wherever they may be. (I want to make a confession here that I have never doubted other people’s efforts and intentions in contributing to a whole array of areas of interests to Chitral and its people. My contention regards their discontinuity, for whatever reason). Second, it will provide a platform for a serious dialogue on all sorts of issues of value to the past, present and future of Chitral.

I would not look at the issue of ‘Diaspora’s motivation’ (although I am aware of the difficulties around the term ‘diaspora’ itself, I am using it in the same sense as the author, as I have understood it) as having been informed by some competing forces specially when viewed in relation to ‘giving back’ to the place of origin. The formulation with ideas of ‘push’ and ‘pull’ forces imply opposition and conflict but there is no reason to believe that people might not have any motivation to go back owing to a number of factors no matter how strong are their intentions to do so but may have strong motivation to ‘give back’ in other ways. The real issue then is providing them with opportunities to do so and I am confident the said initiative by Dr. Tariq is a way forward.

I am looking forward to seeing more and more people joining hands together in the good cause that is intended and the tentative planned forum in July. Luck up! -- Inayat Ullah Farghani, Mulkhow, 14 Nov 2011.
 

Comment 2

This refers to Dr.Tariq's idea for harnessing the potential of the diaspora of Chitral for sustainable development of the valley. This is a dream many of us cherish in our hearts and minds, yet unfulfilled for various reasons, two of which I dare to count here.

One was the dearth of development professionals and two of course paucity of financial resources. I agree with Dr. Tariq's two tier approach. It is never too late, the opportune time has arrived as there is no dearth of professionals who know the art of sustainable development as also other resources.

The need of the hour is to join hands and act in unison. I am sure many of our friends at home will appreciate the idea and be willing to contribute in one way or the other. --Shah Karez, Chitral 15 Nov 2011

Comment 3

I appreciate the valuable ideas put forward by both Inayat Ullah Sahab and Shah Karez Sahab. True, there is a significant apathy among us the Diaspora towards our ancestral place, which is actually the opportunity that can be developed. The Diaspora’s indifference evolves to be stronger over several years. There are many factors responsible for this apathy, some of which are embedded with us at the host countries and others exist back at home. The Diaspora of our generation brings with them young and relatively larger families. As time passes, the cost of living for the family increases greatly as education becomes very expensive. Moreover, the Diaspora brings with them the educational credentials from home countries which don’t put them in a competitive position for high paid jobs. Back home there are no institutional arrangements that can channel voluntary work and smaller financial contributions. As a result our contribution to the development of our homeland is indeed restricted if at all it exists. So the development of proper institutional arrangements that can channel the increasing diaspora resources is an opportunity area.

Another opportunity area is to reduce the aversion of competitive professionals from working outside. During the past few months I have been in an intense search for young professionals that can be compatible with our very strict requirements and be also competitive to work outside Pakistan. I found that such competent youth is not ready to compromise there attachment with the homeland and relatives and values. From my point of view there is no conflict between working outside, adherence to one’s own values and serving the local population in the ancestral place. Working outside Pakistan enhances empowerment of a young professional ten times, which can be utilized to compensate for the loss to the homeland arising from leaving the country. Indeed reaching Chitral from the GCC countries is much more convenient as compared to taking a train from Karachi for example. So the point to emphasize is that empowerment should be sought wherever it may be available and once acquired it shall be properly utilized to transfer the benefits back home through proper institutional arrangements.

Another point that I wanted to emphasize is that we need to extend our support to existing initiatives in remote areas of Chitral. I came to know about Aseer Sahab’s commendable educational initiative keeping in view the remoteness of the Yarkhoun Valley and the inaccessibility of the far-flung children to education. There may be similar institutions in other remote areas of Chitral. Instead of establishing new institutions, such existing institutions, which already have the committed leadership, need to be supported. I have found that the most critical barrier to accessing outside resources for such institutions is the lack of communication which they need to solve as the first priority.

Above all if we can put in place a participatory institutional arrangement – an arrangement in which several professionals consider themselves stakeholders, we can make sustainable arrangements to overcome the barriers. Let us hope and work to make the idea of the Global Association of Chitrali Professionals as a non-partisan, pluralistic and professional organization to anchor the mobilization of the power of the diaspora. The first step will be for some of the professionals who are appreciating the idea of GACP to have brainstorming during the coming summer about the feasibility and modes-operandi of the professional association. Thereafter, we hope to be more useful in our efforts to work together for sustainable development in the Chitral Valley. -- Tariqullah Khan, Doha Qatar, 17 Nov 2011.

Comment 4

This is a belated comment on Tariqullah Khan’s proposal to harness the resources that the Chitrali Diasporas can potentially offer to build a peaceful and prosperous sustainable society in Chitral. His suggestion to create an association is certainly a noble idea, if pursued and implemented, will provide a trampoline for the existing initiatives already active within Chitral. Also, several associations of Chitralis outside Chitral, both within Pakistan and outside Pakistan, as well as generous individuals are making commendable contributions in terms of assisting students and other segments of the population, particularly in times of crisis. Tariqullah suggests that more thoughts to be generated around his proposed Global Association of Chitrali Professionals (GACP). At this point, it is too early to make suggestions as to the structure and functions of such an association. In order to get there, I think it necessary to raise a few preliminary questions. My request to the readers is not interpret these questions as an opposition to the idea, but to invite more constructive critical ideas on the subject, as Tariqullah himself has felt the need to brainstorm over the modus-operandi of such an association.

The first question is: How different this association would be from the existing ones such as Overseas Chitralis Welfare Association based in Dubai? What kind of resources the association will generate, human or material or both? If it is an association of professionals in technical sense, then, will it have a think tank role only or provide service in particular areas? Will it provide volunteer professionals to local institutions for a length of time? What motivation would be there for a volunteer to go and live for a period of time supporting a far flung local institution? If harnessing of resources is the objective, then wouldn’t it be more logical and inclusive to call it Global Association of Chitrali Diasporas? If financial resources are generated through contributions of Chitralis in different parts of the world, how would that be managed and distributed to local beneficiaries?

The above are just a few of the many more questions which need to be raised in order to develop a viable feasibility for the proposed association. The idea is excellent. -- Dr. Mir Baiz Khan, Toronto, Canada, 22 Nov 2011.

Comment 5

Professionals (GACP). First, you are right, Chitrali Diaspora is already having some umbrella institutions and they are already rendering useful cultural and social services, but a professional association is lacking. Second, I think the name Global Association of Chitrali Professionals (GACP) is encompasses the Diaspora professionals and the non-Diaspora professionals. Therefore, it may be more holistic as compared to the idea of a Diaspora Association. Again, whatever the name may be, the institution can be beneficial and sustainable only if it is persistent and credible. Third, establishing a professional network is surely easy to think, talk and initiate, but actually very difficult for materializing and making sustainable. In this regard I would like interested Chitrali professionals to contribute their ideas at the GACPs page http://www.facebook.com/GACPs  -- Tariqullah Khan, Doha Qatar, 28 Nov 2011.

(If you wish to comment on the above write up, you can send your comments at chitralnews@yahoo.com. Please go through the House Rules  before sending comments)