760.000 Colombian have left Colombia since 2003 without returning.

medellinmike says on Oct 4, 2006, 10:51:

760.000 Colombian have left Colombia since 2003 Well I have learned that the people who cannot make it here in Medellin or Colombia for that matter, are usually the poorer ones, or ones unable to get a Job. .. because the ones making the money only go for visits and vacations...really, the successful Colombians, can and do live better here than most Americans and for less money..with the exception of your car purchase….so in that sense the ones leaving are usually looking for a job, or have little here in the way of a good life, most want to live the American dream....but the others who are successful and makin $$$ KNOW what America is all about.....work, and pay,….lets be real, if you have nothing anywhere, then you always start looking for greener grass,,,hell,,here, as ANYWHERE, your money can work 4 you if your connected and smart......have a great week
Mike

Mike

have a great week

gorgonabob says on Oct 4, 2006, 11:08:

the brain drain 700.000 people out of 44 million is hardly a lot.... a much higher percentage of people leave New Zealand to find work in England, China or the States or many other countries... This is actually now seen as benefiting the country as many of those return with new skills and capital to invest in their birth countries....

I see many many Colombians returning to the country now and very happy with the opportunities they find here... This will only improve I'd say.. You cant know many people if everyone you say you know is worse off now than three years ago..

DanielPaisa says on Oct 4, 2006, 11:20:

Looking from a historic perspective, this is actually a low number.

between 1997 and 2001, almost 3 million left and never came back


Daniel, el Paisa

Daniel, el Paisa

juancegomez says on Oct 4, 2006, 14:19:

DanielPaisa has a point, and in fact... The Print Edition of El Tiempo shows this on its front page:

364.000 left in 2001 and 317.000 in 2002 alone.


In other words, the 197.000 that left Colombia in 2005 and the 220.000 for 2006 (up to June) are considerably better numbers.

More than the 159.000 that left in 2003, of course, but still a lot less than numbers in previous years.

There's still a big problem, we have a war here after all, but it's at least a smaller amount of displacement.

It should also be mentioned that these people don't necessarily leave because of the economy alone, though that's certainly one of the factors.

Employment's still rather fragile and unemployment remains a real problem, regardless of the economy's evident recovery.

Ctg Bound says on Oct 4, 2006, 14:28:

El Tiempo article is not showing enough information, UNLESS I am mis-reading the artcile.

How many people leave in a year and don't come back is not much use, it would be more usefull to show a figure which includes the people returning, showing the total decrease or increase.

If you use the El Tiempo method, I expect every Country will show people leaving in the world.

gorgonabob says on Oct 5, 2006, 05:41:

as i said more people leave new zealand in a year and dont come back and weve got the lowest unemployment rate in the world 3.4% and there aint much internal conflict going on there.....

cali373 says on Oct 6, 2006, 06:46:

Almost 4 million!!! Damn. come on. That may not be the majority if the Colombian population but that is a large number. DonGringo countries do not export their poor. they move on one their own. And if anyone has met Colombians that moved to Florida, they will know that a good number of them were not poor in Colombia. As far as the "American dream" in reality is to become a greedy son of a bitch. I do not think that is the mindset of most colombians leaving Colombia. More like they are looking for a better life.

Smile if you are a thinker!

miamimike says on Oct 8, 2006, 00:24:

What hasn't been mentioned is that the ones leaving are increasingly more of the Highly educated which may be future Teachers, Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Doctors ect. A loss of this caliber greatly affects the future of any Country but it is doubly important in a country like Colombia which many beleive to be at a Crossroad as far as the future of the Country is concerned. They need to be their to help transistion to a more competitive society.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

aztec says on Oct 9, 2006, 05:00:

the brain drain "What hasn't been mentioned is that the ones leaving are increasingly more of the Highly educated which may be future Teachers, Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Doctors etc." miamimike

Exactly right. As opposed to the uneducated, untrained Mexican illegals, Colombians tend to be better trained. Colombia cannot afford to let this trend continue. The country is losing its future and we are of course benefiting.

My wife worked for a brief time in an emergency room at the local hospital. Many of the Mexicans would wait until emergency birth to show up. What shocked her was that they were not able to even communicate adequately in their own Spanish language. How in the world can we expect them to easily learn English.

In my wifes own family there have been two MD's and one PhD to migrate(legally) to the USA. At this very moment my brother-in-law's wife in on a Fulbright working on her doctorate in a major university in the South West.

cali373 says on Oct 16, 2006, 10:12:

Let them leave Makes more room for me to live and work in Colombia.

Smile if you are a thinker!

Sr Tertius says on Oct 17, 2006, 11:19:

Let them leave? cali373: Although I sort of understand your feeling--some people very close to me expresses it repeatedly--it doesn't seem like a smart policy to me. Also, as an emotional response, I think it is misinformed.

First, I don't think that leaving the country was the first option for most people that leave. In most cases, the sacrifices that have to be made in order to leave are enormous, particularly if you are educated middle-class or better off; if you are well aware of those sacrifices, taking the option of leaving is usually the last resource. To assume that it leaves "more room for me to live and work in Colombia" implies that you will never have to face the conditions that have driven so many people out of the country. What makes you think of that? Wouldn't it be smarter to understand their (our) motivations and THEN judge? You'd be surprised of what you find and how at risk you may be.... Inquiry, though, is far more demanding than lazy self-righteousness.

Second, the brain drain is a terrible deal for Colombia. How much does it cost to educate thousands of Colombians? Out of them, only a handful may be expected to be really at the top of their game. To see most of them leave for better opportunities somewhere else should make EVERYONE reconsider what is going on. What I know of, first hand, is that successive administrations, and particularly the current one, are far from interested in those long-term costs: They want to show the money, now. Cut investments in science and technology, tax culture (absurd), buy useless tanks, spray shit left and right. All under the perennial pretense that, without security, everything else is impossible. Bullshit.

Yeah, let them leave today, and watch your kids leave (if they can) tomorrow. What a sad prospect.

P.S. I've heard that India has been able to actually reverse its historical trend of brain drain. I have no idea of how that happened, but if anyone has a clue, maybe we could learn a few lessons in Colombia.

"When the finger points to the moon, the fool looks at the finger" (Chinese proverb)

colombian111 says on Oct 17, 2006, 11:27:

my exwife went back! as a matter of fact her whole family went back. Why because they couldn't take the work your tail off attitude here. They rather be poor and happy than well off and tired. They diddn't see the opportunities. Who knows where my duaghter is now becuase of her!
People need to get educated and fix the way Latin America is. Colombia when I grew up was an awesome place to live . Cartels, La mafia and certain well to do families screwed up the economy and until you get rid of that then will you have Colombia back. Leaving your country is not the answer. Ask my dad in his grave after he contracted cancer here and just recently passed away. His father Celio Villalba did alot for Colombia in his time . Men like him would be shot in an instant nowadays.