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Subject: Very interesting - A must read Peter I trully hope this doesn't happen to your kids (
The Bullying part):
> >ACCORDING to a confidential memorandum, I.B.M. is cutting 13,000 jobs in >the United States and in Europe and creating >14,000 jobs in India. >From 2000 to 2015, an estimated three million >American jobs will have been outsourced; one in 10 >technology jobs will leave these shores by the end of this year. Stories >like these have aroused a primal fear in the Western public: >that they might soon need to line up outside the Indian Embassy for work >visas and their children will have to learn Hindi. > >Just as my parents had to line up outside the American consulate in > >came to >life, but for the hope of a better economic future for his >children. My grandfathers on both sides left rural >northwestern >remote in those days than > >Now I face the possibility that my children, when they grow up, will >find their jobs outsourced to the very country their grandfather >left to pursue economic opportunity. > >The outsourcing debate seems to have mutated into a contest between the >country of my birth and the country of my nationality. Of >course I feel a loyalty to >sons were born here. I have a vested interest in seeing > >didn't understand the changing world; it couldn't change its >technology and its philosophy and its notions of social mobility fast >enough to fight off the European colonists, who won not so >much with the might of advanced weaponry as with the clear logical >philosophy of the Enlightenment. Their systems of thinking >conquered our own. So, since independence, Indians have had to learn; we >have had to slog for long hours in the classroom while >the children of other countries went out to play. > >When I moved to Queens, in >myself, for the first time in my life, considered good at math. >In >near the bottom of the class rankings in that rigorous >subject. But in my American school, so low were their standards that I >was - to my parents' disbelief - near the top of the class. It >was the same in English and, unexpectedly, in American history, for my >school in >American Revolution. My American school curriculum had, of course, >almost nothing on the subcontinent's freedom struggle. I was >mercilessly bullied during the 1979-80 hostage crisis, because my >classmates couldn't tell the difference between >were now to move with my family to >the best private schools in >take remedial math and science courses to get into a good school in > > >Of course, >middle class, but it also has the world's largest underclass. >A quarter of its one billion people live below the poverty line, 40 >percent are illiterate, and the child malnutrition rate exceeds that of >sub-Saharan >state of Bihar and the boomtown of >Indians who went to the >well: Indians make up one of the richest ethnic groups in this >country. During the technology boom of the late 1990's, Indians were >responsible for 10 percent of all the start-ups in Silicon >Valley. And in this year's national spelling bee, the top four >contestants were of South Asian origin. > >There is a perverse hypocrisy about the whole jobs debate, especially in > >and >sure their industries weren't allowed to develop, so they >would stay impoverished and unable to compete. Then the imperialists >complained when the destitute people of the former colonies >came to their shores to clean their toilets and dig their sewers; they >complained when later generations came to earn high wages as >doctors and engineers; and now they're complaining when their jobs are >being lost to children of the empire who are working >harder than they are. My grandfather was once confronted by an elderly >Englishman in a >here?" My grandfather responded, "We are the creditors." We are here >because you were there. > >The rich countries can't have it both ways. They can't provide huge >subsidies for their agricultural conglomerates and complain >when Indians who can't make a living on their farms then go to the >cities and study computers and take away their jobs. Why are >Indians willing to write code for a tenth of what Americans make for the >same work? It's not by choice; it's because they're still >struggling to stand on their feet after 200 years of colonial rule. The >day will soon come when Indian companies will find that it's >cheaper to hire computer programmers in >that the Indian jobs will go. > >Of course, it's heart-wrenching to see American programmers - many of >whom are of Indian origin - lose their jobs and have to >worry about how they'll pay the mortgage. But they are ill served by >politicians who promise to bring their jobs back by the facile >tactic of banning them from leaving. This strategy will ensure only that >our schools stay terrible; it'll be an entire country run like the >dairy industry, feasible only because of price controls and subsidies. > >But we have a resource of incalculable worth right here to help us >compete: the immigrants who've been given a new life in > >Americans in >understand >Arab-Americans can help us fight Al Qaeda, Indian-Americans can >help us deal with the emerging economic superpower that is >is the return of the gift of citizenship. > >And just in case, I'm making sure my children learn Hindi. > >Suketu Mehta is author of " http://www.goa-world.com http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music http://www.mahableshwar.com/ Addresses: Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL to this page: http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans
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