What to do with the Syrian Expatriates?

A dear friend of mine asked me to write about Syrian expatriates and how they could be part of the nation building efforts ongoing in Syria. In the following paragraphs, I will give my personal view on a topic which has generated its fair share of emotions among colleagues and friends of mine both in Syria and abroad. By committing some of these thoughts to paper, I hope to generate further dialogue on the topic of better understanding the key issues expatriates face when it comes to contributing to their country of origin and then to work to find solutions to these issues.

Wikipedia tells us that Expatriate means “out of country” and usually describes a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing or legal residence. Reflecting on the people I have met over the years, I would state that this definition needs to be expanded. Who are these expatriates and what are their characteristics? Expatriates are any-thing but a homogeneous group.

They come from different socioeconomic, educational and religious backgrounds. Some have left Syria a few years ago and others have been abroad for generations. Some speak Arabic fluently, many communicate in other languages and their dialect reflects a gone period with its expressions and idiosyncrasies. My definition of expatriates includes those who yearn to learn more about their roots and who would want to contribute to their country of origin.

Each has their own story, their own reason for belonging and for residing abroad. Their approach is colored by their upbringing, experiences, memories and images of the homeland, their current country of residence and their stage of life. All these collude together to define a reaction towards Syria, the per-son or organization approaching him (or her) for support and the availability they could provide. Maybe a couple of words about me to give one profile of an expatriate.

I am born abroad and was educated in 3 languages (Arabic, English and French). I am fluent in all three but would select English as my primary language of communications. I spent in my early teens a total of four and a half years in Syria. If I look at my blood relatives, more than 50% of them reside abroad.

I have been living in Canada for the past 25 years approximately. My (partial) return was due to a non governmental organization called NOSSTIA (the Network of Syrian Scientists Technologists and Innovators Abroad). NOSSTIA invited me 6 years ago to become a member. With time, I became part of the board of trustees and was given an opportunity to serve as chairman of the board.

This has allowed me to visit Syria many times and work closely with many exceptional people (locals and expatriates) and to exchange success stories and frustrations. Unfortunately, I have seen the dreams and passions of many expatriates being broken by harsh reality on the ground and the difficulties they face interacting with a country which has its own set of challenges and operates in a different way than they expect. Part of the reason is mismatched expectations between both sides.

Dr. J. once shared with me that he went abroad to study and ended up staying there to raise his family. Close to retirement, he offered several times to provide Syria with expertise and knowledge to cap his career. He shared with me his frustration about only being asked for in-vestment capital.

“My wealth is in the technical knowledge and practice I have developed over decades of research and development”. Another reason is the lack of interaction mechanisms between expatriates and the different institutions, organizations and government departments. The lack of interaction processes ends up with many efforts being dissipated and the necessary follow-up nearly impossible.

Furthermore, there is an additional effort required to put ideas and concepts into practice. There is much that could be written on this area which is left to a future article. Many expatriates cannot and will not return for more than mere visits. They have established themselves abroad and have family and career considerations that make it difficult to contemplate more than a vacation every couple of years.

Alternative approaches to reach out to them need to be devised as each expatriate is a microcosm of their country and bridges need to be built and maintained. A shift of perspective is required vis-à-vis expatriates as each could contribute differently depending on skills, life phase, interest and motivation. Most important is that expatriates should be viewed as partners not as competitors.

If some are to return, the appropriate support infrastructure is required to re-integrate them into the fabric of the business, academic and social life of the country. There are many challenges and obstacles facing expatriates who want to contribute. We need to have an honest dialogue on what has worked to date and what has not. Based on this dialogue, action plans have to be put into place and followed-up. There is so much to gain from the talent, energy and experience of expatriates. We only need to look at their contribution in their new adopted countries to realize the potential they have.