“AMREEKA” has long been the dream destination of people all across the world. Especially and most importantly Indians. Many a high dowry have been fetched when the bride’s family was told that the ‘dulha’ was ‘settled’ in the states. Hence began the Indian-American dream.
And for the past few decades, the obsessive interest in a job in the States was quite understandable. After all, the Dollar was doing good.
The tech boom and the open doors of Silicon Valley provided ample opportunities for highly educated Indians. The hardworking and dedicated Indian was a perfect fit.
And the States accepted us with open arms, as they did everyone. As it always has, except for WW2 (read Japanese Internment camps), before the Civil War (slavery, HELLO!), with the Native Americans… I digress.
But, traditionally, America has been the epitome of acceptance, it has taken people from all walks of life, from varied cultures, ethnicity, and whatnot.
America has given them a platform to raise themselves and make a mark on society and the people. And this way, the Indian-American dream took roots.
This culture of acceptance largely came from the fact that Work Visas were issued without much hassle. And hence boomed the great Indian-American dream.
People flowed into the US, and so did money, it was a win-win. But pretty soon, these immigrants began one-upping the natives. This was the first nail in the coffin.
The second but not final nail was perhaps the most devastating. It was the fact that as economies, like that of India grew, it became more economically feasible to take the business to these places. Jobs were now going out of the USA, along with entire factories and offices. The rest of the nails do not count.
This “outsourcing” led to the rise of a collective conscience in certain subcultures of the USA against this immigrant culture. The aptly named in this case “conservatives” case were the major force against the immigrants. They resisted change. It was uncomfortable.
And understandably so, losing your job, seeing your friend lose his, listening to about 50 others going through the same thing. It’s bound to create a situation of utter despair, and in times of despair, the human mind looks for something to blame for the problems.
I hear you ask, what was this source to blame. Lo and behold, the immigrants. People who had worked hard, gotten legalized, paid taxes. Just think, an entire class of people, blaming a singular group.
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This collective conscience had obvious political transference, these issues were soon debated in the rooms where decisions happened.
And when the slimy creature that is the modern politician, realized the fact that this issue would get him/her votes, so began the slow descent into madness.
Before anyone knew, rabid jingoism had taken place of political discourse in many circles. This is what we often call the ‘rise of the right’
And rise it did. For we now have a President in the White House which strongly opposes immigrants, the very concept of globalization, and has this wired fantasy that somehow people will still want to come to America with such stifling policies.
These open policies were one of the major reasons that made America such a great place for business, and innovation and so much more.
We also see such a rising sentiment all over Europe too, Britain and France being 2 prime examples.
All of this, especially in the US has led to a series of active steps to reduce the flow of immigrants, to bring jobs back to the mainland, to go against globalization and basic economic principles.
I refer to the reduction in the number of H1B visas being issued and strict guidelines for the issuance of the rest. This has led to many tech companies to begin laying off employees of these aforementioned groups, under the pretense of giving the jobs back to where they belong.
And this is how the s***storm took the terrifying form we know it for today, with a spate of firings all across the tech space. A phenomenal hiring bias because of political motivation. The rise of an ugly side of humanity on the next frontier of humankind.
Now, let us look at the situation. No Indian can go to the States with as much gusto and confidence as he/she did a few years ago. Tech companies can’t provide as many jobs to the people as it did.
In short, the Indian-American dream of making it big in the US of A has been riddled with as many bullet holes as Ramadhir Singh in Wasseypur pt 2 by the American version of Faizal ie Trump and Co.
And as promised in the campaign rallies, “Maa kaa, baap kaa, bhai ka, sabka badla le lia tere Trump ne”.
Make America great again!
Image Credits: Google Images
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