The return of the hunter – Retold
By Karunakaran
By Karunakaran
I , too, take part in talks on ‘economic recession’.
And there were a few incidents to watch :
(1) the strike in Greece (people wanted to know from the State what will happen to them). (2) the close down of a steel door factory in Chicago (when the workers heard that the company is closing down from tomorrow, they refused to return home from the day, and the strike went for weeks, become a national issue, finally found a compensation to workers, and closed down. (3) the continuing strike of British workers against the ‘foreign workforce’ which is spreading through out the country. (the government is upset, because it sees this not a ‘democratic, of which a country is well known.
The story is that the ‘ melting down ‘ , the more used word in discussion, is really ‘global’ and affecting ‘regionally’, taking ‘nations’ to their souls : it’s the power of control on economy, the story once nations told historically. Apart from our recent issues such the political extremism, religious extremism, now the ‘economic recession’ is also could understand in a better way, precisely, ‘nationally’. I would like to note here on India : In India’s case, the return of ‘foreign workforce’ from the Gulf countries is a case in discussion. (The migrants to Europe, USA, Australia, Canada have a different story).
The badly affected countries from the gulf region are started to ‘send back the foreign labour’ which they ‘hired’ from the ‘market’. Yes, the word is ‘Market’, where you pour everything to double the chances. The construction arena, where the foreign workforce mainly been employed, is weakened due to the fall out of their ‘national economy’. The real estate companies, who were investing money, acting as clients, in such major projects like sky-scrappers, shopping malls which been considered as landmarks in gulf’s growing economy , are badly affected; sometime to the extent of bankruptcy. The major work force from India, like from China, Pakistan, Philippines, are employed in construction sector and whom found a sudden termination from the job or they already been alarmed of the RETURN. It is likely to be continued for coming months.
However, their return to India is not been addressed properly. Mainly because the economic growth India seen in present is a ‘infrastructural phenomena’, mostly been supported/determined by the ‘globalization’ – this can be noted primarily on all the developing economies around. And, the ‘expatriate workforce’ which consist a huge number of skilled labour is however not been in the ‘building of the nation’, officially. Otherwise, ‘the hunter’ went out to hunt for his kin at home.
We know the story of hunters in many versions : 1) he returns with a dead animal on shoulder. 2) he returns with a treasure he found when knocking down a tree. 3) he returned horrified by seeing a silent fire 4) he returned with empty hands.. And, here he went to ‘DUBAI’ instead to the forest. Text of the story will be same.
The return of the hunter is otherwise a household affair (one day he, or she, the hunter, came home empty handed, ‘what we will do’) : the state will watch (‘what is to be done’- Lenin) Or, looking at the state as a savior is in any case a pray at the time of prays – it may work or may not - ‘ the God (show) will go on’.
Exporting human power is also a contemporary way to support the ‘local economy’, anyway. A trained or developed countries take this seriously. But in India’s case, like in many ‘third world countries’, this is a gush from the poverty. In past, the people who left to Gulf countries were mainly from villages, they found themselves as semi skilled or unskilled labours, trained nurses, teachers, maids, housekeepers, gardners, shepherds , teachers etc. And, they, these fortune hunters , pulled their families from the poverty . In Kerala’s story ‘Gulf Malaylies’ played a big role : its not the so called Marxists who brought the ‘economic change’ in Kerala. It is the ‘draft-economy’ , as noted in print, where the ‘Gulf money’ played well, though the behavioral part of this course indentified the society as a consumer one. Of course, this return of the hunters is, yes, going to affect Kerala.
As a writer, as a blogger, as an expatriate Indian, I refuse to romanticize this whole situation: the global melt down. There will be many victims every where; and its affects , once more, reminds us how human race is linked globally, socially and economically, more than what our great Darwin found. No surprise, Marx and Engels met Darwin with new insights in their exchanges.
The story is that the ‘ melting down ‘ , the more used word in discussion, is really ‘global’ and affecting ‘regionally’, taking ‘nations’ to their souls : it’s the power of control on economy, the story once nations told historically. Apart from our recent issues such the political extremism, religious extremism, now the ‘economic recession’ is also could understand in a better way, precisely, ‘nationally’. I would like to note here on India : In India’s case, the return of ‘foreign workforce’ from the Gulf countries is a case in discussion. (The migrants to Europe, USA, Australia, Canada have a different story).
The badly affected countries from the gulf region are started to ‘send back the foreign labour’ which they ‘hired’ from the ‘market’. Yes, the word is ‘Market’, where you pour everything to double the chances. The construction arena, where the foreign workforce mainly been employed, is weakened due to the fall out of their ‘national economy’. The real estate companies, who were investing money, acting as clients, in such major projects like sky-scrappers, shopping malls which been considered as landmarks in gulf’s growing economy , are badly affected; sometime to the extent of bankruptcy. The major work force from India, like from China, Pakistan, Philippines, are employed in construction sector and whom found a sudden termination from the job or they already been alarmed of the RETURN. It is likely to be continued for coming months.
However, their return to India is not been addressed properly. Mainly because the economic growth India seen in present is a ‘infrastructural phenomena’, mostly been supported/determined by the ‘globalization’ – this can be noted primarily on all the developing economies around. And, the ‘expatriate workforce’ which consist a huge number of skilled labour is however not been in the ‘building of the nation’, officially. Otherwise, ‘the hunter’ went out to hunt for his kin at home.
We know the story of hunters in many versions : 1) he returns with a dead animal on shoulder. 2) he returns with a treasure he found when knocking down a tree. 3) he returned horrified by seeing a silent fire 4) he returned with empty hands.. And, here he went to ‘DUBAI’ instead to the forest. Text of the story will be same.
The return of the hunter is otherwise a household affair (one day he, or she, the hunter, came home empty handed, ‘what we will do’) : the state will watch (‘what is to be done’- Lenin) Or, looking at the state as a savior is in any case a pray at the time of prays – it may work or may not - ‘ the God (show) will go on’.
Exporting human power is also a contemporary way to support the ‘local economy’, anyway. A trained or developed countries take this seriously. But in India’s case, like in many ‘third world countries’, this is a gush from the poverty. In past, the people who left to Gulf countries were mainly from villages, they found themselves as semi skilled or unskilled labours, trained nurses, teachers, maids, housekeepers, gardners, shepherds , teachers etc. And, they, these fortune hunters , pulled their families from the poverty . In Kerala’s story ‘Gulf Malaylies’ played a big role : its not the so called Marxists who brought the ‘economic change’ in Kerala. It is the ‘draft-economy’ , as noted in print, where the ‘Gulf money’ played well, though the behavioral part of this course indentified the society as a consumer one. Of course, this return of the hunters is, yes, going to affect Kerala.
As a writer, as a blogger, as an expatriate Indian, I refuse to romanticize this whole situation: the global melt down. There will be many victims every where; and its affects , once more, reminds us how human race is linked globally, socially and economically, more than what our great Darwin found. No surprise, Marx and Engels met Darwin with new insights in their exchanges.
2 comments:
timely written on a time immemorial topic. reportedly about 3000 indian expats have left kuwait. we the still-non-leavers survive on the hope that recession-bitten economy will be healed soon. another waiting for godot?
yes i know :
"We will wait and watch" and there will be many victims....
k
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