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Could we have comment from Cornel and Gabe?
Peter
--
Britain's border problem: The British are leaving
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0831/p01s03-woeu.htm
By Mark Rice-Oxley | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
LONDON
They flock unstoppably through Britain's border crossings, thousands
every week, posing a threat to social, demographic, and economic
stability, according to some.
But this is not another verdict on the perils of immigration. This is
about people moving in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, for a
country obsessed about immigrants, Britons are emigrating in record
numbers.
Official data show that more than 350,000 people leave the country
every year, up almost 50 percent from 10 years ago. A recent BBC
survey remarkably found that 13 percent of people said they were
hoping to emigrate in the near future - double the figure from a
similar survey conducted three years ago.
At least 4.5 million Britons - about 8 percent of the population - now
live abroad, a far bigger diaspora in percentage terms than those of
other rich countries like France, Germany, and the US. Those anxious
about rising immigration numbers should take note: more Britons now
live overseas than the number of foreign nationals resident in
Britain.
"In Britain there is an emigration culture which doesn't exist in
other continental European countries," notes Frank Laczko, head of
research for the Geneva-based International Organization for
Migration. That the British have a penchant for emigration is clear
from the number of TV shows about buying property abroad, living
overseas, and "a place in the sun," he says.
"If you look at France by comparison, people do not dream of living
abroad," he adds. "There is not this discussion."
So who goes where and why? According to Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, an
expert with the London-based Institute for Public Policy Research
think tank, emigration has become far more democratic.
"It's not just about colonial officers looking for opportunities
elsewhere," he says. These days, he says, it's just as likely to be a
plumber taking his trade to Spain or Australia, a nurse who can make
more money in the Gulf, a policeman attracted by the great outdoors of
New Zealand, or middle-class retirees with a windfall from soaring
property prices heading for rural France. "They aren't fleeing a
sinking ship, but are going to seek out better opportunities and
lifestyles," he says.
Richard Gregan, director of Overseas Emigration Visas, a company that
helps some 2,000 Britons resettle overseas each year, says business is
booming, with clients from a broad cross section. "We see everybody
from the megawealthy to the small business owner, the tradesman and
white- and blue-collar workers. The youngest are 25 and the age range
goes right up to 55-year-olds."
Australia is the most popular destination, with 615,000 Britons.
Despite stiff entry requirements for immigrant workers, the United
States is second, with about 500,000 Britons. According to a recent
survey by the ICM polling institute, the chief factors driving Britons
overseas are better quality of life, high costs at home, job
relocation, and yes, the weather.
Andy Rix, who has worked as an outsourcing consultant in Chicago since
emigrating seven years ago, says there are plenty of things about
British life that he is happy to have left behind.
"I definitely don't miss the weather," he says. "I don't miss bad
service in restaurants, and I can't remember the last time I stood at
a bar yelling to attract the bartender's attention. I don't miss the
glass-half-empty, doom-and-gloom attitude that periodically engulfs
the Brits. Once you get used to it, always looking on the bright side
of everything, as most Americans do, is a better way to live your
life."
David Maund, a restructuring adviser in Hong Kong, says most Britons
he knows moved for reasons of career and lifestyle. He says many start
out on a short-term posting and decide to prolong their stint. "The
majority of my British expatriate friends are long-term expats and
unlikely to return to the UK," he says.
The trend is significant because it comes at a time when Britain is
becoming very touchy about the numbers moving in the opposite
direction.
Migrant workers have found Britain an easy destination because of its
relatively relaxed approach to newcomers. But figures showing that
almost half a million East Europeans flocked to Britain to work in the
two years since EU expansion (the government predicted no more than
13,000) have revived a debate about setting immigration thresholds.
John Reid, the home secretary, has started talking of "controlled"
immigration. The terror threat has, moreover, convinced authorities
that Britain should be less welcoming, particularly when it comes to
hate preachers and radical jihadis.
Yet with a stagnating birthrate and more people heading overseas, some
migration experts are warning that the government should take a much
closer look at the impact of emigration on society.
Mr. Sriskandarajah says the outflow of well-educated people could hurt
the workforce. "I don't want to suggest we should panic ... but I
think Treasury should think about size of pensions being taken
abroad," he says. He also wonders about double standards. "It's
hypocritical to say we want to benefit from the positive opportunities
of emigration for our people, but don't want people to come here."
Mr. Laczko highlights factors from the loss of capital overseas to the
impact on Spanish health services of British retirees, to rising
property prices in rural France. He notes that Australia and Ireland,
with high rates of emigration, are making noises about wanting some of
the brightest and best to come home or at least reinvest in their home
countries.
For now, the government appears as relaxed about emigration as it is
touchy about immigration. "We are not concerned about a skills deficit
because there is so much positive immigration from Eastern Europe,"
says one government official. "We are fairly relaxed about
emigration."
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