People from developing countries, where opportunities are scarce, will always choose to emigrate, ensuring a constant, ever-rising flow to other nations. These migrants create value in their new homes, sending back vital funds for their families’ survival, yet this cannot spur their homelands’ growth to give future generations a reason to stay.
If the flow of people remains steady and fewer than 10% return, as studies suggest, host nations with limited infrastructure will face severe challenges soon. Imagine a room where apples are stored, holding only a hundred in perfect condition, or five hundred under strain. We eat ten apples daily, collecting twenty to deposit. Soon, over a thousand apples pile up, barely kept from rot; beyond that, one bad apple sparks ruin.
A country can only absorb so many migrants, whether they stay or leave after work ends. Considering all variables in this process is difficult. Migrants navigate systems for acceptance, yet few nations offer empathy suited to our times—too much or too little support risks harm, given the scale of migration and its future impact. The Romans integrated foreigners through slavery, we must do better.
The migration system can be better designed to encourage and offer guidance to people in their return to their homeland, to create something there, to get involved directly in the development of their country, to participate in the political change, to teach their peers how living better feels like, etc.
If ten thousand Vietnamese migrants return willingly, using knowledge gained abroad to work through society, they could drive visible progress over years, even decades, especially those with a natural talent for learning and adapting, unlike some who resist new habits. If systems encourage migrants to return, to build, to engage in political change, to share what a better life feels like, transformation follows.
Few Romanian migrants in Paris savor the Louvre; I sense their frustration, these intelligent souls nurtured by family, who left for better lives and greater appreciation, as Romania’s ignorance often stifles talent. I understand why they hesitate to visit home, yet with courage, they must return to build here.
Confronting the growing ignorance, accepted by those who grasp life’s complexity, is vital. Some already work for progress—our new president, alongside politicians and entrepreneurs—but Romania needs everyone with vision to shape future generations. Those here must cultivate patience, for lasting change demands a lifetime.
