Kenyans’ return from abroad gives shine to labour market

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word crisis.

One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.

In a crisis, be aware of the danger but recognize the opportunity” John F Kennedy.

The financial crisis that started out as a financial problem in the West has affected millions of people from Wall Street to African villages.

Statistics show that about 20 million people lost their jobs globally as many organisations downsized in the wake of the economic downturn.

There is no conclusive evidence on the full impact of the global financial crisis on migration but the effects are being observed.

Some countries such as Italy and UK have recently changed their immigration policies to protect their labour markets.

The Spanish Government has introduced financial incentives aimed at encouraging unemployed migrants to go home.

Policy changes, retrenchment and fewer job opportunities have forced thousands of migrants worldwide to return to their home countries.

But although the economic downturn appears to have spelled doom around the world, it can be argued that developing countries have benefited from the return of their skilled manpower from the diaspora.

Kenyans who are, or were living abroad have not been spared the effects of the downturn and those who have returned home have given reasons that are directly or indirectly linked to the global crisis.

Some have, for example, openly admitted to have lost their jobs, saying they returned home hoping that Kenya has a wider range of opportunities and that the job market within their fields would be more favourable and less competitive.

Some have opted to take a more proactive approach and have accepted the ‘golden handshake’ offers from their previous employers— having realised that the crisis was likely to present increasingly difficult conditions and fewer job opportunities— making it wise to take whatever was on offer and go home.

Another group of returnees indicated that they had planned to return and that the economic downturn had only given them the urgency to head home.

For others, the return was coincidentally driven by personal circumstances and the realisation that they were better off at home than in a foreign land.