Let Kurdistan Profit From its Returnees

By Judit Neurink


“You know? I play dumb part of the time so my colleagues will not see me as a threat,” says a Kurdish doctor educated abroad. What this doctor says symbolises a major problem most Kurdish professionals face when they return to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Some Kurds who went abroad as children are now returning to Kurdistan as adults – many of them with a Western education. They decide to come home to help their people move forward.

But upon return there is no fanfare welcome. They are lucky if they find a job up to their standards, or if the government offers them one. But that is also when the troubles start.

Often, their colleagues see their education as a threat. Many of their new colleagues have never left Kurdistan and their professional knowledge is not up to standard by comparison. So they fear losing their jobs to these returnees.

Most medical doctors who are educated in Kurdistan do not have access to the latest developments in their field, while a foreign educated doctor brings along a set of new skills.

However, when and if these returning doctors show too much of their professional side, they can count on being pestered, ignored and pushed into a position where they can do “no harm”.

The government is not making it any easier. It requires returning doctors to work for one year at a local hospital. But what could a specialist, for instance a haematologist or brain surgeon, do in a small hospital where perhaps one or two patients need his/her highly specialised care?

I even know well-respected returning doctors who have been refused by the commission that evaluates foreign diplomas. There was nothing wrong with their education or papers. Only that they knew too much - more than the members of the commission.

This issue is not only about doctors. It encompasses a variety of professionals: engineers, builders, advisers, consultants, professors, you name it.

Many who returned to Kurdistan have told me that not only do they hardly ever get any support from their colleagues; they are in fact watched for their first possible mistake, which  could undo all their good work.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons some foreign companies complain about poor work ethics and high salary expectations among the Kurdish staff.

For most university graduates an enticing government job is waiting, and because there are usually more employees for a given work than necessary, what could be better than watching the clock till it is time to go home?

In comparison, well-educated and trained Kurds returning from abroad do their work more professionally and with greater enthusiasm.

The returnees know they are a threat and so they try to blend in, keeping their heads down and rather playing dumb.

But is this profitable for Kurdistan, and will it help move it forward? Certainly not.

If this attitude does not change, Kurdistan will lose out on clever and enthusiastic people who want to help the country and its future. We should not let this happen.