The Brain Drain

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." This truth was spoken by the great Albert Einstein. Einstein was a mathematical genius born in Germany and Jewish in faith. With the outbreak of World War Two and the formation of Hitler's Nazi Regime, Einstein and many other intellectuals like him were forced to escape this terrifying land. The wave of immigration by scholars and intellectuals to another country is commonly referred to as the "Brain Drain." This trend started during the Second World War and was named so in the 1960's. Although it started out in the United States with European immigrants, today it is a migratory trend happening in all areas of the world. The United States is one of the countries that has benefited most from this brain drain and the people who have immigrated to this country have given many valuable contributions to our society today.

The brain drain started with Jewish persecution during World War Two. Many Europeans of the Jewish faith felt threatened by the Nazi rule and wanted to live in a country that would respect their beliefs and give them equal opportunities to thrive. Of these oppressed Jews, some were scholars and intellectuals who had a great deal of knowledge to contribute to their society. Many of the immigrants were scientists, one of the most popular being Albert Einstein. Einstein and many others like him left their homeland and came to America where they would be free to live their lives and continue their work. Einstein and another Jewish immigrant, Enrico Fermi, were part of the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the name given to the program that helped develop some of the first atomic bombs. This wave of immigration took place in the 1930's and since its time has spawned immigration from other areas of the world as well.

Since World War Two this brain drain has not ceased to stop. Many intellectuals from different parts of the world immigrate to America every day. From the 1930's and on, Europe has not seen a stop in its people's emigration. In Russia and the Former Soviet Union countries there is currently a brain drain and many scientists, business owners and artists are leaving their country to come to the United States. "The leaders of the initial post-Soviet governments of Russia destroyed many Soviet technological and research institutions because of these institutions' long-standing anti-Communist and anti-Socialist stances, a policy of economic 'shock therapy', and privatization of scientific and research activities." (Brain Drain)The lack of educational centers left intellectuals with no place to go to continue their work and many chose to come to the United States for this reason. Also, in France, there is a current brain drain situation going on because the economy is at a low point and the amount of white collar jobs is too low for most people to find work.

Other areas of the world are also becoming a part of this growing trend of migration to the United States. In Asia, countries such as the Philippines, China, Korea, India and Iraq have seen a large number of their citizens immigrating to the United States. The amount of immigrants from the Philippines consists of 730,000 people (Carrington). Of this number a majority are college-educated professionals. Similarly, in India and Korea, of the combined 300,000 immigrants, 75 percent of Indians and 53 percent of Koreans have a college education (Carrington). In the Middle East, and namely Iraq, due to political and social instability, many educated individuals find it necessary to move to developed nations, such as the United States, in order to remain safe and be given freedom.

The same type of brain drain is taking place in Africa as well. The biggest migration of immigrants takes place in the countries of Egypt, Ghana and South Africa. These Africans find that their countries are lacking in resources and therefore migrate to the United States for better opportunities. Of the immigrants entering this country, 60 percent have a college education. There is virtually no immigration of citizens with less than a primary education. In the Caribbean, the same type of situation also occurs. 42 percent of Jamaican immigrants and 46 percent of the citizens from Trinidad and Tobago hold a college education (Carrington).

The given consensus from many census researchers has been that immigrants from other countries tend to be more educated than their relatives back home in the mother country. Families tend to send the educated members to the United States in order to become financially successful with the hopes that one day those immigrants could afford to bring in the rest of the family to the new country. In some ways this can be linked to chain migration, in which friends and family follow the migration patterns of other friends and family members in another country.

In conjunction with the Brain Drain of many foreign countries comes the "Brain Gain" in the United States. As stated throughout this paper, many countries lose their most educated citizens and experience this Brain Drain. However, in the United States, there is a term for the gaining of professional educated individuals called "Brain Gain." "An opposite situation, in which many trained and talented individuals seek entrance into a country, is called a brain gain; this may create a brain drain in the nations that the individuals are leaving." (Brain Gain)

Due to the fact that the United States holds the advantage of receiving such a great amount of intellectual individuals, many contributions are given to our society. As mentioned earlier, the Manhattan project included two great immigrant scientists Einstein and Fermi, who helped the United States during World War Two. The Chinese architect I.M. Pei has contributed greatly to the diversity of architecture in the United States by planning the Harbor Towers and John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, the Dallas, Texas City Hall, the Silver Towers at New York University and many other buildings and centers throughout the country. The Costa Rican- American Franklin Chang-Diaz is both a physicist and astronaut. He participated in seven NASA shuttles to further the advancement of space exploration and education. He was also the first Hispanic American to go into space.

The United States is a nation that has built itself up from the contributions of immigrants throughout its history. This recent "Brain Drain" and, conversely, "Brain Gain" trend have helped enrich the culture and society of American life. The immigration of educated citizens from other countries has been a benefit like no other to this country. Starting with the refugees of World War Two and still ongoing today, this migratory flow has given people the chance to pursue their goals and live a life of freedom they would not have gotten in their own country. The immigration into the United States has given them the opportunities to succeed and make a difference in our society.

Works Cited
"Biographical Data: Franklin Chang-Diaz." Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. May 2005. 5 November 2006.
"Brain Drain." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2 November 2006. 5 November 2006
Carrington, William J. and Detragiache, Enrica. "How Extensive is the Brain Drain?" Finance and Development. Volume 36, Number 2. June 1999. 5 November 2006.
"I.M. Pei Biography." American Heritage Project. American Immigration Law Foundation. 2000. 5 November 2006.