Brain drain
This week I am thinking about the tension between Ukraine which needs its people and those pursuing new opportunities in Europe.
I thoroughly enjoyed a recent performance of Pushkin’s Evgeny Onegin in the Vienna State Opera, entirely sung in Russian, naturally, music by Tchaikovsky. I was very grateful that Russian culture has not been banned, yet, at least not here. A friend wrote me to say she had seen a performance on March 1, and was surprised that on the day of Navalny’s funeral, not a word was said about him. I explained this did not surprise me in the least, as in Austria, they really do try to stick to their “neutrality” when it comes to separating politics and culture. And sticky topics in general are best not addressed publicly. Certainly not when people paid a lot of money to enjoy themselves.
The performers were primarily native Russian speakers from all over. I believe the young soloist who played Tatiana is originally from Armenia. This is quite a normal pattern. Poorer countries train wonderful musicians only to have them pursue professional careers abroad where they can actually make a living. This means you will find more non-Austrians than Austrians on the stage of the Vienna opera. And that is a wonderful thing.
This week I have been thinking about the “brain drain” Ukraine is experiencing, exacerbated by the war and in some ways, by the opportunities which now exist for Ukrainians from all cities and towns (one does not need to be from a “dangerous” location per se) to legally emigrate to new countries, including the EU. I was invited to a Zoom call on Sunday with a group of local Austrian volunteers who have been working very intensely to send help to Ukraine, and on the call we were joined by several Ukrainians in Ukraine who spoke excellent German (I was suddenly super self-conscious about my own German’s lack of proper grammar). One topic which was raised was this “brain drain”. The example was given of the Ukrainian state funding nursing education programs, such as one in Lviv, and according to a statistic, something like 80 of 100 graduates then try and go work as nurses abroad. I was left with the impression from this particular speaker that there is feeling Ukraine now is losing its best and brightest not only on the battlefield. This of course matches with many of the Ukrainian families I have met here in Austria who are highly educated and have ambitions for themselves in terms of professional growth and for their children, who will now receive an education in German.
On Monday, I met a fascinating Ukrainian psychologist who told me she expects it will take something like three years (yes, really) to have her Master’s degree from Ukraine recognised by Austria as the equivalent of an Austrian degree. She has been here for less than a year and a half, and yet is already well on her way to completing B2 German. I have never heard someone learn German so quickly in an adult age as she. It was breathtaking. And then she told me in passing that she also speaks Kazakh (her mother is ethnically Kazakh), Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and is trying to refresh her English. She told me she hopes, with these languages skills, and good German, she might be able to quality for one of the many open positions for psychological support for Ukrainians with an NGO in Austria.
Six languages. Just to work in your profession with people from your country. Because now she is only allowed to “work” on a volunteer basis. Make it make sense.
I then asked my Telegram group what they think about the idea of a “brain drain”, what there views are on those who left vs. stayed. Here are a selection of their comments:
“I know a nurse. She administers IVs to children with cancer. She is no longer young; she worked her whole life only in a hospital. She told me one year ago that she was exhausted, running to the bomb shelter with all the IVs back and forth, that sometimes she didn’t get her salary for six months, although the salary there should be transparent. It was argued thy didn’t have enough people therefore couldn’t pay…she works 24 hour shifts, sometimes only one free day in ten. She then drank so much, and cried that she feels so sorry for the kids, but the staff are exhausted. I also know a military doctor who is earning more as a result of the army payments, but she only sleeps three hours a night, there is a ton of paperwork, a lot of wounded soldiers.”
Another well-educated woman added, who is in Vienna:
“My experience: most people who manage to find good jobs here do so through acquaintances. You need a personal recommendation from a local. It is true that many top professionals came to Austria, but the language barrier is an issue. Many employers have trust issues, so they would rather take someone less qualified but someone they know. Or you are a specialist and you try to apply for a position slightly below your experience level, they tell you to apply for a more senior role. You do that, and they do not take you, because you cannot walk into a senior role without knowing someone internally. There are also a number of companies here in which the working language is English, but there is a huge competition for those jobs!”
Another woman wrote me privately:
“My situation. Two degrees, but I never worked in one of them in Ukraine. I have a lot of work experience from cleaner to military service. Because my last employer was the military, it is hard to imagine how here, in Austria, I would find a job. Language is so important. And you have to understand that in any country you go to, you are going to be an emigrant. That understanding has pros and cons. Also one important factor which drives my decision-making is my child. Now, I see, that it is hard for him. But, in a few years, it would be hard for him to re-enter school in Ukrainian…
…We are from Ochakov, it is a town on the Black Sea, 70 kilometres from Mykolaiv, a little bit more than that to Odesa. They bombed us from the first day of the war. And they are still bombing us. Our house only has walls left. There wasn’t any work even before the war. And now you can imagine.
My child. He started first grade in Ukraine in September, and the war began in February. In Austria he was at fist in a terrible integration class, and now he is in a normal second grade classroom in an Austrian school. He speaks Russian, reads Ukrainian, and writes in German. All the teachers, 90% of them, also left our town. The decision to stay here was of course not easy. We live in a dorm run by Caritas. We don’t know what the future holds. It is a feeling in which your brain understands that things are better here. But there are many cons and it is not clear what will happen at home…”
There is a very comprehensive FT article this morning on the whole situation in Ukraine with the need to mobilise something like a half million more soldiers, and the tension between patriotism and not wanting to die and leave your family without a father. A very good summary of what the country is facing now and how people really feel about it. While a lack of ammunition is clearly the number one problem at the moment for Ukraine, this is a very big looming number two.
Turning back to Austria, I am thrilled to say that I received another 50 x €50 Hofer cards from Mario yesterday thanks to all of your donations, and just sent out most of them to elderly and moms across the country.
A few of their stories here:
It gave me immense pleasure to drop so many envelopes to the post office this morning. Thank you!!