Why are young Dominicans who are born or have emigrated to the United States not taught to ever return to the Dominican Republic?
By returning I mean, taking advantage of study abroad/volunteering opportunities, internships, short-term work experience, or possibly a long term career (although salary difference comes into play here). Generally speaking, I feel like there is no encouragement for young Dominicans to return to the DR, except for vacation.
My mother is Dominican but I was born and raised in the U.S. After graduating college I told my family I would be moving to the DR because I thought there were more opportunities for me there. My Dominican family thought I was crazy and that I was wasting my U.S. education in a 3rd world country. Looking back on that decision more than a year later I realize it was the best decision I've made, professionally speaking. I feel like Dominican/Americans can do so much for their professional development, as well as the country, with fresh ideas and knowledge of both English and Spanish.
Perfect example: A couple months ago, the president of the Dominican American National Round Table, Victor Capellan, stopped by the DR1 offices. When he was posed the question as to what his organization was doing to encourage young Dominicans to take advantage of opportunities for them in the DR; there was a long silence with no response. I mean, Dominican organizations aren't even promoting Dominican/American participation in the DR.
I sometimes laugh at my cousins in Washington Heights who consider themselves full fledged Dominicans but know nothing about the country and have never even been here. So much could be done if more took the initiative to come back. I mean, in the U.S. I felt like another rat in the race, here I feel different, someone who took the road less traveled.
It would be great to hear some feedback on how others feel about this topic.
By returning I mean, taking advantage of study abroad/volunteering opportunities, internships, short-term work experience, or possibly a long term career (although salary difference comes into play here). Generally speaking, I feel like there is no encouragement for young Dominicans to return to the DR, except for vacation.
My mother is Dominican but I was born and raised in the U.S. After graduating college I told my family I would be moving to the DR because I thought there were more opportunities for me there. My Dominican family thought I was crazy and that I was wasting my U.S. education in a 3rd world country. Looking back on that decision more than a year later I realize it was the best decision I've made, professionally speaking. I feel like Dominican/Americans can do so much for their professional development, as well as the country, with fresh ideas and knowledge of both English and Spanish.
Perfect example: A couple months ago, the president of the Dominican American National Round Table, Victor Capellan, stopped by the DR1 offices. When he was posed the question as to what his organization was doing to encourage young Dominicans to take advantage of opportunities for them in the DR; there was a long silence with no response. I mean, Dominican organizations aren't even promoting Dominican/American participation in the DR.
I sometimes laugh at my cousins in Washington Heights who consider themselves full fledged Dominicans but know nothing about the country and have never even been here. So much could be done if more took the initiative to come back. I mean, in the U.S. I felt like another rat in the race, here I feel different, someone who took the road less traveled.
It would be great to hear some feedback on how others feel about this topic.
). But for many intelligent, educated Dominicans who live abroad, realism has to mesh with patriotism. One of my Dominican friends in New York yearns to return but knows he never can because he would speak out too much against corruption and make life thoroughly unpleasant for himself. From my point of view he is exactly the sort of person the DR needs to return but can any of us expect someone to sacrifice that much?