Derry brain drain in full flow. 29th February 2008

The floodgates have opened and the Derry brain-drain is in full flow.
More and more young, talented and bright folk are packing their bags for excitement and wonder, but less and less are coming back for good.This week, a number of my friends are preparing for life away from the banks of the Foyle. I thought the strange gravitational pull that seems to draw Derry-heads homeward would maintain its grip over us. Not so, it seems. For some, it's not a grip - more of a stranglehold that needs to be escaped from.It's normal for young men and women to seek adventure away from their home town - whether that's trekking in South America, studying abroad, teaching English as a foreign language, living in Australia for a year, or "doing" Thailand and other parts of South East Asia.The idea (for the boys) is to get drunk on foreign beers, meet exotic women, and party all-night in different timezones - stumbling onto a make-shift bed/finding a space on the floor at six o'clock in the morning and slurring the words: 'Everybody at home is at work 'cos it's half three on Monday afternoon back there - Ha! Losers!"That's the same for some of the girls; for others it's more of a spiritual awakening/finding yourself melarkey which I don't think anybody really understands.When that's done, dusted and out of your system the next step, I thought, was to come home, settle down and carry on as before.In my own direct circle of friends, I have found, sadly, that this isn't the case. Quite a number of our group went off to explore, discover and sample the delights of the far-flung corners of the earth.Unfortunately, many have found that the only things keeping them in Derry when they return home are friends and family. Limited prospects, career-opportunities, and chances of making serious money mean they are forced to move on again.Already, in the first couple of months of 2008, the times they are a changing. In our group alone, one has just landed a really decent career-type job in Belfast. Derry visits will be strictly limited to weekends. Another chap is following a girl to New Zealand for, at least, a year and another has just returned from three months in Australia to announce he's going back there 'to live' as soon as possible,One couple is upping sticks and moving to Manchester to start a new life in the next fortnight and another couple, currently residing in Australia, have postponed their comeback. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was postponed at least one more time in the near future.This week, Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson insisted that more must be done to give Derry's young people the opportunity to make a life for themselves in Derry. She said: "No-one can deny that the young people of this city have been failed by decades of neglect and under-investment. Now is the time to act. There is a massive amount of planned investment for Derry in the coming years and we must ensure that it is used to its maximum potential to transform this city into the kind of place where our young people can build a future and where investors will want to locate and create high-quality employment."It is already too late for my generation. The fact remains that, for real differences to happen, it will take at least ten or fifteen years. By that time we will have hit (or be extremely close to hitting) 40. Most will be in fulltime work with a couple of kids running around - whether or not that life is happening in Derry is less than certain. There will be a new generation of 20-somethings having to decide whether or not Derry is where they want to remain.But at least the right noises are being made and it sounds hopeful for the future. Something has to be done because the status quo is driv
ing people away.Derry musician 'Wile Man' articulated the frustrations felt by many of our age group when he spoke to the 'Journal' in recent months. He said: "We have the highest exam results in the North which is among the highest in Europe yet our young people can't stay here unless they want to work in call centres. In terms of employment, what is there in Derry for the smart Derry man? We constantly sell ourselves short. Our hard work only serves to improve towns like Liverpool, Manchester and London."That's both annoying and true. You can't blame people for wanting to go on to bigger and better things but it's a Catch-22 situation. The people who are leaving Derry are the very ones we need to stay to affect real change. It's crucial we find a way to convince the next generation that Derry is a place worth staying in, because the battle seems to have been lost this time round.