Many ethnicities(i.e.,the japanese,germans,french,spaniards,swedes, finns...)stopped migrating for economic reasons and their countries became coveted by the migrants from poorer countries around the world.Cape verde,never had any valuable natural resources except for its maritime and human resources.Japan,never had any natural resources either,as many other countries and these countries still made it out of abject poverty and became true beacons.

Will "we" ever have a break ?

Hi Vagabundo Wijzer, good to see you back, we were missing you,

Frutuoso

I'm glad Nobel brought this topic here, because according to a recent ONU report, Cape Verde is among the top countries that are loosing their human and intellectual resources to immigration to Developed countries. And that has affected the country tremendously in terms of having a solid and young intellectual body.

Our government should create better conditions to retain our smart nationals because the first step a country should take in the process of being dependent of foreign aid and defining its destiny is to have a large, solid and competent pool of human resources with expertise, creativity and bright minds capable of searching and creating means to enable to country to be the master of its own development.

For instance, one of those conditions can be creating more jobs and give opportunities to students who return to the country after studying in developed nations and give them the freedom to use they newly acquired set of knowledge and skills instead of forcing them to fit into the old models and minds from the post independence period. For example, its know that in Cape Verde, the old school crowd is very afraid of the youth that goes to Europe, US or Brazil for higher education and return with their degree because they are afraid the new generation, often better educated them the old one, will take over their power and privilege. So, what they do is, instead of creating a breeding ground for this new minds to grow their ideas, they step them down and even get them fired from their jobs if their don't fit into the old model. And so the country keeps going though the same old loop and doesn’t find new directions and ways to deals with its issues.

T illustrate, I attended a speech in Umass Boston for the celebration of the Amilcar Cabral and Martin Luther King day this year, and a recent Cape Verdean American graduate complained to the Consul General that he and his friends went back to CV and brought great proposals to implement in the Higher Education in Cape Verde, but to the management body of Jean Piaget Institute totally ignore them and didn't even provide conditions for them to stay and work there. These guys decided to come back and give their intellectual skills to USA, a country with abundance in that field.

However, these same people that rejected them will go around and pay thousands of dollars to bring “cooperantes” - foreign professors, engineers and technicians - from Portugal or other part of Europe to do a simple job that a Cape Verdean national could easily do and sometimes much better because, on the contrary of the “cooperante” who in most cases just wants to make lots of money and enjoy the fun of our topical islands, he really care about the development of its country and people.

This is just to highlight the fact that in order for us to reduce the immigration phenomenon, the dependency on other countries and promote the growth of our country we need to start changing our attitudes towards our new generation and make an efficient and sustainable use of our human resources. Yes, we need to retain our best minds and creat conditions for them to evolve and put their ingenuity in action in Cape Verde instead of being exported to other countries.

The Future of the Cape Verdean Diaspora
The tightening of immigration control in Europe and North America affects not only the rates of emigration and population growth, but also Cape Verde's relationship with its diaspora. For a country like Cape Verde, with very limited export potentials, the question is not least an economic one. In the late 1990s, remittances constituted 25-30 percent of the country's income. Furthermore, emigrants returning to their homeland on holiday made a significant contribution to income from transportation and tourism, which accounted for another 25 percent of national income. Finally, emigrant communities were important for securing government transfers (development aid), which represented about 20 percent of national income.

Migrants' transfers have increased considerably during the 1990s, at an average of more than 10 percent per year. What will happen to remittance flows when emigration declines is an open question. The Netherlands can be seen as a case that indicates what the future might bring. There is a well-established Cape Verdean community, but migration from Cape Verde has been dramatically reduced as a result of the European state's restrictive immigration policy. In the short run, the remittance flows can be expected to continue increasing. This is because many middle-aged emigrants are planning to retire in Cape Verde, and will thereby channel their pensions back to their homeland.

Further ahead, the prospects are more worrying. In the Netherlands, the second generation already accounts for 40 percent of the population of Cape Verdean origin. Compared to the first generation, the second generation is far less likely to send remittances or to retire in Cape Verde. From 1990 to 2000, the Netherlands' share of total remittances to Cape Verde fell from 20 percent to 12 percent (Figure 2).


Origins of remittance inflows, Cape Verde, 1990 and 2000

Source: Banco de Cabo Verde. 1991-2001



For Cape Verde as a whole, the effects of reduced emigration may be dampened by the diversity of its diaspora communities. For instance, the communities in Southern Europe continue to grow and include a large number of single women who remit regularly to their children and other close relatives. Migration to the United States has also been relatively stable over the last decade, securing a large inflow of remittances. There have, however, been significant restrictions in Portuguese immigration policy during the last year, and US immigration procedures have become much more cumbersome and time-consuming in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Cape Verde is one of very few countries to have experienced emigration on such a vast scale, and it is particularly vulnerable to the tightening of immigration policy in Europe and North America. Declining emigration, increasing population growth, and considerable migration pressure have all loomed large in recent decades, and look set to play important roles in Cape Verde's future.

Excerpt from:
Cape Verde: Towards the End of Emigration?
By Jørgen Carling
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)

You can read the whole research here:
Link: "http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?id=68"

What does the government need to do in order to stop folk from leaving the country and more important how do you get Caboverdianos with higher education and skills to return to Cabo Verde.

Here is what I think that will be Cabo Verde in the future.

A place that will be a central place for economic administration for management and distribution;for the globe(planet earth).

With ultimate in science and technology and ciber-space and the satlellite engineering along with computer tomorgraphy Cabo Verde will be a center for information.

With airports of the 21 century and ships that will glide the sea Cabo Verde give access to the world now that is globalization.

One or maybe more then one will be bigger then any Fort Knox or storing for gold & diamonds a vault that will stagger the imagination that will be storing a memory bank second to none.

I will not see it and most of us will not see it but Cabo Verde will be known as the Azijah of the planet Earth,meaning the most powerful and precious archipelago in the world. Perhaps if you are born today by the time you reach 75 you will see some of it come to life.

All disciplines in the field of science dealing with the highest form of math in the molecule formulars and the modulation of electronic signals in space and the waters(Ocean). By that time we will control how much rain fall we want to fall in each Island for its ultimate use.

So my dear people prepare yourself for the future.

You have not seen anything yet. It is all in the mind.
Azijah will be filled with joy.
Morabeza.

Carling, Jorgen. (2001): Aspiration and ability in international migration: Cape Verdean
experiences of mobility and immobility. Diss. Univ. of Olso.

Carling, Jorgen. (2002 I):“Cape Verde: Towards the End of Emigration?” Migration Information

Carling, Jorgen. (2002 II): “Return and Reluctance in Transnational Ties under Pressure. International Peace Research Institute Olso (PRIO).

Carling, Jorgen. (2004): Emigration, Return and Development in Cape Verde: The Impact of Closing Borders. Wiley InterScience DOI: 10.1002/psp .322.

Carreira, Antonio. (1982): The People of the Cape Verde Islands: Exploitation and Emigration. Hamden, Connecticut: C. Hurts & Co. Ltd.

Gibau, Gina. (2005): Contested Identities: Narrative of Race and Ethnicity in the Cape Verdean Community. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. Taylor & Francis Inc.

The History of Schooner Ernestina (1997): “Early Contacts & Whaling.”

Machado, Meintel D.( 1981) Cape Verdeans American. In Hidden Minorities: The Persistence of Ethnicity in American Life. J.H Rollins, Ed. Washington, DC: University Press of America.

Sanchez, Gina (1997): The Politics of Cape Verdean American Identity. Transforming Anthropology. Volume 6, Numbers 1 &2 pp.54-71.

United States Industry and Trade Administration. Department of Commerce (1993): Foreign Economic Trends and Their Implications for the United States. Washington D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Industry and Trade Administration: Supt. of Docs, U.S. G.P.O, [distributor].

The Cape Verdean immigration is not only linked to economic reason but also to genetics...just look at the Oortuguese immigration and you will understand that the Portuguese immigration is although a lifestyle. Portuguese were discoverers and the need to travel is part of Portuguese culture.

Hello Everyone,

I finished reading the front page article about Cape Verde Islands in the Sunday New York Times June 24, 2007 written by Jason DeParle. Check the article out at the link below.

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I have to say, I have very disturbing feelings about the way the writer portrayed Cape Verdeans . While migration is a fact of life for Cape Verdeans , I know that many of us are traditional, hard-working people with enormous pride.

I felt the article portrayed the ugly side of Cape Verde and it wasn't a balanced view. Where were the people who have immigrated to America and Europe who bring dignity to their adopted homelands? Where are the people who have helped to build the economies in the nations of their adopted lands? Instead, I was left with the view that Cape Verdeans , among other people of African and Latin ancestry are a major drain on their adopted countries and on the social services provided therein.

I only read about a drug criminal who was deported back to Cape Verde , who has Aids, and has to steal and beg for his medication and who has no future prospects. Does he portray all Cape Verdeans ? I think not!

I am appalled. I would like to have all Cape Verdeans , world-wide to write letters to the Editor to show a balanced perspective. We are doctors, lawyers, parents, students, children and human beings who are doing so much for our parents' country of Cape Verde , as well as thriving in our home of America and other countries of the world. Please, get the word out in your paper.

My cousin is a graduate of West Point, and he is now a Major Colonel and trains US Airforces in Irag. He has fought in the Gulf War and now, he is giving his life to protect American Interest. He is a first generation Cape Verdean. My Uncle lived with us in a crowded apartment in my formative years. But EVERYONE worked and everyone has helped in the economic development of America!

The Cape Verde Islands provides a wonderful climate of hospitality and of beautywithin the islands. The friendliness of the people is well-documented. Many people from around the globe are now traveling to the Cape Verde islands and helping to establish eco-tourism there. I feel this kind of article only serves to frighten people away and to give an unfair perspective.

It is imperative that we send many letters to the New York Times so that our voices are heard. The world now sees Cape Verde Islands with a black eye. The entire world has one view of Cape Verde because of this article. Yes, the writer is a distinguished author, but he chose to write about one side. He chose which subjects to interview. He interviewed poor, ignorant people who are only one segment of our population. We need not alienate these people and let their plight hang in the balance. Nor should we let their situation represent the whole of Cape Verde and its people.

My sincerest wish, as a first generation of Cape Verdean immigrants is that you circulate my email and ask people to send in their letters. My father worked very hard in America and went to an IVY school at night to obtain his PhD at the age of 50. He is now a Professor, giving back by teaching other college students! My mother worked many factory jobs when she came to New York as a naturalized citizen. Her father was one of the Master Whalers of New Bedford . She worked until she was able to create her own successful business.

My mother pays her taxes in America . She employed Americans in her business. In Cape Verde , she built a small hotel in Sao Vicente . She helps the economy there by providing employment to people who work in the hotel. My parents are not the only Cape Verdeans who return to the Islands to provide support and much needed dollars and employment. Yes, this is migration. This Island's legacy is Migration. But, let us show a fair and balanced view of what Migration has done for the countries around the world as well as to contribute to the economy of Cape Verde. Are we not one human family!

Please, please, let our voices demand that another side of our hard-working, hospitable, optimistic and law-abiding Cape Verdean family be shown to the world! Do not be fearful to let your voices ring out. If Rosa Parks did not sit down, where would the world be today? If Martin Luther King did not march, where would the world be today? If Marian Anderson did not sing and break the color line, where would the world be today? Where, certainly, would we as human beings be today in a global world that threatens to close its borders, threatens to close its' heart?

Send a letter to the editor of the New York Times by e-mailing:

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or faxing (212)556-3622.

You may also mail your letter to:

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York , NY 10036

Sincerely,
Aurora Maria Santos Brito
New York

_________________
Concerned CapeVerdean

Why are we upset about what Carling said in terms of migration when earlier on we were corroborating these same facts through discussion here? Just look at entries from February. This is the reality of migration, as Alberto Pina mentioned in his response and others corroborated.

Dear Criola 99,

I agree with you about the realities of the migration issue that is endemic and inherent as a way of life for Cape Verdeans. Wonderful that someone has researched and written about the migration issue.

My major concern is the portrayal of Cape Verdeans in the NYTimes. I feel it wasn't a fully balanced depiction of Cape Verdeans.

A poor mother who hasn't seen her son (who incidentally built her a home so she could escape the shanty made from steel drums) in many years was interviewed and quoted, decrying the ungrateful son. Who knows the real reason behind this estranged relationship. And so, this gives an unfair image that many immigrants escape the poverty of the Islands and never look back!! Leaving not only their mother countries to decay, but their own mothers are mistreated by ungrateful children. NOT true!

Those CV scientists, businessmen and engineers who study irrigation and desalinization in CV so CV can have fresh water, and perhaps have a solution to stem migration and to quell the drought of CV were not interviewed, were not given a world-wide platform. The lawyers and bankers of CV who have to deal with the realities of migration on a daily basis were not given a platform. The ones quoted included a life-long criminal drug addict with Aids who was deported back to CV who said he'd give his right arm to come back to America. Not a fair representation I feel, of the hard-working CV's who emigrated abroad. The same writer had this article published in the Sunday Boston Globe, June 24th as well. Check it out. Although truncated, it was a more unfavorable perspective about Cape Verdeans who don't give back and instead allow our country to wane and rot because we are a disconnected people.
Aurora