A lone traveler stands at the airport, staring at the departure screen, holding a suitcase that suddenly feels heavier than ever. Behind them, the land they call home but a country of breathtaking beauty, warm hearted people, and a system that has forced generations to leave.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve lived this story too. Maybe you’re someone who had to pack their life into two suitcases. Maybe you stayed behind, watching loved ones disappear one by one. Or maybe you just wonder why do so many of us leave when we never wanted to?
Four years ago, I faced the same question. The day I finished my bachelor’s degree. But should have been a day of celebration. Instead, it was the day I realized that in my country, you either let the system swallow you whole or you run. Not because of war, not because of famine. Because of a broken system that turns survival into a privilege.
I didn’t leave to chase a dream. I left because corruption made sure I had no future .In the place where I learned to walk, talk, and dream.
The Silent Migration: Why We Leave
- Jobs Are Politics, Not Qualifications
It’s not about how hard you work or how much you study. It’s about who you know. Finding a decent job the job you actually studied for is a lottery, and the tickets are handed out by political connections. The rest of us? We leave or we struggle. - Justice Exists Where There Is Power
There’s a saying: Where there is strength, there is no justice. And in my country, this is painfully true. Corruption runs so deeply that laws are just words on paper. The people in power stay in power, and the people with dreams are forced to bury them or take them elsewhere. - Migration Is Not Always a Happy Ending
Leaving doesn’t mean life gets easier. We don’t land in a new country and step into our dream jobs. We take what we can get not what we want, not what we studied for, but what pays our bills. We don’t always find acceptance, we struggle with the language, and some days, home feels painfully far away. But at least we’re building something instead of just surviving.
Can You Put Your Entire Life Into Two Suitcases?
This is the question I asked myself the day I left. How do you pack memories, friendships, and an entire childhood into luggage that airlines won’t charge extra for?
And more importantly should we be forced to?
Will We Ever Stop Leaving?
Every year, more of us go. Some promise to return. Some know they never will. The streets that once echoed with laughter now feel emptier. The pain is hidden behind warm smiles, but it’s there. But what if, one day, we didn’t have to leave at all? What if home could truly be home again? Until then, we keep leaving. And we keep looking back.
