Studying abroad assists in getting rid of ‘Born Here’ mentality – Sharon Flax-Brutus
Mrs Flax-Brutus, in a recent post on Facebook, said, “I would advise any Virgin Islander who gets the chance to live or study abroad to take full advantage of it.”
The view was expressed not in the capacity of Director of the BVITB but rather in her right as an individual to freedom of expression and having an opinion.
She said she felt compelled to make such a statement because she believes that living or studying abroad assists in getting away from this "Born Here" mentality and it exposes locals to a different kind of lifestyle.
“Too many of us have this laid back mentality, you know the one I'm referring to! A mentality where we feel as though opportunities are supposed to just fall into our laps,” Mrs Flax-Brutus added.
She further stated, “Well in reality, that's not how the world works, and if we want to see a positive change in our society we have to start getting up and making our own opportunities! It's your ONLY life, so make it count!"
Her sentiments expressed were the same as voiced by one of her nieces, Ms Sasha D A Flax. “Indeed I was reviewing my past posts and saw this from Sasha a year ago. We need to be the change we want to see but we cannot do it from the viewpoint of a bubble. The viewpoint of living or studying or even visiting another country can be quite insightful,” the tourist board boss said.
31 Responses to “Studying abroad assists in getting rid of ‘Born Here’ mentality – Sharon Flax-Brutus”
NO person in their right mind would object to a job being filled by an outsider if there isn't a local to fill it!!!!!
Non-locals feel the same way and if they say other wise they are lying.
BVI will always need immigration because of its size but Locals should put themselves in the position to create and compete for the top jobs. You don't do that by sitting around not competing in the global workforce.
You need to understand that the chase out expats mentality often chases away the job not the person. To wit, Bermuda and Cayman, while they have their own issues, see an opportunity to take business from here because they can provide a better business environment while we can't process work permits, business licenses, company transactions and regulatory issues efficiently and without interference. We don't have much time to sort this out.
With all the experience that I have in my field and all the exposure and all the interviews I cannot get a job in my country but the ethnic cleansing that is going on here in the BVI some body will have to answer for it .
We need to stop getting upset when others start taking what we clearly don't want. Studying abroad opened my mind to that and I am grateful for the opportunity granted to me by the Government of the Virgin Islands to study abroad.