@pratik What a difficult position to be in. With an election next year in the US, I hope things change enough to bring you security.

@pratik That must be draining to cope with a situation like that. I’ve been through therapy because of extreme uncertainty myself, and I don’t want anyone else to have to suffer trough that. I’m optimistic about the future for your country. I hope you will get a stable and permanent situation soon.

The support for charismatic “hard men”, (and women), certainly has been on the rise in the last decade or two, and they are supported by both the upper 5%, the “The ‘elite’ don’t understand what we have to deal with”, and the lower 5%, that just want change so they can have supper tomorrow.

There are candidates that have solutions, but will their message be clear and understandable? There are also, I believe, many potential voters that basically agree with 95% of what reformist candidates present, but for religious / moral standpoints they cannot endorse the candidate.

@odd @miraz Thanks for reading. What rankles most is that we can’t do anything about it and things seem to be out of our hands.

@vasta Thanks for your wishes. As a desi, I'm sure you understand the anxiety and as I mentioned to others, it's the not being in control that adds to the uncertainty.

@pratik I am deeply saddened and embarrassed that our country has put you (and many, many others) in this place. This is not the America I believe in and I know many who agree we are on the wrong path. We plan to outvote those who continue to support the current administration.

@pratik Like others here, I deplore the fact that my country is behaving this way. I vote against these actions, but perhaps don't do enough beyond that to fight them.

My own reaction when faced with such uncertainty was always to spend less and save as much as possible. Cash in the bank/brokerage don't remove the uncertainty, but put you in a much better position to adjust on your own terms to most sorts of change in circumstance—that is, it gives you some amount of control over how you can respond to whatever happens.

@pratik Sending light your way. 💡 So much of the worst of our country has come closer to the surface over the past several years. Being Jewish and a citizen is not as precarious of a place as yours, but, given Trump’s Anti-Jewish rhetoric, I can appreciate a bit how scary things have become. 😣

@fgtech @philipbrewer @bruce Thanks for your thoughts. My intention in sharing this very personal news is to simply make people aware of situations that even privileged minorities are in. Do not buy into the rhetoric that pits some 'model minorities' over others. They are harsh toward all. And I bring this to light because if you can exercise your vote to change this, please do. Because we can't even do that.

@pratik I am sorry that you and your family are going through this. Your words resonated with me, even though I live across the pond. Thank you for sharing this powerful post with us.

@pratik Thank you so much for sharing. 🙏

I completely agree on the model minority bullshit. And, while my vote doesn’t do much (I live in NYC), I do donate a lot to candidates (at all levels) in purple districts. (It’s so odd that we’ve ended up with our reactionaries represented by the color of socialism and our liberals, by the color of conservatism. Thanks 2000!) //@fgtech @philipbrewer @vasta

@DiplomaticDiva Thanks. I've family and friends across the pond who are equally concerned about the ramifications of Brexit. Seems uncertainty is the way of the world now although most of it is self-inflicted.

@pratik Exactly! The General Election later on this week is likely to determine the UK’s path for at least a generation, if not more.

@pratik I’m so sorry you (and thousands? hundreds of thousands? of other immigrants) are in this state of limbo wrapped in dread, trapped between two worlds. Thanks so much for writing this; I had no idea that after 20-some years here, you were still waiting for permanent residency. It’s so easy for us to assume that things are working as we believe they should when we don’t know any examples to the contrary (obviously the refugee and undocumented parts of our immigration system have been a known disaster for some time, but it’s too easy to assume that people such as yourself who have visas, have been good “citizens” and follow the rules and process, and so forth, were treated fairly and were able to achieve residency and citizenship in a reasonable period of time).

Something you might want not to read, but for others in the Conversation, @kerim linked to this article the other day, highlighting many of the ways that the current administration and its racist officials have been sabotaging legal immigration and leaving generations worth of work to undo the changes. (// @Bruce @fgtech @philipbrewer @vasta @DiplomaticDiva @Miraz @odd )

It’s almost like the despots are in sync with their tyrannical aspirations across oceans.

Yes. I think this has historical precedent, too, and I’m not sure how we roll it back successfully :-(

@smokey About the means portioned out, as described in the article: I hardly think that’s gonna MAGA.

@odd Well, the problem is the acronym he uses; it should be MORWMAGA (“old rich white men of America”) and then things make “sense” 😡

@smokey Yeah, maybe that’s it. If we look to China, and see what they’ve been doing the last 40 years, it’s the opposite of isolationism. (Although they have a lot of competence themselves, they’ve accepted a lot of hands into their country, as it enriches it, both economically and bilaterally). I’m not saying everything is perfect, but the growth they’ve had since, (and under), Xiaoping is phenomenal.

@pratik I hope you can continue to live and work where you do, but if it becomes untenable I would highly recommend looking into possibilities in East Asia. Low birthrates and out migration means countries like Taiwan are trying to attract foreign professionals. Salaries are low, but the cost of living and quality of life are high. My wife (who is also desi) and I both feel that this is one of the few places where we can both live comfortably without having to change careers. It is also close to India if you want to visit!

@smokey Thanks. We learned a long time ago that the myth of 'obey rules and we will be fair to you' is not true. That doesn't make me angry toward other immigrants because I know the system is not fair to them either. I've lived in the U.S. post-9/11 but it wasn't half as bad back then as it is now.

@kerim We have explored Singapore before but it didn't pan out at that time. We will seriously have to take a look again if the 2020 election keeps the status quo. We are not hung up on the salaries as long as the quality of life is great. Otherwise like my fellow desis, I would've opted for a career in IT too :) Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate it.

@pratik What is a ‘desi’? You've used that term several times now.

@Miraz a person of South Asian origin. We call our home countries 'desh' (or des depending on dialect) meaning country. E.g. Bangla-desh (country of Banglas). Hence desis i.e. inhabitants of desh/des.

Some Indian nationalists want to restrict the term for Indians but given shared cultural heritage, I use it for people of the subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan).

@pratik Ahhh, thank you! I would never have guessed.

@pratik Thanks for the etymology; I was aware of the term but had never looked up its origin!

@pratik I am a US citizen living in Mexico. On receiving my permanent residency status in Mexico I burst into tears. I was so grateful and yet I felt an instant connection to people all over the world seeking residency in another country, often to protect their lives. I am saddened that my country of origin treats people so horribly. May the tides turn soon. I am hoping for a good outcome to your current situation.

@poetalegre Thanks for reading and your thoughts.

@Miraz FYI, just stumbled upon a primer by Anil Dash about desis in the US. // @pratik

@smokey @miraz He's one of the ones with opinions as opposed to the silent ones like Nadella and Pichai. Helped that he was a blogger first and foremost.

@pratik And Dash seems to have been born (at least raised) in the US, versus the other two who came here during their post-gradute education, which may also make a difference? // @Miraz

@smokey True. Anil would be called an ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) coz of the whole caught between two world. The other two are like me who were FOBs (Fresh off the boat) who tend to keep their head down and raise ABCD kids.

@pratik Ah. (Acronym fun!)