The world of migrants is a world of difficult decisions, at times individual and at times collective or familial, although there are also environmental variables similar for all who decide to leave their home country and try their luck in another. For many, this is a world of great uncertainty, of unstable migratory status, the possibility of deportation, and a difficult working life. But emigration is also perhaps the only hope for obtaining better work and income, educational opportunities, and even sometimes personal safety.

In general, emigration can be seen as simultaneously an opportunity and a problem:

1. It is an opportunity because the world outside offers better prospects and opportunities for the individual than does his or her home country, and thus provides an advantage for those who emigrate (what some call "brain gain" or development of talents and skills).
2. It is a problem because the home country is "losing something" ("brain drain", loss of talents and skills, of enterprising people) and because emigration obviously highlights the inadequacies of the home country.

The home country is always on the minds of those who emigrate, and their return –voluntary or involuntary– always remains as a possibility. However, it seems as if returning is not the most feasible option for many, because: a) the home country cannot offer the same opportunities; and b) return programs sponsored by governments or international institutions are expensive and not all that attractive. In fact, very few countries with high rates of emigration have seen much of a rate of return.

In the case of El Salvador, the migratory phenomenon dates a long way back. However, it accelerated dramatically since the late 1970s, as a consequence of the armed conflict and the deteriorating economic situation. Currently, an estimated one-fifth of Salvadorans have emigrated, particularly to five major U.S. cities, but also in considerable numbers to countries such as Canada, Mexico, Australia, and neighboring Central American countries.[1]

In general terms, two types of Salvadoran emigrants can be identified: a) professionals (who mostly make up the so-called "brain drain" phenomenon); and b) skilled and unskilled workers. Their chances of returning –either definitively or temporarily– and their ties to the home country are varied. For example, for "ordinary" Salvadorans (in the words of one member of the learning circle), ties will be qualitatively different than for the professional who moves with relative ease between the two worlds, although both play an important role in the new relationship evolving between Salvadorans here and abroad.

To date, however, the principal, visible, and measurable tie between emigrants and the home country has been the flow of family remittances sent back to El Salvador, the fruits of emigrants’ efforts abroad. Remittances have continued to increase in volume ever since the first calculations were made in the 1980s. Remittances have played a powerful role in balancing the trade deficit and maintaining exchange rate equilibrium, to such an extent that emigration plays a very strategic role in El Salvador’s future development plans.[2]

However, we know that in general terms, migration not only offers opportunities for increased income, but also strengthens skills and specialized knowledge among emigrants, a potential which could be of great interest and use for the home country, but which has been entirely overlooked. At the same time, the growing ease with which information and knowledge can be shared electronically has fundamentally changed the potential nature of transnational relationships, and sets an agenda far beyond the capture of remittances. In other words, the quality of these relationships could improve noticeably, from a fundamentally monetary relationship to one which involves information and knowledge transfers toward the goal of many-faceted national development.

In sum, the enormous opportunity for Salvadorans abroad to contribute to national development through their knowledge and talents acquired since their departure has hardly been researched here, and thus the work taken on by this learning circle is particularly innovative and unique.

Building constructive, close, and rich relationships among Salvadorans throughout the world first requires an understanding of favorable existing conditions, as well as those which represent obstacles or problems. The learning circle on migration identified the following areas, among others:

Strengths and opportunities

It is important to acknowledge that the government has taken several steps to adapt its focus to transnational realities, including: a) modernizing its foreign relations department; b) routinely issuing permits to return to El Salvador with tax breaks (household goods, for example); and c) special status for retired Salvadorans who receive their pensions from abroad. It has also been openly supportive of improving the immigration status of undocumented Salvadorans abroad (particularly in the U.S.). With these measures, the government has broadened its interest in emigrants beyond remittances, and has accepted the permanent nature of Salvadoran emigration.

The negotiated end to the war in 1992 laid the groundwork for new types of transnational relationships, and opened the way toward democratizing El Salvador. Important efforts have been made to project the nation abroad through newspapers, magazines, Websites, cultural events, and radio. Newspapers and networks among Salvadorans abroad have also played a role in strengthening ties among those sectors. Furthermore, a broad range of values assimilated by Salvadorans abroad has certainly had some impact here, such as the importance of public health and personal health issues, as well as of transparency and efficiency in public administration.

Many Salvadorans abroad have managed to improve their income levels, and are able to consume Salvadoran products despite the high prices they must pay. In other words, there is a strong demand for Salvadoran goods and culture among those abroad, to which some Salvadoran and transnational enterprises have managed to respond. The same needs of communication and connectivity have been largely supplied by Salvadoran enterprises, such as couriers, Internet Service Providers and encomenderos.[3]

Salvadoran communities abroad tend to cohere, and sometimes create associations and federations of associations dedicated to helping development projects in their home towns. In one very special case, a national network of support for local development projects in El Salvador was created electronically among Salvadorans living in the US. A similar phenomenon exists with transfer of knowledge, technology, and human capital in small and medium enterprises (for example, the Salvadoran Association of Vehicle Importers ASEIVA) and some professional associations open to sharing knowledge and experiences (for exemple, the Salvadoran Physicians’ Association in Houston). Links set up among Salvadorans who share knowledge lays the groundwork for building cross-border working groups. Not only does such networking enrich academic, cultural, and scientific activities, but also greatly helps speed up the adaptation of technologies for production, communications, and business in El Salvador. [see case study]

The use of information and communications technologies is becoming more widespread, and it will help intensify and cheapen connectivity among Salvadorans here and abroad. Salvadorans overseas already have a relatively high rate of access to the Internet (particularly among students and professionals, and at public libraries), but efforts to lower the cost of the technology and promote national connectivity will also help Salvadorans here improve their communications. As ties among Salvadorans throughout the world become closer, more opportunities will emerge for Salvadorans to improve their development practices in concert with those who live abroad. Above and beyond the growing possibilities of doing business which comes with insertion in the world market –especially commerce between emigrants and the home country– knowledge exchanges of all kinds will be the most significant outcome of connecting Salvadorans throughout the world.

The more Salvadorans are linked up around the world, the more financial transactions will take place, above and beyond remittances. In other worlds, Salvadorans abroad will be better able to identify opportunities for productive investment in El Salvador. Such investments lead to the transfer of technological and professional skills ("know-how"), including the case of retired Salvadorans who return to El Salvador and can share their knowledge, skills and funds to invest. There will also be a need for electronic "brokering" activities, to identify the supply and demand for skills among Salvadorans around the world.

Increased exchanges, a reflection in part of the transnationalization of families, could enrich Salvadoran culture, although many see it as a threat more than as an opportunity. Thus, we could anticipate a greater demand for political participation by Salvadoran emigrants, in new ways, including voting by Salvadorans abroad (as many countries already permit). In the context of El Salvador’s democratic development, the local population could evolve new political values as a result of sharing experiences with Salvadorans abroad.

Limitations and obstacles

The government has neither institutionalized nor publicized many useful channels for strengthening transnational relationships. Salvadorans abroad often note that these channels are not organized, or at least are hard to access in El Salvador: there is resistance in El Salvador to systematizing and offering information about government policies and regulations, little is known about the true functions of public institutions, and there are strong doubts and uncertainties about the solidity of the legal framework, among others. These problems could be related to a lack of modernization in general, which means that existing human and technical resources do not meet the needs and demands of the people. For example, many Salvadoran professionals abroad feel frustrated by the lack of modernization in El Salvador.

On the other hand, there is very little information about Salvadorans abroad, about their skills, labor situation, and interrelationships. The little information that does exist is neither very systematized nor always available. Furthermore, many Salvadorans abroad are out of touch with local reality (lack of day-to-day experiences, lack of information) which, combined with the fragmentation of many Salvadoran communities abroad, limits their political, cultural, and economic influence. The ultimate consequences of this distancing and lack of understanding will be the loss of cultural identity among Salvadorans abroad.

It is difficult for migrants to invest in El Salvador, which has a lot to do with a lack of vision on the part of both the government and businesses. This is in part due to monopolistic practices which limit trade (for example, the cost of air and sea cargo, the costs of transferring funds and the delays it entails). But it is also due in part to resistance here to formalizing transactions, and a tendency to improvise in terms of norms and quality standards. As a consequence, these trade obstacles force interested parties to use informal, fragmented, or segmented channels, which raises transaction costs even more. Furthermore, there has been little effort or resources put to overcoming these obstacles.

The cultural environment is not welcoming to Salvadoran initiatives from abroad. Salvadorans here are generally not very receptive to ideas which come from their compatriots overseas. Perhaps this society has yet to assimilate the true nature of transnationalism, but in general Salvadorans abroad are not seen as a different yet related group, nor are attempts made to support them or bring them closer to the home country. For example, students who return from scholarships abroad generally find it difficult to reintegrate unless they have "special connections"; in the same fashion, there are few opportunities for Salvadorans to apply their acquired knowledge and skills when they return from a long sojourn abroad.

There is a generalized problem of a technological nature: lack of understanding and/or underutilization of today’s existing means of communication. For example, there needs to be more access to the Internet and other forms of communication, both in El Salvador and among emigrants. Part of the problem lies in resistance or lack of understanding of this medium (particularly among those with fewer skills), but there are also few initiatives to facilitate the transfer of expertise (brokers, for instance) or to identify local champions willing to promote new ideas. As a consequence, the gap between the "connected" and the "disconnected" tends to widen.

It is difficult to realize the potential of transnational existence, seeking at the same time to balance changing realities "on each side"; this difficulty has more than anything to do with the lack of detailed, broad information and knowledge about Salvadorans both inside and outside the country, as well as the lack of institutionalized intermediaries ("brokers") to facilitate connections, exchanges, and reinsertion; furthermore, there are problems of infrastructure and efficient communication resources. However, Salvadorans are reasonably well organized and interconnected while abroad, and there is a considerable demand for productive relationships with their (potential) counterparts and partners in El Salvador, as well as a considerable demand for Salvadoran products and services in those areas in which emigrants are concentrated. In sum, there is a strong desire on the part of many communities, groups, and sectors of Salvadorans abroad to contribute more to their home country, a desire that is generally not reciprocated.

In the second place, the slow pace of modernization by the Salvadoran government (foreign relations, tax policy, emigrant vote, effective laws and legal framework), the private sector (true competition, globalized approach, modern business techniques), and institutions in general (universities, professional associations, local governments, etc.) constitute serious obstacles to participation by Salvadoran emigrants in national development activities, since they become accustomed abroad to other styles of bureaucracy, paperwork, business administration, legislation, etc. In sum, although there is a potential for more constructive relationships between local Salvadorans and their counterparts abroad, uneven levels of development make it difficult for many creative ideas to take root.

Principal causes of the problems identified:

The large-scale emigration of Salvadorans has been taking place for approximately one generation, and thus there is still strong interest in preserving ties. Family ties will remain strong as long as direct communications are maintained among relatives who are geographically separated; they are also reinforced through a large number of organizations and support committees which channel funds and organize local development projects, which are often tied to family relationships. If we add the fact that most migrants maintain ties with their home country above and beyond family sentiment –for instance, hopes to return home to retire, investments, and real estate purchases– we might suppose that it will be a long time yet before these transnational relationships weaken.

At the same time, it is evident that Salvadorans abroad have more opportunities for education, employment, and social recognition than they did at home, which influences their expectations and desire for self-improvement, and they come more to resemble long-term residents of their host countries. Many Salvadorans here have first-hand knowledge of someone who has been successful abroad, which may serve as a role model for others both within and outside the country.

But in general, there is not usually much demand for more creative relationships with compatriots abroad, above and beyond family remittances. Institutional and official government policy, as well as popular and organizational attitudes, strongly favor the continuation of family remittances and of Salvadoran residence abroad. In other words, there is broad understanding that emigration is an escape valve for the nation’s social and economic problems, and constitutes a source of foreign reserves which compensate for balance of payments shortcomings and family budget deficits. There is thus an enormous short-term economic interest –on the part of government as well as families– to stress remittances as the only special contribution emigrants can make.

Popular perceptions of those who emigrated are further reinforced by the mass media, which (with some exceptions) tend to report only negatively about Salvadorans abroad (those who were deported, criminal records, etc.), because it "sells newspapers". Furthermore, there is a certain cultural tendency to seek and place a greater value on the talent of non-Salvadoran individuals and institutions, because many have a hard time accepting that a peer "has gone far away and has made more progress that one who stayed".

Salvadorans abroad thus feel undervalued in terms of their possible contribution in the form of knowledge and talent; they are made to feel that their only value to El Salvador is the familiy remittances they send, and to a lesser extent, the money they may invest there. This leads migrants to feel impatient and frustrated by the closed, "backwards" attitudes of Salvadoran institutions in general, particularly in regard to their status as migrants.

In terms of trade relations, more attention is being paid to the importance of Salvadorans abroad as markets for certain national products and services, and also as trade partners. This perception has led to certain government initiatives to improve policy and institutions that could enrich transnational relationships, for example, the creation of a migrant bureau in the foreign relations ministry, and the migrant cluster as part of the National Competitiveness Program.

The benefits of this positive trend are limited by the absence of more pronounced progress in modernization of Salvadoran institutions and procedures; the government, businesses and other institutions do not feel enough pressure to make speedy progress (for example, rewarding innovation instead of suppressing it, maintaining reliable rules of the game) because the enormous inflows of family remittances maintain a certain degree of macroeconomic equilibrium and thus conceal the nation’s underlying structural economic problems.

The declining costs and increasingly widespread use of information and communications technologies makes it easier to exchange knowledge among Salvadorans around the world. In fact, links among Salvadorans abroad are particularly dynamic and have a broad variety of expressions: sports, culture, associations, etc. However, it is still relatively expensive to communicate from El Salvador, and thus the cultural changes necessary to adopt new development forms using information tools are slow to come as well. But there are other factors as well: a) low levels of literacy and little culture of seeking written over oral information resources; b) little custom of registering or systematizing knowledge or information resources in the form of, for example, directories, inventories, and census data; c) the undocumented status of many Salvadorans abroad constitutes an obstacle to the fluid communication of those information resources which may exist; and d) many auxiliary resources necessary for adequate transnational knowledge-sharing exist only in other languages, or else their appearance or assumptions are not easily absorbed by other cultures (reference documents, research papers, technical manuals, etc.).

Specific challenges:

The growing impact of globalization and the world ICT revolution will have a direct, gradual effect on the modernization of Salvadoran institutions and organizations, which will tend to mitigate some of the problems mentioned. Nevertheless, the following challenges, which must be addressed frontally, are those related to learning, information, and knowledge in the context of migration:

• Promote efficient and interactive knowledge and information resources in order to strengthen ties between emigrants and El Salvador.

• Institutionalize knowledge and information exchanges which can help strengthen cultural, social, economic, and political ties between Salvadoran emigrants and El Salvador.

• Overcome cultural attitudes which prevent a more productive transnational relationships among Salvadorans beyond family remittances, by generating and disseminating detailed, wide-ranging information about Salvadorans abroad.

• Increase connectivity in El Salvador as a way to strengthen relationships with emigrants.

A. Projects proposed by the learning circle:

Networks among Salvadorans around the world and generation of information resources about Salvadorans abroad

General objectives:

Leverage learning and transnational development among Salvadorans by ensuring the broadest possible interactions among emigrants and the local population, beyond family remittances.

• Promote business, professional, academic, and community interchanges through networking among resident and emigrant Salvadorans:

• Small and medium enterprises which communicate and coordinate to exchange trade contacts, learn new business techniques, organize study tours abroad, and other activities.
• Professional associations and university departments which communicate and coordinate with their counterparts abroad in order to learn new methods, undertake transnational research, strengthen local research and scientific projects, dialogue through electronic forums, organize study and lecture tours, etc.
• Salvadoran communities and their respective support committees abroad which communicate and coordinate to enrich and channel support from abroad to local development projects, preserve and disseminate local culture, organize visits, bring families together, etc.

• Stimulate and support local demand for these types of interchanges by publishing and disseminating detailed information about the diversity and talents of Salvadorans abroad, for example, Webpages on:

• a teachers’ community
• groups of Salvadorans in particular cities
• a Salvadoran medical association
• a Salvadoran students’ association
• a support committee abroad for a particular town or community in El Salvador
• a Salvadoran chamber of commerce
• a football team; and more.

• Measure and evaluate the impact of these networks and information resources in terms of helping generate positive, self-sustaining knowledge exchanges in these areas.

• Systematize and disseminate the experiences acquired during the process, as a way to support future participation in these initiatives.

Considerations:

Although the networks and contents could be developed using any communications infrastructure, the project places a priority on electronic communications, for reasons of speed as well as cost. It is expected that a new culture will evolve based on the understanding that people can progress farther if they are willing to share knowledge and experiences to help build national development. Thus, the learning circle feels that the Infocenter Association is the most suitable organization to house these efforts, and a Migrant Committee could be created among its interested members.

In the networks component, the project will be successful if it: a) produces more exports, imports, investments, and other commercial opportunities among Salvadorans; b) stimulates more community development programs which involve Salvadorans abroad; c) helps introduce new research techniques and methods, improvements in professional and academic sectors; d) results in the development and/or application of new technologies, techniques, and knowledge in El Salvador; and e) increases satisfaction among Salvadorans locally and abroad in terms of working together to further development in El Salvador.

In the content-generation component, some indicators of success are: a) an increase in favorable reporting in the traditional media about Salvadorans abroad; b) creation of new transnational networks and other signs of exchanges among Salvadorans; and c) a generally favorable climate of opinion in El Salvador about their compatriots abroad.

Participants:

Business networks: ad hoc business groups or established associations in El Salvador; National Competitiveness Program, SME Center (CentroMYPE); individual businesses or business groups among Salvadorans abroad, with emphasis on small and medium enterprise.

Professional/academic networks: professional associations, universities or university departments in El Salvador; Salvadoran students, academics, and professionals abroad, in groups or individually.

Community development networks: communities or towns in El Salvador which have an established support group abroad, or at least individuals or groups identified abroad; individuals or groups abroad who wish to strengthen relationships with their home communities.

Electronic contents: Salvadoran communities, committees, groups, or associations abroad who wish to be known in El Salvador, with efforts to ensure a relatively even distribution by sector and geographical area.

Activities:  [see implementation proposal]

• Select local groups interested in promoting the different types of networks.

• Identify and select groups of Salvadorans abroad who could be contacted to participate in electronic content generation.

• Organize an electronic inventory of all information available in the Internet on Salvadorans abroad, starting with existing portals and Websites related to the issue, and create a local portal for the project; constant updating.

• Establish and implement an appropriate monitoring and evaluation method from the start.

• Provide support in terms of technical and/or technological resources and training to local network counterparts; locate possible counterparts abroad to propose and initiate concrete joint actions, discussion forums, visits, study tours, etc.; design strategies to promote the ongoing incorporation of new members and means of dissemination and/or communication. Activities could include:

• Develop a scientific research project in a university department, which includes an ongoing electronic forum among local and international researchers. Create an on-line bibliography and provide access to full texts and documents in-process.
• Informative lectures via videoconferencing, between a local meeting of a professional association and counterparts abroad. A local research committee is set up to keep local members updated on new skills and developments, using ongoing collective discussions (via e-mail) to develop issues and bibliographies for courses.
• Electronic business networks between buyers and sellers of vehicles and spare parts in El Salvador and the United States; location of necessary parts and materials; coordinate travel and shipments to lower costs.
• Active communications between members of a community in El Salvador and their counterparts abroad; an electronic forum to discuss future projects to finance; creation of electronic information resources about the community; digital photos of festivals or celebrations.

• For Web contents: distance coordination among participants selected to produce information resources about their situation, activities, needs, and talents.

• Celebrate a congress of networks among participants at the end of a first phase of work in order to share experiences and evaluate achievements.

• Widespread dissemination, in electronic and print media, of the experiences undertaken through migrant networking and creation of information resources about Salvadorans abroad.

• Seek ways to broaden and replicate the early experiences among more diverse groups.

B. Recommendations for other learning circles

Small and microenterprises: include short-term and ongoing exchanges via networks with Salvadorans abroad to support local initiatives to strengthen this sector.

Learning organizations and Innovation Club: include exchanges with Salvadorans abroad as part of their activities.

Local development: as part of efforts to generate local and municipal information resources, ensure the creation of information that is attractive to potential Salvadoran tourists abroad, as well as other types of information useful to emigrant members of the respective home towns.

Education: seek links with Salvadoran students abroad by twinning classrooms, promoting penpals, and generating local information that could be interesting and/or useful to Salvadoran students abroad.

C. Recommendations to enhance ongoing projects

In general: Follow up on the recommendations and conclusions of the attached study, "Transnational Knowledge Sharing: Possibilities via Salvadoran Migration", especially in terms of identifying local champions and counterparts to promote transnational initiatives of different types.

Infocenter Association: Create a Migrant Committee among member groups and individuals, focused on generating and supporting transnational networks by sector, as well as wide-ranging information resources about Salvadorans abroad; also organize information about El Salvador –with an emphasis on both emigrant and returned Salvadorans– that is generated through the Association’s other activities. Special attention to locating Infocenters in areas of heavy emigration.

Universities: Encourage participation by Salvadoran professionals and academics abroad in research and thesis committees by means of electronic communications; also encourage short-term hiring of Salvadoran emigrants as professors and instructors.

National Competitiveness Program: Focus on two key areas:

1. Develop permanent, long-term transnational relationships among Salvadoran businesses, above and beyond immediate goals; in other words, develop networks to build trust and reliability. This program would be a logical counterpart to the business network portion of the project detailed above.
2. Generate and/or organize business-related electronic resources around a broad range of information about El Salvador, with the goal of increasing trust by Salvadorans abroad who wish to invest or trade with this country, as well as ensuring adequate publicity about the existence of this information.

INSAFORP and other professional and vocational training organizations: Make a special effort to seek candidates for training consultancies among Salvadorans abroad; create a database of available human resources.

Organizations which support small and microenterprise: Include exchanges with Salvadoran businesses abroad in local support programs, with special emphasis on business administration skills, and the development of new techniques for production and marketing of a broad variety of products.

Non-governmental volunteer organizations: Organize study and/or work tours for Salvadoran students abroad to visit El Salvador.

D. Complementary policy recommendations:

• On the basis of international programs such as the U.N.’s TOKTEN (Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals), Talento Mundo (UNESCO, being created on the basis of the success of Talento Venezolano), and/or the International Migration Organization (IMO), develop ways of obtaining external financing for lectures, seminars, advisories, consultancies, training, and even jobs in El Salvador for Salvadoran professionals abroad.

• Create a permanent migrant bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Relations, with emphasis on utilizing Salvadoran talent and knowledge over and above remittances; this bureau should participate in all the projects and initiatives proposed in this strategy, but as a partner not director. Its activities should include an ongoing, dynamic inventory of Salvadoran talent abroad, to be collected through its consulates and embassies, as well as the acquisition of documentation and bibliographies by Salvadoran authors abroad.

• Make a special effort to seek the candidacies of Salvadoran emigrants for local consultancies carried out in the context of international aid programs.

• National science and technology policy should place a priority on participation by Salvadorans abroad in research, science and technology projects, and innovation initiatives, taking advantage of collaborative methods afforded by electronic networking, as well as the selective use of visiting lecturers, seminars, and colloquia.

1. See, for example, the study by Edward Funkhouser "La migración internacional salvadoreña y las remesas: un perfil," in Mario Lungo, comp., Migración internacional y desarrollo (San Salvador: Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo, 1997), pp. 45-46; and Monitor Company, "Construyendo las ventajas competitivas: puentes entre la comunidad salvadoreña en el exterior y El Salvador," executive summary (junio-octubre 1997), pp. 3-4.  [return]

2. In 1994, remittances and donations made up 15.8% of El Salvador’s GDP, an amount almost identical to the trade deficit for that same year: Roberto Rivera Campos, "La potencial contracción de las remesas y el financiamiento de la economía salvadoreña," in Boletín del CEMLA (noviembre-diciembre de 1996); "It is estimated that by the end of 1998, family remittances could reach 1.235 billion dollars": Temas Claves para el Plan de Nación: Propuestas de las Mesas Especializadas, Chapter 16, 1999, note #6.  [return]

3. Tr. note: individuals who make a living traveling back and forth between established communities in El Salvador and the US, carrying letters, goods, etc.   [return]