"india has great job opportunities for foreigners"

Often we assume that when people migrate, they most probably do so for employment purposes or for better opportunities. That's why this particular interaction really widened my thinking when I found that Mustafa (26) and Fallah (27), two students studying pharmaceutical sciences from Iraq, moved here for medical reasons, an uncommon purpose. I listened intently as they compared their home back in Iraq to their life here in Bangalore and enlightened me with enthralling information about their families and friends.

You said you moved here for medical reasons? Why did you choose India?

After the Afghan-Iraqi war, many of the doctors had been killed and therefore, we no longer have many experienced doctors. (Mustafa): My father has cancer and we brought him here to be treated. What also led us to move here was the unstable government in Iraq. Although, many iraqis are good people, the government is highly unstable as it is corrupt and working for other countries.

Tell me a little bit more about what you do. Do you find that there are a lot more people moving here for medical reasons?

We work as translators in Manipal Hospital. Many people from Yemen, Iraq and even Saudi Arabia come to places like Bangalore and Delhi as patients to be treated and often find it hard to communicate. That's where we come into the picture, we help these patients to communicate with doctors and nurses, making it easier for them.

How often do you go back home?

We go back home once or twice a year, it's a 6 hour flight that we take on Qatar Airways. However, we keep in touch with our friends and family through Facebook and text messages.

In your opinion, how different is life in Iraq in comparison to life in India?

We've noticed that India and Iraq are, in fact, very similar. We both come from huge families with many brothers and sisters, which we see here in India too. On the other hand, the currency rates are not all that different either, which is a good thing for us, as nothing is too expensive. However, India is a mix of different cultures whereas in Iraq, one would rarely find a foreigner living there.

Thank you, Mustafa and Fallah.

***

Before my brief but worthwhile conversation with Mustafa and Fallah, I had a very superficial and restricted idea about why people choose Bangalore to relocate to. I had always thought it was because of the fact that this city is the IT hub of India and also the home of many migrants because it offers a great deal of far-reaching opportunities. But from my discussion with these two Iraqis, I deducted that Bangalore is one of the few cities in India that offers the best medical services. This conversation also helped me realize that migrants help our city to prosper and contribute to our country's social and economic development. Unfortunately though, India lacks the infrastructure and security to protect these migrants and in my view, the government should impose policies that talk about the protection of migrants.

Mustafa (left) and Fallah (right) moved to Bangalore 7 years ago.