It is a very long post, I guess I also felt like ranting a bit. Sometimes I wish I could just go back in time, yk.
I moved to the US in 2016 with my family. I am finishing my bachelor’s in a few weeks, but I still feel very out of place at times. My parents lived a somewhat comfortable life in Bangladesh, but they didn’t rlly learn much English in school. My baba had his own business in the food/poultry sector, and my maa was a housewife. My sister and I studied at VNS in Bangladesh, so we lived in Dhaka even though my dad’s business was based somewhere else. When our F4 visa situation worked out (very unexpectedly) in 2014, my dad’s business was in the process of expanding. But he chose to leave it all behind just so my sister and I could have a “better” life.
For the last 10 years, people here have treated them so horribly. Everyone thinks my parents chose to live here because they love the US so much, but they simply felt they had no other option. We don't have an apartment in Bangladesh, and my parents don’t have a traditional job history they can easily return to. They felt stuck, but they thugged it out solely because my sister & I tried our hardest in school.
Both of my parents now work at a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, and they are in their 50s and 60s. In the last decade, they have worked at hotels and factories.
In Bangladesh, my dad was always confident and outspoken; he was a man who always followed the law and treated his employees kindly. My maa was always so knowledgeable and curious. I saw the light in her face dim right in front of me.
Seeing my parents work so hard at this age is truly so heartbreaking. I wasn't old enough to help when we left Bangladesh, but I am now. They don’t want to move back until they retire in 10 to 15 years. They want me to pursue my dream of medicine, but that will also take over 10 years. That is a decade where I won't be able to support them. As much as I want to follow that dream, I don’t know if I can or should.
I want my ammu abbu to live the rest of their lives with dignity and respect in the place they once called home. My sister is starting medical school this fall, so she is stuck here for another 6-8 years. But I am finishing college soon, and I have no debt at the moment because of financial aid. If I pursue medicine, I will be drowning in debt till I finish residency.
Many of my cousins have left Bangladesh for work or school. Everyone laughs it off when I say I want to move back, but I am so serious. Aside from family reasons, I also want to help marginalized communities in Bangladesh. Why not accelerate that process by moving back? I can possibly work in public health or policy with organizations like BRAC? I am studying economics at an ivy league, and I have extensive experience working with various nonprofits. Is it possible for me to build a successful career in Bangladesh at this moment in life? Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.