It seems another of my friends have taken flight and he would soon call Australia his home. He didn't say much when he left but over the years I've known him, it almost seemed like a matter of time that he would leave. The love for this country that has been a home for his life from this point before, had dissipated with each disappointment he expressed whenever we met. He predicts a bleak future if he stays on - a future that would extend into his lineage where his children and their children thereafter would have to suffer. It wasn't one reason that drove him to leave but more like an accumulation of unhappiness.
He wasn't the first and probably wouldn't be the last, what with all the uncertainties in the economy. Whatever happened to national pride? What happened to the burning sense of belonging that invokes songs like the one below:
I Vow to Thee, My Country
Lyrics by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, Tune by Gustav Holst.
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
Yet who am I to brand him a quitter or a stayer? As a friend, I can only respect his decision - a choice he has made after much deliberation over the years.
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