Increasingly Europeans are leaving the European Union in search of employment and better opportunities.

For much of the world it is difficult to imagine why someone would leave Europe.  For many the imaginary that was created during Europe’s waves of colonization during the 15th and 18th lingers on. The way Europeans defined the ‘other’ remains internalized, fixed in minds, so that when a European now decides to leave their birth place they are met with disbelief- and asked why they would leave Europe, a continent with such exquisite taste, forward thinking and incredible passion for life.

But for many Europeans the tides have turned. As unemployment rates have soared in Europe, Europe’s youth has run out of patience and decided to offer its manpower elsewhere. While 50 years ago the South of Europe migrated to other parts of Europe in search of jobs, today a pattern of reversed migration is emerging from the South of Europe to Europe’s former colonies.  In Portugal thousands of young unemployed professionals are leaving the country’s sad economy behind to migrate to former colonies with vibrant economies such as Angola, Mozambique and Brazil. After a string of precarious jobs, one in ten graduates are now deciding to leave Portugal for former European colonies, today’s growing emerging economies.

Portugal exemplifies what is occurring in the rest of Europe. The Scientist revealed that 1 out 7 German science doctorates leave Germany for the United States, as the European crisis has meant a cut in spending in research by the European Union.  In Greece a mass exodus of young professionals has been observed as unemployment has reached over 40% for those between the ages of 15-24. In Ireland it is estimated that 150, 000 young people will leave the country to find work in the next 5 years. The generation with the highest education levels Europe and perhaps the world as ever seen, is leaving at least temporarily to build their homes somewhere else.

As unemployment rates soar in Europe, migration narratives with different currents than before will continue unfolding. While Europe’s dark economic age has been the lead cause for migration, it is worth considering what other factors are involved in people’s decision to migrate. A strong sense of scepticism, anger and loss of hope towards the European Union and its political leaders-once avant-garde in their thinking and now lingering desperately behind- appear in many of these narratives of migration. Like one young Portuguese woman preparing for her move to Angola says “I prefer to leave everything behind – family, friends, my culture – everything than to pay for a crisis I didn’t cause.”