It seems there is a good possibility that we may, in the near future, see an Assyrian-centric province in Iraq or even some sort of autonomous region. If this were indeed to happen, what would it look like? How could it realistically survive?
I don't see many Assyrians living in the west moving back to Iraq. We have much greater access to education and wealth-creation opportunities in the west, and having the majority of our population move back to Iraq could actually screw us in the long-run. We need people in the west to make money, get educated, and serve as representatives of our people to the global population. Many in the world have no idea who Assyrians are, and it will be easier for them to associate with us if we are productive members of their society, rather than some minority ethnic group in Iraq. So essentially I believe many Assyrians are not willing to migrate back, nor should they.
Instead, I think we should envision the future of Assyria as an economic unit and nothing else. Perhaps our region could specialize in some high-skill manufacturing like robotics, or invest heavily in solar and supply the region with clean energy. We would have more land than people, and so I think the right choice is to go with some heavy capital investments. Thus my idea of treating it more like an economic unit. The first goal of our province should be to develop some strategic economic advantage so that it can begin trading and establish a presence.
Further, I could see an Assyrian province with many vacation homes\rentals where Assyrians from diaspora come visit, but do not necessarily base their lives out of. Again, we have better opportunities in more developed countries. Some Assyrians would live there to manage the local government and take care of the lands. I think it's more appropriate for our people to advance themselves in the west while investing in the "economic unit" that would be the Assyrian region. Dividends could even be paid out to investors just like its a company.
I think this strategy would create some meaningful and near-immediate value to our lands, without forcing people to sacrifice their current livelihoods just go back and live in underdeveloped lands. Any thoughts?
I don't see many Assyrians living in the west moving back to Iraq. We have much greater access to education and wealth-creation opportunities in the west, and having the majority of our population move back to Iraq could actually screw us in the long-run. We need people in the west to make money, get educated, and serve as representatives of our people to the global population. Many in the world have no idea who Assyrians are, and it will be easier for them to associate with us if we are productive members of their society, rather than some minority ethnic group in Iraq. So essentially I believe many Assyrians are not willing to migrate back, nor should they.
Instead, I think we should envision the future of Assyria as an economic unit and nothing else. Perhaps our region could specialize in some high-skill manufacturing like robotics, or invest heavily in solar and supply the region with clean energy. We would have more land than people, and so I think the right choice is to go with some heavy capital investments. Thus my idea of treating it more like an economic unit. The first goal of our province should be to develop some strategic economic advantage so that it can begin trading and establish a presence.
Further, I could see an Assyrian province with many vacation homes\rentals where Assyrians from diaspora come visit, but do not necessarily base their lives out of. Again, we have better opportunities in more developed countries. Some Assyrians would live there to manage the local government and take care of the lands. I think it's more appropriate for our people to advance themselves in the west while investing in the "economic unit" that would be the Assyrian region. Dividends could even be paid out to investors just like its a company.
I think this strategy would create some meaningful and near-immediate value to our lands, without forcing people to sacrifice their current livelihoods just go back and live in underdeveloped lands. Any thoughts?