Working hard and still dreaming

Working hard and still dreaming

“A hostile environment for migrants?

“Generally people don’t tend to move and they don’t want a mansion. We all work hard. Migration paints stories of courage, love, and ambition – diverse journeys uniting us all."

Dr Menaca Pothalingam knows what she is talking about. She was raised in a happy, successful family and had no thought of leaving Sri Lanka. She also worked hard: “I was one of those kids who, if I got nine out of ten, would cry.”

Unfortunately, civil war erupted and she comes face-to-face with horror.

In her autobiography, Resilience Learned, she relates an example of the horrors: “I look down at myself wondering where the blood is coming from and realise it is not from me. The teacher who was walking beside me a few minutes earlier, Saratha, lies flat and motionless on the ground.”

With life increasingly feeling “like walking on a tightrope”, the family raise the possibility of Menaca migrating to the UK. She rejects the suggestion: “It’s too far away from you.”

But as  the civil war drags on, she moves to India in 1990 to begin qualifying as a dentist and experience her first taste of migration.

Studies, graduation, accidents, work experience follow, along with new friends and experiences, and as told in her book, almost imperceptibly, marriage (“You’re marrying into a tall family”, five-foot-four Menaca is told  “as I sign my life away”).

More significantly, her husband – who she sees in person for the first time three days before the marriage – lives in the UK. She takes on a new role, as a wife, in a new town in a new country, where she is conscious of her accent: “I am happy only when I feel fully integrated.”    

A fresh chapter opens. Overall, it’s highly successful, but it’s not straightforward. The difficulties include requalifying for work in Britain (around 30 per cent of dentists registered to practice in the UK qualified overseas), motherhood, divorce, depression, a slew of necessary courses, and running her own dental practice only to discover it has been brought to its knees by embezzlement.

Yet she triumphs over all obstacles, and even finds time to train and mentor others, take on public speaking engagements, and run a weekly online talk show.

With the work comes awards, including Iconic Woman at the Women’s Economic Forum in Delhi; Migrant Business' migrant service entrepreneur of the year award in the UK; the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for contribution towards India’s development; the Woman Award of Honour in India; and the UK Tamil Women Development Forum award, Inspirational Mentor.

How has she managed to recover from serious setbacks and notched up so many achievements?

“My life has been a rollercoaster ride. I would never say it has been easy. I firmly believe that there are opportunities in every country, that you must make the most of what can be. Embrace challenges, for in every country lies untapped opportunities waiting to be seized.

"In migration's intricate tapestry, turn language barriers into bridges, embrace cultural shifts, and sculpt challenges into stepping stones leading to a brighter, fulfilling, and successful future."

Her long-term  dream is to build training centres and a holistic centre, combining medicine and therapies such as mindfulness.

After her early brushes with death she feels she has had a second lease of life: "Embrace resilience – surviving near-death moments fuels an unwavering pursuit of boundless aspirations," she counsels. "Forge futures with hard work, turning humble dreams into resilient realities.

“I have a lot more to achieve."

Photo by Hampar Narguizian