There is so much truth in what was said above. I'm not unsympathetic to the plight of these people and my heart goes out to those who have to face this freezing weather outside, Sikh or nonSikh.
That being said, we DO have to face some uncomfortable and even unpalatable truths about our people. One thing that has ALWAYS amazed me is how no one has opened up trade schools in Panjab, so freshies can learn bricklaying, carpentry, plastering etc. BEFORE they get here. The sad truth is that our people collectively are pretty dense in certain ways. How can we excuse the patent lack of foresight in terms of feedback reaching back home, that should lead to maneuvers over there that would significantly increase the employability of apnay over here? We all know damn well that the best bet for a semi-literate pendu in the UK is the construction trade, though even this is not as booming as it once was. I'm just baffled as to why apnay don't even seem to have the sense to manipulate such common knowledge to their benefit?
Underlying a lot of crap is our own enormous haumai too. I know a fair few freshies now, and truth be told, NONE of them come from what we would call poor families back home. In fact the opposite is mostly the case and they've pulled strings and greased palms to get here. But whilst they shy away from learning a trade back home (and yes, rural caste pride plays its part in this 'shame'), they have no problem with coming here and all all manner of 'lowly' jobs.
Sometimes I feel like a big aspect of all this mess is illusions of grandeur that too many apnay have and the complete mistrust we have of each other. You can tell freshies that it is proper crap out here (economy wise) and show them evidence of it, and they will STILL come charging over here like you were lying! I know a fair few intelligent, boen in UK Sikh graduates here who are now unemployed - so what of the chances of an unskilled villager from back home! Let's face it, the western economic bubble has burst with their warmongering and banking foolishness. This effects people already established here, let alone new comers. No one can afford to ignore this truth. Plus yes, I do think that Sikhs are avoiding going through the more difficult, laborious and challenging task of creating their own robust, self sufficient economy by fleeing Panjab and looking westwards for an easier option. And we have some serious unintellectual streak running through our quom.
What excuse has Panjab itself got for failing to take advantage of the huge pool of resources and goodwill from diasporic Sikhs to bolster the economy over there? I tell you, all this relying on agriculture backhome is the road to our ruin. People need to get creative over there because for all we know, in time, the west might go belly up and in future we ourselves might have to look eastwards for our own security. Stranger things have happened.
We need philanthropists and big thinkers to sort our problems out. In the meanwhile we have to do what we can to ease the lives of the unfortunates caught up in the mess. But we shouldn't ignore harsh truths whilst doing this - if only to prevent more people getting into this position.