Dolma Tamang of Illam, a Nepali woman worker in Qatar, who had gone out of contact for the past 10 years, has been rescued after her sponsor brought her to the Nepali Embassy in Kuwait to receive the Machine Readable Passport (MRP).

The embassy had informed all Kuwaiti employers of Nepali migrant workers that the hand-written passports will no longer be used starting November 24. After arriving at the embassy, Tamang told Labour Attaché Goma Devi Paudel Dhakal that her employer never allowed her to return home. “ I want to return home because I have no contact with my family for years and my boss has not paid me salary for the past two years,” Dhakal quoted Tamang as saying.

Dhakal said they seized Tamang’s passport and rescued her immediately. “She was also able to receive 600 KD from her sponsor,” Dhakal said. Dharam Raj Giri, Middle East joint coordinator of Non-Resident Nepali Association, said other missing women can also be identified while receiving the MRPs. “There are many Nepalis missing in Qatar,” said Giri, adding that they have received complaints from many families. “We are trying to find them with the help of the embassy,” he said.