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The Gulf that engulfs Nepalis
The streets near the Tribhuvan International Airport are full of Nepalis every day, with garlands around their necks and red tika on their foreheads. With luggage and a heavy heart, they make their way into the gate to board in a budget aircraft to a gulf country.Abijeet Pant
The streets near the Tribhuvan International Airport are full of Nepalis every day, with garlands around their necks and red tika on their foreheads. With luggage and a heavy heart, they make their way into the gate to board in a budget aircraft to a gulf country.
There are endless queues of such Nepalis waiting desperately in gates of police stations to obtain a legitimate police report. There are a countless number of manpower companies operating throughout the valley where these Nepalis arrive and leave every now and then. There are thousands of applications of such Nepalis every day in Foreign Employment offices.
The Gulf, source of crude oil and the tycoon of the world economy, can buy any technological device and skill. It has constructed skyscrapers in the desert, artificial islands and structures that are puzzling the world. And Nepalis who chase their dreams to the Gulf are adhered to the worst part of this development. They are hired for dirty, difficult and dangerous labour work and paid minimum wages. Nepalis who go to this place are aware of this undeniable fact, but still they risk their lives, mortgage and self-respect to come to this place.
It is never easy for a person to leave their village, friends and family. It is never easy to bid farewell to loved ones and contact them barely once a month with an expensive phone call. It is never easy to abandon the hills and forests in whose arms you spend your childhood. It is never easy to leave the soil of your motherland. And yes, it is not easy for their family and friends. How can they rejoice when their heart is beating somewhere else in the scorching heat of the Gulf?
Today, our villages, mountains and plains are empty, with only kids, the elderly and women remaining. These places don’t relish the joy of Dashain and Tihar like they once did. The melody of sarangi and panchaibajas no more soar in the hills. There are cattle with no one claiming them. There are few farmers to cultivate our terraces. There are no youths and powerful hands who can regain the glory of this agrarian country.
When it comes to reasons, poverty, unemployment and illiteracy are apparent words that we have been hearing for a long time. But that needs a bit of justification with reference to loophole in our governance. Our system fails to encourage our farmers and skills. With the price hike of consumable goods, health sectors, mounting school fees and transportation costs, the semi-skilled people are struck in despair. The government must facilitate its citizens by inspecting such arenas. Each citizen must have a decent reach to such facilities. The government must make them affordable. Every year, millions get frozen in government offices. Why isn’t that money invested for creating employment opportunities to the unemployed? Every year in our country, industries are shut down. But rarely a few are built. Industries can possibly be the best way of mobilising our labour and skill. Nepal, which is a developing country has just recovered from a history of transition and still has a long way to go. There are so many airports, roads, universities, hospitals yet to be constructed. Infinite job opportunities can be created for our people if the government succeeds in initiating the construction.
Similarly, the government must initiate skill based training programmes and promote cottage industries. The NGOs, INGOs and government organisations must conduct literacy campaigns for all. They should conduct awareness campaigns. Nepal, which was hit by mega earthquake last April, is in the path of reconstruction and renovation. The work is delayed and there seems to be the involvement of negligible workers with respect to the nature of the work. Our Nepali people must be utilised in a very big figure for the reconstruction. And yes, they must be given honest salaries and benefits.
And yet, if all these ways are impossible, there are a few things the government must do. The government should make the processes easier and introduce other facilities to the workers. The government should establish diplomatic relationships with the Gulf countries and ensure the safety and wellbeing of Nepalis labours. It should formulate labour policies and secure the worker’s family. The government must negotiate the provision of wages and benefits for Nepalese workers.
Anyway, foreign employment is not an obvious way of earning except for countries like Nepal who fail to utilise its people though it is at a developing phase. But if the government and organisations accept this fact and move forward to bring our Nepalis workers back, it is never too late.
Pant is currently studying A levels at Budhanilkantha School