Landed in Saudi Arabia 22 months ago through the Kathmandu-based Al Naseer Overseas Pvt Ltd, the migrants have been rendered illegal ever since as they lack necessary documents like identity cards and residency permit cards.As a result, they were arrested time and again earlier and now are living in the quarters of their company in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia.
It has been said that the Saudi Arabia has warned the company the Nepali migrants worked for to reform the company's provisions.
As per the warnings, the company is barred from running any transactions, employing foreign migrant workers and shifting migrants elsewhere.
The victims said that they were forced to work illegally for other company for the first one year of their arrival here.
They lamented that even Nepali embassy in Saudi Arabia had turned deaf ear to their problem as well despite their repeated approach for help.
They added that they had been told that they should pay a fine of around Rs 600,000 each (around 20,000 Saudi Riyals) to return home due to their illegal status.
"We are also deprived of treatment in case someone falls sick for want of our identity cards. It has been 10 months since we lost job. Now we are surviving on borrowed money," said one of the victims, Soman Raut from Sarlahi.
He said that they paid Rs 135,000 to the employee sending company each to fly to Saudi Arabia and that they are yet to repay all the money they borrowed before they left for the country.
Similar is the story of another victim Khadga BK from Banke. "We are left high and dry. We do not know how to return home," he said, adding that police arrested him eight times earlier and that he was asked to pay around Rs 600,000 if he wants to return home.
"How to manage such huge amount of money all by myself," he wondered.
Another victim Krishna Prasad Ghimire of Banke said that their repeated calls to the Nepali Consulate in Jeddah for rescue have not been heard so far.
"It has been one year since we started approaching Nepali embassy in Saudi Arabia. What we got each time from the officials was only assurances," he added. RSS
Related story
Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas f...
