The Nepali Embassy in Egypt, which also oversees Libya, asked Nepali workers -- who are trapped between anti-government protestors backed by rebel soldiers and armed forces loyal to the embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in mainly two cities of the turmoil-ridden North African country -- to not enter into Egypt and Tunisia by any kind of vehicle, either public or reserved ones, since it would be too risky to travel through the troubled land.[break]
“It would be dangerous for Nepali workers to move toward Tunisia or Egypt by bus.” Tirtha Aryal, the first secretary at the embassy, said. “We, therefore, asked them to wait until we come up with a plan. We are trying to charter a plane to safely evacuate them from Libya.” Earlier, the embassy had asked Nepali workers to somehow enter into Tunisia or Egypt. The plan was that they would be airlifted to Nepal only after they slipped out of Libya.
The flip-flop by the government came after two separate groups of Nepali workers -- who were moving toward Tunisia by bus -- were robbed of their precious belongings by local thugs. “All 32 Nepali workers from two groups were robbed of their laptops, mobile phones and money,” Aryal said. “Anything can happen to workers if they flee Libya by bus. Thugs have gone on a rampage across Libya to loot migrant workers taking advantage of the ongoing unrest.”
According to Aryal, another group of 15 Nepali workers -- who left Libya on Thursday for Tunisia by a public vehicle -- has gone out of contact, leading to speculations that they might have fallen victims to local thugs on their ways. “All their mobile phones are switched off. They have not contacted us, either,” Aryal said.
As Libya braces up for an intensive battle, Nepali workers appear to be in an increasingly hostile situation. On Saturday, a group of Nepali workers -- who had left Misrata of Libya for Egypt by a bus -- returned to their previous shelters, narrowly escaping a deadly crossfire between Gaddafi´s soldiers and armed rebels. “We have asked them to stay inside their camps,” Aryal said.
As incidents of robbing workers increase, other Nepali workers -- who are stranded in Tripoli and Misrata of Libya for over three weeks -- are afraid of moving out of the troubled nation. Earlier, a Libyan company -- which employed 19 Nepali workers in Misrata before the Libya unrest -- had turned down the embassy´s request to send them to Egypt by bus. “The company said workers would be in danger if they tried to flee Libya by bus,” Aryal said.
According to Harish Chandra Ghimire, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), 89 workers are now left in Tripoli, besides 19 workers in Misrata. Others are on their way back to Nepal via Sudan, Egypt and Tunisia.
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