Hunger is more dreadful than any disease, forcing us to leave our homeland, they say

With no jobs and means to earn livelihood, Nepali youths are heading to India.

KATHMANDU, Oct 7: Experts have sought a proper policy response by the government to address the adverse consequences in the livelihoods of the returned migrant workers following the global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

KATHMANDU, Sept 12: A total of 146 Nepali migrant workers were repatriated via charter flights from Bahrain on Saturday. Those people were stranded in various places of Bahrain due to COVID-19 outbreak and its effect in their job settlement.

“I have been trying to return home,” he told Republica. “I have been to the embassy and travel agencies multiple times in the last two months to get a ticket, but nothing has worked so far.” He fears that the company will soon kick him out from the apartment, and has run out of money.

KATHMANDU, Sept 4: The Embassy of Nepal in Bahrain has taken up the initiative to bring back migrant workers from Nepal who were on holidays but got stuck due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

KATHMANDU, Aug 20: The government has decided to resume the fifth phase of repatriation flights making it mandatory for all returnee migrant workers to stay in hotel quarantine for a week and undergo PCR test before departing to their respective home.

KATHMANDU, July 16: The government will bear all expenses for rescuing Nepali nationals stranded in foreign countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

KATHMANDU, June 24: A total of 1,002 Nepalis were brought home from six different destinations on Wednesday.

DHANGADI / BAITADI, June 21: Even though migrant workers and others returning to Nepal via different Indo-Nepal border points are quarantined for 14 days, the risk of COVID-19 outbreak is still high due to delayed PCR test reports.

KATHMANDU, June 19: The process of bringing back Nepali migrant workers’ dead bodies from abroad has started from Friday. A total of 23 dead bodies from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar were brought to Nepal on charter flights carried out as a part of the evacuation operation on the first day.

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing to a halt economic and broader development activity around the world, the World Bank has projected that remittances to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) will fall sharply in 2020—by about 20 percent. Nepal, where remittance contribution to GDP in 2019 was equivalent to 27.3 percent according to the World Bank, has lost nearly 50 percent of remittances in past two months compared to the same period last year according to the Nepal Rashtra Bank, the country’s central bank’s report published in May 2020.

KATHMANDU, June 11: As many as 299 Nepali women stranded in Kuwait were brought back to Nepal on Thursday.

KATHMANDU, May 22: As the government prepares to bring the migrant workers back to Nepal, the question on its capacity to hold the operation lingers. Not only because the number is huge, but also because there are challenges the government has to face in order to realize the plan.

AHMEDABAD, May 9: Hundreds of migrant workers in India’s western state of Gujarat have clashed for a second day with authorities, hurling stones at police trying to enforce a lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.

KATHMANDU, May 4: At a time when Nepali migrant workers are passing through difficult times due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti government has asked Nepal to repatriate the illegal Nepali workers living in the country.

KATHMANDU, April 20: Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), an association of non-resident Nepalis across the globe, will initiate in repatriating Nepalis stranded in foreign countries due to global lockdown, it has been said.

KATHMANDU, April 18: Forty nine migrant Nepali workers are suffering from COVID-19 in Bahrain so far.

SEOUL, April 14: The government of South Korea has decided to extend the visa term of Nepali workers employed here on the employment promotion system (EPS) by 50 days.

KATHMANDU, April 4: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli held a telephone conversation with his Bahrain counterpart Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa on Saturday afternoon regarding the situation of Nepali migrants workers in the Gulf nation amid coronavirus outbreak.

KATHMANDU, April 4: Amnesty International Nepal has urged the government to ensure that basic needs of migrant workers, daily wagers, refugees and people living in poverty are ensured while implementing measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

KATHMANDU, April 1: Concerned over the further spread of COVID-19 as a result of unabated cross-border movement of migrant workers, Nepal and India have reached an understanding to take care of each other's nationals who are already assembled on no-man's land and effectively control all cross-border movement until the lockdown period is over.

BANKE, March 31: Nepali migrant workers coming from various places of India are found illegally entering Nepal through clandestine routes, posing health risks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, INDIA, March 30: Police in western India fired tear gas to disperse a stone-pelting crowd of migrant workers defying a three-week lockdown against the coronavirus that has left hundreds of thousands of poor without jobs and hungry, authorities said on Monday.

KATHMANDU, March 23: Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradip Kumar Gyawali took the account of Nepalese migrant workers in the Middle East and African countries with the Nepali ambassadors of respective countries through a video conference amid the global coronavirus outbreak today.

KATHMANDU, March 22: Hundreds of Nepali nationals returning home from India everyday has heightened the risk of spreading coronavirus in the country. Even though Nepal so far remains officially “free” from coronavirus infection, the lack of proper screening of the masses at the border points has left little room for Nepal to remain free from the threat of the deadly virus.

DUBAI, March 19: Qatar’s old industrial zone has emerged as a hot spot for coronavirus in the Gulf Arab state, putting at risk many migrant workers who live and work in the area of car service centres, warehouses and small shops.

KATHMANDU, March 7: The number of Nepali workers going abroad in search of foreign employment has sharply declined in recent weeks after the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China and its rapid spread in different parts of the world. Foreign employment officials estimate the number of outbound migrant workers has declined by 75 percent.

DAKAR, SENEGAL, Dec 5: Scores of migrants who swam through rough Atlantic Ocean waters to safety from a capsized boat while 58 others drowned were receiving care Thursday in Mauritania after one of the deadliest disasters this year among people making the perilous journey to Europe.

KATHMANDU, Nov 1: Civil society members and rights groups in Malaysia have urged the government there to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 to allow the migrant workers and refugees the right to unionize like other workers.

KATHMANDU, Oct 21: The Foreign Employment Board has allocated a budget of Rs 250 million for providing free vocational training to youths.

KATHMANDU, Oct 18: Qatar has endorsed new legislations that would bring an end to the Kafala system, an abusive sponsorship scheme that has long been criticized for fueling abuse and exploitation of foreign workers.

KATHMANDU, Oct 16: Qatar has started a scheme to reimburse expatriate workers who were forced to pay exorbitant fees to get employed there in a move that could benefit thousands of Nepali migrant workers.

BHAIRAHAWA, Oct 4: Kul Thapa, who was spotted at Belahiya border point on Friday afternoon, was in a rush. With a heavy bag on his back and two suitcases in each hand, he was trying to strike a balance while moving ahead.

Let’s use returning migrants’ skills and earnings to increase domestic production

KATHMANDU, Sept 3: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has made it mandatory for outgoing Nepali workers to have a bank account.

KATHMANDU, July 25: The Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) has distributed Rs 484.94 million in compensation to the families of 753 workers who have lost their lives during employment abroad last fiscal year.

KATHMANDU, July 22: The Nepali Embassy in Thailand has repatriated 10 Nepali youths who were lured to Thailand for the prospect of good hotel management training and attractive salaries.

KATHMANDU, April 8: Kuwait is planning a massive crackdown on undocumented workers in a move which is likely to affect thousands of expat workers in what has been seen as the beginning of a series of efforts to reduce migrant workers.

KATHMANDU, April 2: The Ministry of Labor Employment and Social Security has launched a call center for migrant workers facing difficulties at home and abroad.

KATHMANDU, April 21: Migrant workers, who were deprived of going to Malaysia since the last ten months despite getting their calling visa, can now go to Malaysia for job after the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security instructed the concerned authorities to give them labor permit.

KATHMANDU, March 27: The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) is all set to enlist new medical centers which provide medical check-up services to Nepali nationals going abroad in search of job opportunities.

KATHMANDU, March 4: Malaysia is considering removing outsourcing agencies or agents involved in the hiring and management of foreign workers as the country prepares to streamline policies governing foreign workers. An estimated half a million Nepalis are currently employed in Malaysia.

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: As Japan prepares to welcome a wave of new foreign workers, experts are cautioning Nepalis over unethical immigration brokers and urging their government to conclude an agreement with Japan for greater transparency in movements of migrant workers, according to a news story published in Japan Times.

KATHMANDU, Feb 8: A government taskforce has suggested reducing the cost of remitting money to Nepal through banks or remittance companies for encouraging migrant workers to send money home using formal channels.

KATHMANDU, Feb 6: As the 2022 World Cup inches closer, the Qatari authorities risk falling behind on their promise to tackle widespread labor exploitation of thousands of migrant workers, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

Nepal and Qatar share multi-faceted relations. Over 500,000 Nepali migrant workers are said to be currently working in this Gulf nation. Besides exchange of high level visits to cement the ties, Nepal and Qatar have also been expanding various avenues of cooperation. The relations between the two countries have deepened further with Qatar establishing residential embassy in Nepal. As Qatar is celebrating its National Day – the birth day of its founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani on Tuesday, Republica talked to Ambassador of Qatar to Nepal Yousuf bin Mohamed al-Hail. Excerpts:

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KATHMANDU, Nov 16: Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Ishwor Pokhrel said that imparting skills to aspiring migrant workers was important.

Until six months ago, departure of Nepali migrant workers to Malaysia was unhindered, but the agonies, hurdles and pains of our potential and returnee migrant workers were beyond words. However, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Recruitment, Employment and Repatriation of Workers’ signed on October 29 between the government of Nepal and the government of Malaysia will hopefully make things better for Nepali workers. Thanks to a dozen plus migrants-friendly points.