HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has started compiling data of Nepali workers who have died in their job destinations in recent years.

“Beyond just counting the numbers, we are trying to ascertain the actual causes behind such a high number of deaths in foreign job destinations,” said Deepak Dhital, MoFA spokesperson.

After the ministry collects the data, it will seek reasons for the deaths. MoFA has sent circulars to its missions in Malaysia and Gulf countries to collect details — including sex, age, stay period in job destination country and places where they died. 

Badri Kumar Karki, spokesperson at the Department of Foreign Employment, said an average four to five bodies arrive at TIA every day, mostly from Gulf countries and Malaysia.

More than three million Nepalis work in various countries and over 80 per cent are concentrated in just four countries: Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Thousands more have gone abroad through illegal channels and are not included in the official data.

A recent report of the Foreign Employment Board states that as many as 5,864 Nepali labourers have died in their job destinations from July 2009 to February 2014. This figure, however, only includes those employed through the legal process.

Dhital informed that a coordinating desk has been set up at MoFA to track, compile and analyse data of all Nepali workers in the Gulf and Malaysia.

Lack of basic facilities at the workplace, food habits, high temperatures, ignorance of local rules, and inability to manage stress are seen as major reasons behind the high death toll of Nepali workers abroad. However, no systematic analysis has been conducted so far.

“First of all, our focus will be to establish reasons behind the deaths and take appropriate mitigation measures ,” Dhital said. 

According to him, the government will reach out to recipient countries, international organisations working on job-migration and manpower agencies to take effective measures to ensure better care of Nepalis at their job places

 Published on: 16 March 2014 | The Himalayan Times