Twenty-five years old Surendra Sahani is now completely dependent on others for survival. He doesn´t think that he would be able to work and earn for himself and his family. "I don´t know what to do with my life because I am not capable of working for survival," said Sahani in a feeble voice. 

Sahani had gone to Saudi Arabia for employment in 2012 on a two-year contract to work as road construction worker. But his dream of making money was shattered within 10 months of his stay there. "It was a fine day and I was on duty as usual. But I didn´t know that the day was going to be my last working day in Saudi Arabia until a dump truck exploded," he moaned. 

Most of the fingers on his palms are joined and he looks partially handicapped while most of the body is covered with burn scars. His employer company in Saudi Arabia paid for his partial medical treatment. Sahani, who hails from Rautahat district, returned to Nepal in July 2013 after his employer bought him an air ticket to Nepal. 



Surendra Sahani pictured at the Foreign Employment Promotion Board recently. He returned home after sustaining severe burn injuries in an accident in Saudi Arabia. The board provided him Rs 20,000 as compensation, which Sahani says is too meager for his treatment.(Shreejana Shrestha/Republica)

"I won´t be able to work throughout my lifetime if I don´t get proper treatment. I have already spent more than Rs 300,000 for my medical treatment in Nepal and I need additional Rs 300,000 for further treatment," he uttered. 

After returning to Nepal, Sahani went through the government red tape for another 10 to 11 months and finally received Rs 20,000 as compensation two weeks ago. He, who hardly managed to save Rs 150,000 in Saudi Arabia, said the compensation provided by the Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) is too meager for him to sustain. 

"I think I will die soon as I don´t have enough money for my treatment. The government also didn´t do anything to help me and the compensation provided is peanuts," said Sahani, who has already sold what remained of his ancestral property in Rautahat for his treatment. 

FEPB officials, meanwhile, claimed that the compensation amount was decided on the basis of the injury that Sahani has sustained. "We decided to provide him compensation as per the Foreign Employment Act 2064. The amount was decided after holding several rounds of meeting with the stakeholders," said Tika Bhandari, acting executive director at the FEPB.

Everyday hundreds of people flock to the FEPB seeking compensation and justice. Many people complain about the sluggish government procedures for bringing back the dead bodies and claiming compensation from the government. 

Around 60-80 Nepali migrant workers leave for Saudi Arabia every day. According to figures provided by the government, more than 300,000 Nepali migrants are working there. Saudi Arabia is the third largest country to recruit Nepali workers followed by Malaysia and Qatar.

Published on: 16 June 2014 | Republica