Shreejana Shrestha

Jobs scene in Nepal leaves little choice

“I will have to go abroad again if the government can´t provide us any job opportuties,” said Jamuna Darji in a subdued voice. She adds, “I worked for six continuous years in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon but I don´t have a penny saved in my bank acccount.”

Darji, 40, wishes to remain in Nepal but complained that it was futile to look for job opportunities here. “It was never easy for me to support my family while in Nepal. Going abroad was the only option, “ she said.

She didn´t even think about her passport when she ran away from her employer´s house, she said. “I had to stay on in Lebanon without proper documents as coming back home was out of the question.” she said, adding that she had to flee from her employer as she was not being paid on time.

Darji hails from Ilam and is the only breadwinner in her family. Her husband died while she was away in Lebanon and he left behind two daughters and a son.

Manu (name changed) has a similar story. She also ran away from her employer after not being paid as promised. Manju, 30, went to work in Lebanon under a contract and was to be paid US dollars 150 per month but she received a total of 1,500 dollars only after working for two and a half years.

“I went to work as a housemaid in Lebanon to earn for my family but the employer didn´t pay me properly. So, I had to run away,” she said. She, however, admits that she did not face any domestic violence during the six years she worked in Lebanon.

After running away from her employer, she has been working illegally in Lebanon for more than three and a half years. Manju also expressed her willingnesss to go abroad again. “I can´t educate my son if I remain in Nepal, so I am mentally prepared to go abroad again for work,” she adds. She has a son living in a hostel in Nuwakot.

Maya (also name changed) would likewise opt again for foreign employment. “I will go abroad again as I  don´t have any other means of survival,” she said, adding, “Before going abroad, I ran a small hotel in Jhapa but my income wasn´t enough to take care of my family of four.”

She also ran away from her employeer, after a dispute over salary. She worked in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon for three and five years respectively, and has already built a house in Jhapa with her savings.

Jamuna, Manju and Maya are among the 37 Nepali female migrants workers who were stranded in Beirut, Lebanon, and brought back to Kathmandu on Monday. Thirty nine stranded Nepalese migrant workers, including two males, were repatriated from Lebanon with the support of the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) and Nepal´s embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

Caritas Lebanon had been providing shelter to the migrant Nepali workers for lengths of time depending on their legal status before they were sent back to Nepal, while Pourakhi, a non-government organization working for safe foreign labour migration for women, has taken responsibility for them in Nepal.

Manju Gurung, chairperson of Pourakhi, told Republica that gender descrimination in Nepal is the root cause of migration by females. “Females are compelled to migrate abroad for employment because they aren´t given equal opportunies in Nepal,” Gurung said, adding, “Unless the government introduces female-friendly policies, the ratio of female migrants won´t be reduced.”

She was of the view that women are undergoing domestic violence both in Nepal and in foreign countries.

After the female migrants were rescued from Lebanon, Maurizio Busatti, IOM´s chief of mission in Nepal, said on IOM´s website, “Every day many Nepalis get trapped in conditions amounting to quasi-slavery. More cooperation and support is needed with and from countries of destination to detect and prevent this type of abuse. Nepal needs to do more to improve information and awareness before migrants leave. IOM and its partners are here to help rescue migrants, but also to strengthen Nepali consular services so that they can respond quickly and effectively to these cries for help.”

Published on: 16 April 2014 | Republica