Kathmandu, December 6

More Nepali youths are leaving for foreign countries for employment due to lack of job opportunities in the country.

According to government data, around 1,500 Nepali youths leave for overseas jobs on a daily basis.

Madhu Ram Nhemafuki, a local of Tathali, Bhaktapur, worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia for  more than 10 years.

“Previously I worked in Saudi Arabia for almost 10 years. I went there when I was 20 years old. After making some money, I came back to Nepal and built my house and got married. I decided not to return, so I started looking for job, but could not find one. Then I started an auto parts business taking loan from a bank. But my business failed,” he shared.

He said he had to work day and night now as the money he earned was not enough to feed his family.

“The company that hired me paid less, so I am doing job at other places, too. The bank has asked me to clear the loan or it will auction off my house. I have two sons. I have to earn for their education as well. So I have to work long hours to make enough money,” said Nhemafuki.

Kiran Manandhar, 26, of Tinachhen is in Australia for the last four years. He went there as a student to pursue technical education. But after reaching there, he changed his course to cookery and has started working at a restaurant, as he could not afford his college fees.

Talking to this scribe via social media, Manandhar said, “I work here as chef and cleaner. Now I want to go back to Nepal. But my relatives and family want me to stay back to earn money and settle here as I am not likely to find a job in Nepal.”

“A country should ensure employment for its citizens, but Nepal hasn’t been able to do so which is why youths are risking their physical and mental health in foreign countries,” said Mohna Ansari, spokesperson for National Human Rights Commission. “Many workers continue to lose their lives as they are forced to engage in hazardous work in foreign countries,” she added.

Recently, Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies published a job notice for government-approved 108 countries. Data show that 38 per cent Nepali youths have headed to foreign countries obtaining work permit from the Department of Employment, while more than 500,000 Nepalis are working in India.

There is no exact data on the number of Nepali students who have gone overseas illegally, as per Gopal Lamsal, president of NGO Federation. “Though the government has been introducing programmes targeting youths, such programmes have failed to make them stay in the country,” said Lamsal.