Grass is not greener on the other side of the fence, anymore. However, many unemployed Nepalis continue to search for greener pastures abroad. This, despite the fact that most of the foreign countries open to Nepali migrant workers have officially shut the doors. Even so, unemployed Nepalis seem to be ready to gamble away their fortunes in order to be able to gatecrash. In recent months, especially since the financial slump began to show its unsightly effects, many Nepali migrant workers are learnt to have returned home, with what little they might have earned. New aspirants are learnt to have fared worse. As reports have it, while some could not even pass through the immigration check, others who made it to their dream destinations returned home empty-handed for lack of jobs.

Nevertheless, the desperation of Nepali seekers after foreign jobs seems to know no bounds. And workers continue to be conned by some manpower agencies. Some of them are even sent to countries prohibited by the government. If the government had the will to crack down on dance bars and cabin restaurants, there’s no reason why unscrupulous agencies, especially those learnt to be cheating innocent Nepalis, should be spared. Moreover, though the government cannot be expected to create jobs for lakhs of unemployed people overnight, it is time to take stock and move to take some solid steps.