Gulf country laborers: dream or nightmare?

(Picture extracted from The Kathmandu Post)

The beautiful skyscrapers that you all see in these gulf countries are just beyond the multi-storeyed floors but rather are multiple agonizing stories. According to the national economics survey, to date (2079) there are 55 lakhs 26 thousand 704 people with labor permits. And 3/4th of people having a labor permit go to Gulf countries for foreign employment. These people carry their dreams of building economic prosperity in their lives through their work. They dream to send back money to their home country so that their families can have a better life. Not only families but also our country heavily relies on this sum sent back home which is referred to as “remittance”. 

Remittance accounted for 22.47% of GDP in the year 2020/202. According to the world bank data, in 2022, Nepal’s personal remittance received as a percentage of GDP was 22.8%, which was lower than that of 2020 (24.3%). The probable cause of this decline could be the rising cases of HUNDI. Hundi gives rise to various money laundering, tax evasion, and black marketing activities. Hundi is often referred to as the “illegal remittance.” People usually take this illegal way as it saves a lot of time, the same amount of money is transferred within hours by the hundi dealers and they also have to pay relatively lower charges for the transfer which becomes a better deal at times. This greatly affects the foreign reserve of Nepal as many currencies go missing. 

Either legally or illegally, the prime objective of these laborers is to send money back home. Nepal has foreign employment approved for 110 countries but it is believed that they work at 172 different countries. Most of the countries to which they migrate are Malaysia, Qatar, India, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, etc. In most cases, the story of “heavy debt and loan” compels them to apply for a labor permit. These families are often indebted and to clear this they go to the Gulf countries and fulfill the needs and demands of their families. Isn’t it a beautiful dream? But this dream often turns into a nightmare after reaching there. 

In some cases the consultancy scams people. They fix a salary and a job here but once the workers reach there they will have a completely different job and salary. They often have to work for 12- 13 hours in the scorching heat without proper food, shelter, or health care and are often diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases or kidney failure. Despite all this hard work, they won’t receive the pay they deserve as “Wage-theft” occurs in some cases. The wage and benefits that are abiding by the contract are often neglected by the employers. Their passports are confiscated restricting them from returning to their home country. They are mostly heavily indebted and must have taken some more loans to go abroad and now due to physical, mental, and financial strain, they neither can pay off debts nor can return. A son/daughter craves their parent's warm hug, a father/mother wishes to cradle their child, and most importantly a “Nepali” desires “Nepal”. This is exactly when darkness turns in their lives as they fall into the poverty trap.

According to Wion, till 2022, the deaths of Nepali migrant workers have crossed 10,000. And through this very same media, a migrant worker shared his experience. “He used to work for 10 hours in the scorching heat without proper food and water, and one day he fainted and later was diagnosed with kidney failure. So he later returned home.” This is just one story but hundreds are left to cover. 

This doesn’t imply to all but is true in most cases. The quench for a better lifestyle overpowers all these stories and people still migrate to these countries, after all this is their ultimate panacea to all the financial sorrows. The country gains economic benefits through remittance and their families hope to end all economic woes. But the dream that they build often return in coffins of nightmares. 

-Preeti Pantha