Last year, 138 people from Baglung faced problems abroad due to choosing illegal routes to travel abroad. This year too, 32 complaints of people facing problems have been received.
What you should know
A 45-year-old woman from Kathekhola Rural Municipality-3, lured by the lure of lucrative work and good earnings, illegally reached Kuwait. She went there on a visit visa and became a domestic worker. She had come abroad with the desire to earn a lot of money and remained there as a domestic worker for two years, enduring many hardships.
Then, she realized that she had been ‘sold’ only when she tried to leave, making plans to return home. The employer who was employing her said that since she had been bought by him, she could only sell him for other work and could not return him. Then the woman was shocked. She immediately contacted her family. After telling her children and husband about her pain, the family finally took the initiative to release her. She was brought back last month through the Safe Migration Program (SAMI).
An agent was used to remove her from the house where she was working. The agent also tried to sell her to another house, and the woman was able to return only after a month of hassle. Gangakumari Sharma, a consultant at the center, said that the embassy in Kuwait helped her return to Nepal.
Efforts were made to the center and the embassy at the initiative of Suntali Bik, an executive member of Kathekhola Rural Municipality. If the woman had not been rescued immediately, her life would have been at risk. The woman, who has now returned home, said she finally understood the problem of working on a visit visa. She said that workers who have gone illegally have faced death when they try to return.
A young man from Baglung Municipality-9 was also taken to Ukraine by an agent while traveling illegally to Portugal. After reaching Ukraine last year, he became unemployed. He was brought back from Ukraine last month at the initiative of Baglung Municipality Chief Basanta Kumar Shrestha and the Center. He was held hostage in Ukraine for 6 months.
Those who go abroad for employment illegally are facing similar problems. Some have even died. Most have traveled abroad on a visit visa, while those who went legally have also faced difficulties. Those who went legally have received relief, compensation and insurance money, although it has been delayed. But those who went illegally are neither provided with relief nor insurance.
Last year, a woman who went to Oman on a tourist visa suffered a lot after being subjected to violence while working as a domestic worker. After she received no support, she was rescued by the Immigrant Resource Center in Baglung. Since she went on a tourist visa, she could not get the money she worked for. There was no opportunity to take action against the perpetrator. The center succeeded in safely returning the woman to Nepal, who had put her life at risk due to violence. But her home situation is poor. She went to Oman with the aim of working after her husband went to Korea and did not send money for a long time. Since she did not have a labor contract and became a domestic worker on a tourist visa, she could not even take the initiative from the state. Now she is forced to seek help and raise her children.
The number of people who go abroad illegally and work illegally is increasing. They seek help only when they get into trouble while working illegally. According to Min Prasad Upadhyay, coordinator of the Safe Migration Program, Baglung, many people have been in trouble while trying to work abroad illegally. ‘Some have lost their lives there, some have been injured,’ Upadhyay said, ‘It has been difficult to rescue those who have no compensation, relief, and insurance because there is no process.’ According to the center’s data, 17 people, including 7 people from Baglung who went abroad illegally and 10 without labor permits, died last fiscal year.
Rijal informed that three people have already died this year. Among them, a young man from Baglung Municipality-6 is a student. Rijal said that although the bodies of those who reached the process were brought back on time and provided relief and compensation to the families, relief and compensation could not be provided to those who did not reach the process.
Last year, 138 people from Baglung faced problems abroad due to choosing illegal routes to go abroad. This year too, 32 complaints of problems have been filed. Out of these, 10 have been resolved by the center. 17 people have been cheated. 3 people have died and 7 have faced other problems. 1 person was rescued by the center after falling seriously ill. But he died after returning to Nepal. Since he chose an illegal route, he did not even receive treatment expenses.
Every year, many youth from the district face problems in foreign employment. There is data that 17 youth from Baglung died in foreign employment in 2080/81. The center has been counseling 8 to 9 thousand people who are getting new passports every year.
