”No matter where you go, you'll end up miserable,” Govinda said. ”In India, it's better to sweat in your own place than to wait for someone else's gate.”
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Manasara Shahi, 43, of Kalikasthan, Panchadeval Binayak Municipality-4, is working with a pickaxe, spade and shovel on the side of the mid-hill highway. Nearby, her husband, 45-year-old Govinda Shahi, is also busy digging a trench to lay Nepal Telecom's NT fiber. Despite the scorching sun, dusty roads and carts in their hands, the couple's faces are filled with contentment. After years of suffering abroad, the Shahi couple looks happy to be standing in their own place and living with their family. 'No matter where you go, you will end up suffering,' said Govinda. 'In India, sweating in your own place is better than waiting for someone else's gate.'
Govinda spent the energetic part of his life in various cities in India. He first went to India at the age of 17 in search of work. Leaving his wife and young children at home, he sometimes worked as a hotel maid or as a watchman. He has many stories of the hardships and humiliation faced by Nepalis abroad. ‘When you say Nepali there, they immediately think of hotel workers or gatekeepers,’ Govinda recalls. ‘Even when you work all day, you have to listen to the moneylender’s complaints, and when you are sick, there is no one to ask. But you have to go to the same place.’
After living abroad for a long time, he has returned to his own village. Now, the royal couple is working as laborers on the mid-hill highway along with other women and men in the village. They earn Rs 650 per day. ‘Although this money is not much, it is possible to spend the evening and morning with family. This is happiness,' said Govinda, 'I think the sweat of my own country is dearer than the work of a foreign guard.'
They have 2 children. A daughter is in grade 11 and a son is in grade 4. Mansara believes that they have suffered all their lives because they are illiterate. That is why she does not want her children to become laborers like her. 'I do not want my daughter to suffer like I did. I hope that my children will study and become great people,' said Mansara, 'Our lives have passed like this, we are suffering to make our children's future bright.'
Most men in Achham still go to India for income. She is worried that work for development projects run in the village is not always available. 'There is also a concern that work is not always available in the village. If I don't get a job here, I have no choice but to go to India again,' said Govinda, 'I have decided not to go abroad until I get a job in my own place. If I don't get a job, I have to go.'
Now, thanks to NT Fiber's work, many women in the village have also got the opportunity to work as wage laborers. Govinda, who made his name as a Nepali watchman while living in India, is now happy to be involved in the development of his own village. 'The money may be a little more in India, but there is no sense of belonging and family there,' added Govinda, 'Even if you earn 650 here, you can live with your family. Money cannot buy this happiness.'
Govinda, who returned after working in various places in India for a long time, is just a representative character. According to the data of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the largest number of people have gone to India for employment from the districts of the Far West Province. The estimated number of migrants from Achham to India for employment is 73,346. This means that Achham is the largest migrant to India among the districts of the Far West.
However, experts say that it is difficult to obtain official data due to the open border with India and the fact that most people commute informally for daily/monthly work. Studies have noted that a large number of seasonal workers tend to migrate to India every year. Many workers going to India are employed in the agriculture, construction and service sectors, and most are male workers.
