Nepal, where development work is progressing at a slow pace and the service sector has not flourished, has not seen an encouraging increase in employment opportunities for decades. There are no political, administrative, social, etc. aspects that encourage investment. Therefore, foreign employment has become a compelling option for the youth of Nepal. 

Statistics show that around 2,000 Nepalis go abroad for employment every day. Of these, very few learn skills. In such a situation, the possibility of working in a safe workplace and earning high income is also low. The lives of mainly Nepali workers are always at risk. Many are forced to die. Statistics show that about four bodies of those who die at work or at home arrive in Nepal every day. Since there is no alternative to foreign employment for the time being, initiatives can be taken to make it safe. In addition, it is necessary to develop a mechanism to facilitate the easy return of the bodies of the deceased to Nepal.

Sunil Sah, 21, of Mahottari, went to Saudi Arabia on 7 April 2022 for employment. He worked at Bunyan Industrial Company Limited in the Al-Kharj industrial area southeast of the capital Riyadh. He received a salary of 1,000 riyals. On March 11, 2024 (February 28, 2080), just a month before the end of his contract with the company, Sunil was caught in a fire and died. The trauma the family had to endure two years ago has not diminished at all.

Because the family faces a daily reality – the uncertainty of the identification of the body and the process of returning it to Nepal. The family is struggling to find a way to bring the body back to Nepal, hoping that the last rites will be performed. Three documents are required to send the body from Saudi Arabia to Nepal – a police report, a death certificate and a medical report. Since the identification could not be done, the body had to be identified through DNA testing. Only then was a police report prepared. But so far, time has been passing in the DNA identification process. After the long cycle of DNA provided by father Birendra, only 50 percent of the DNA was found, so mother Somshila has also given a DNA sample. The family is hoping that the process will be completed soon.

After an untimely death, the family's hope is linked to programs such as relief. For example, according to Saudi labor law, employers must mandatorily enroll workers in the Social Security Insurance (Gosi). There is a provision that the heirs of the families of deceased workers can receive 84 months' salary or a maximum of 330,000 Saudi riyals through Gosi. Such compensation is given only to the families of workers who have lost their lives at work.

However, due to the lack of complete documents to be submitted to Gosi on behalf of the deceased workers, the families of the victims who died have not received compensation for two decades. It is seen that Sunil's registration is in Gosi and all the necessary documents are complete, then compensation can be claimed in Gosi. Apart from Gosi, there is also a provision for providing 'blood money' for compensation. Due to the complicated and lengthy process, the families of workers who died in Saudi Arabia have to struggle for years for compensation.

Although the mortality rate of those who went for foreign employment can be reduced through various measures, it cannot be eliminated. Recently, two Nepalis died in Iraq. Similarly, the bodies of 9 Nepali workers who were stranded in Kuwait due to the Gulf War were brought to Nepal on Wednesday evening. According to the Foreign Employment Board, 1,019 bodies have arrived in Nepal from Saudi Arabia in the last three years. In such a situation, Nepal needs to show its proactivity for two things. First, to return the body to Nepal easily and quickly after death. Second, to ensure that the family receives the relief money easily and quickly. Only in such a situation can the family suffering from the death of their beloved son or daughter be saved from further suffering. 

The number of families forced to endure hardship like Sunil's family is large. Some have such a long period, some a little shorter. But one context in which the state shows sensitivity is enough. There are two things to show such sensitivity. First, Nepal does not have a very big role in facilitating the process adopted by other countries in an incident like Sunil's.

However, this can be manifested in the presence and facilitation shown by the state in each such incident. The second and most important issue is to increase Nepal's economic growth rate, create employment opportunities here, encourage entrepreneurship, and create an investment environment. Since the tragic stories associated with foreign employment will have to be endured to a greater or lesser extent until employment and self-employment opportunities are created in the country, the government and all political parties should focus on the agenda of economic growth and join hands. Only then can the painful stories of foreign employment be reduced.