Bringing Bodies Home

Every day, over 2,000 Nepali youths leave the country in search of better prospects for employment and education abroad. In the last month alone, over 70,000 youths left the country. The majority of Nepalis choose to work, study and settle on foreign soils out of compulsion. The dearth of jobs, insufficient pay, economic hardships and lack of quality education have driven them into the alien lands. The story of Nepali migrant workers is far from a cause for rejoicing. Of course, they are the unsung heroes whose remittances have kept our economy floating. But their tears, blood and hardships impel us to think over the relevance of out-migration. Its social costs have overshadowed the economic achievements. Every day, around four bodies of Nepali migrant workers arrive at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. According to the official data, about 1,500 Nepali migrant workers die annually, a fact that lays bare the failure of our development model and political system we never tire of appreciating.