Ten Foreign Employment Deaths in Baglung This Fiscal Year

Baglung. A 40-year-old man from Bareng Rural Municipality in Baglung went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a few years ago with a beautiful dream of his family. He had worked in a house in Dubai, UAE for about a year.

He used to send money home every month for the general expenses of his family. His dream was to save some money for his children's education, medical treatment, and household expenses and build a beautiful future. But one day his dream was shattered. The news of his death reached home while he was sleeping. His body was brought home with the initiative of the Foreign Employment Board, Safe Migration Program, and Bareng Rural Municipality.

The story of another 39-year-old man from Paiyupata, Baglung Municipality-13, who worked in Saudi Arabia for a long time to manage the family's expenses, is similar. He worked for a long time in a company in Saudi Arabia and had a heart problem. He came to Nepal, received some treatment, and returned to Saudi Arabia. His life also ended there while working. His dreams faded in the hustle and bustle of home and abroad. His two children, wife, and other family members are still devastated.

They are not the only ones from Baglung who went abroad and had their dreams fade. Ten people who went for foreign employment in the current fiscal year have died abroad. Among the deceased, nine are male and one is female. Of these, nine died abroad and one with a labor permit died in Nepal.

According to the Migrant Resource Center Baglung, among those who lost their lives during foreign employment, there are two each from Baglung and Galकोट Municipalities, and one each from Jaimini Municipality, Badigad, Kathekhola, Bareng, and Tarakhola Rural Municipalities. Those who died had gone to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Japan, and Romania.

Out of 138 workers who faced problems in the current year, 58 were rescued safely, informed Ganga Sharma, a counselor at the Migrant Resource Center. Of these, the District Administration Office facilitated the rescue of 22 people.

In the fiscal year 2080/81, 17 youths from Baglung also died during foreign employment. Most of the deceased were under 40 years of age. The center's data indicates that the highest number of deaths were among those who went to Saudi Arabia.

In the fiscal year 2080/81, an additional 156 people who went for foreign employment from Baglung faced various problems. Among them, 137 were male and 19 were female victims. The center regularly provides counseling services to prevent problems when going abroad. Sharma informed that more than nine thousand people have been counseled in the current year as well.

Similarly, a youth from Tamankhola Rural Municipality, who faced problems going for illegal foreign employment, returned home after 19 years in a disabled state. Shyamkumar Gharti, 41, from Bhayarbongga, Tamankhola-2, who went to Bahrain in 2007, 19 years ago, at the instigation of middlemen, returned home disabled.

Gharti had been out of contact for six months after going to Bahrain illegally. In the month of Falgun last year, the embassy in Bahrain informed Gharti's family that Shyam was in a coma, after which the chairman of the rural municipality, Joklal Buda, and the deputy mayor of the neighboring Jaimini Municipality, Harihar Sharma, informed the Foreign Employment Board.

After the Migrant Resource Center sent the necessary documents to the embassy through the Chief District Officer, Gharti was found in a sick condition. Although he was treated, the Nepali government had to pay 1.5 million for his treatment because he was staying illegally. “After his identity was confirmed, Gharti was sent to Nepal from Bahrain,” said counselor Sharma.

Rijal stated that Gharti returned to Nepal in one year after starting the registration process in Baisakh 2081 and sending the necessary documents to the consulate and embassy as requested. Gharti is currently living at his father's home in the village. Their daily life is run with the support of the municipality, said the chairman of the rural municipality, Joklal Buda.