Kathmandu: Nepali Ambassadors to Gulf countries have expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s rescue operations in the region. The Nepali Ambassadors to Qatar and Malaysia have accused the government of not being invested enough in rescuing Nepali migrant workers stranded abroad.
At a virtual meeting of the Women and Social Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, the ambassadors accused the government of not having a clear policy to rescue Nepali migrant workers.
The ambassadors made the argument that the government is more willing to pay four times the money to bring back deceased bodies from abroad rather than spend 1,500 ringgit to rescue those in trouble. In addition, they stated that the government has created a one-stop directive without coordinating with ambassadors, causing more problems and confusion.
Nepal’s Ambassador to Qatar Narad Bharadwaj has warned that as a result of an unsuccessful repatriation, many Nepalis will be forced to sit on hot streets under the sun as most companies are on the verge of closure due to the ongoing pandemic.
“Foreign employment is shutting down donor companies. Therefore, Nepali workers are losing their jobs. Now, Nepali workers are living on the roads with a temperature of 45 degrees. The government should take initiatives to rescue them free of cost,” stated Ambassador Bharadwaj.
Similarly, Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia Uday Raj Pandey also accused the government of spending money to bring back deceased bodies, but not being interested in rescuing the living. He argued that Nepalis facing problems abroad have not received relief packages.
“The government pays four times as much if people die, but there is no money to save the living,” stated Ambassador Pandey. The government has spent 4,000 Malaysian ringgit to bring the bodies of Nepalese who died abroad and 1,590 ringgit to rescue living migrant workers. The ambassadors have also demanded the government to operate regular flights.
They stated that the workers did not get their tickets even after paying the money for a flight to Nepal, and thus, increasing the number of international flights would not be a problem for the rescue of those workers.
