Nepal Now: On the Move

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You might know Nepal as home to the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, as the place where the Buddha was born, or as the location of many sites sacred to the world’s Hindus. This country is also a geopolitical hotspot, encircled by the world’s giants—China and India—eying one another warily over the Himalayan range. 

I’m Marty Logan. As a Canadian journalist who’s lived here going on 13 years, what astonishes me about Nepal is the ever rising number of people leaving the country to find work, or to study. About 70,000 a month are flying out for jobs overseas, mostly to Malaysia and Persian Gulf countries, South Korea and Japan. Do the math and that’s more than 800,000 a year, from a country of 29 million people. Of course most come back, after 2, 3 or more years abroad. Some of them stay home but many leave again as soon as they scope out a new opportunity. 

For decades huge numbers of the poorest Nepalis have been walking across the open border to India to work. The practice is so ingrained that these workers aren’t even counted—they could number 500,000 or a few million. 300 students a day are getting written permission to migrate so they can study abroad, at last count. Many don’t return after graduating. They settle in their new country and become non-resident Nepalis.

What happens to these people who shift their lives abroad in order to improve the lives of those they leave behind? Many—but not all—workers send money home regularly, providing a steady income, something elusive in Nepal. Some even save. But what about family relationships when loved ones live apart year after year? Of husbands and wives, migrant parents and their children, migrant children and their aging parents left alone in Nepal? Although it’s changing fast, most Nepalis still live in multigenerational joint families rather than nuclear ones, where children are expected to care for their elders as once they were cared for.  

What’s happening to this country, from which nearly every young person I meet wants to flee as fast as possible while, ironically, Nepal’s allure as a global tourism hotspot continues growing. In one way Nepal benefits massively—remittances from abroad now make up about a quarter of its gross domestic product. But villages are emptying and fewer farmers remain to grow the food the country needs. 

Of course, migration from poorer to wealthier countries is a global trend, so you can hear echoes in Nepal of other peoples’ journeys, but Nepalis’ experiences are unique to them. On this show we talk to the people leaving—and sometimes returning to—this country. If possible we check in with them after they’ve settled in their new homes, to learn if the reality matches their expectations. Occasionally we talk to officials or experts to better understand why so many Nepalis are on the move. 

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Nurses. I don’t know about you but when I think of people migrating for better opportunities one of the first groups that comes to mind is nurses. Not only in Nepal: I know that this is a huge issue for Caribbean countries and I read recently that in Nigeria, midwives too are being recruited to work in countries of the north.

Back in Nepal, over a third of nurses have sought documents that would permit them to practise overseas, I read in one media report.

I met Sudipa Poudel about 1 ½ years ago in Chitwan, a district in south-central Nepal. She was working as a school nurse and I believe she mentioned then that she might be going to work abroad soon. So when I caught up with her last month I wasn’t that surprised to hear that she was on her way to Canada. The big question was ‘why’?

You’ll have to keep listening to hear her answer, but for now I’ll say that Sudipa has already come a long way since she became a nurse a decade ago. 

Please listen now to my chat with Sudipa Poudel, recorded at Himal Media at Patan Dhoka. Her words are interpreted by Heema Rai.

Resources

Nigerian midwives being recruited along with nurses — article

One-third of Nepali nurses consider moving — article

Prime Minister Oli appeals to youth to return home - article 

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Today we’re doing something different. We’re devoting this episode to last weekend’s huge rain, the flooding and other disasters it spawned, and the climate migrants who will emerge from these incidents. And here I’d like to give my condolences to the family and friends of the more than 200 people confirmed killed in the devastation. 

I know: last week I guaranteed we would share the episode about the nurse migrating to Canada but I thought the topic of climate migration — which I’ve been wanting to discuss for a while — was just too timely to postpone. 

This episode also has a different format. I have two guests: Sagar Shrestha, Director of the Disaster Management Department at the Nepal Red Cross Society and Manjeet Dhakal, Head of the LDC Support Team and Director, at the South Asia office of Climate Analytics. I recorded this very quickly so the first chat with Sagar, which we did Sunday night, lacks the usual introduction and goodbye, and the quality is not quite up to our usual standard. I recorded with Manjeet on Monday evening. He was in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, so the line wasn’t crystal clear either. 

One note: Unfortunately, since Monday the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 209, as I’m recording on Tuesday, and dozens more people are still missing

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This is a very short episode, basically to say that we are behind schedule so this week's episode is delayed until next week. 

We think that it will be worth the wait, as we'll be talking to one of many nurses from Nepal who are leaving the country for better opportunities abroad. In fact, this is not a trend only in Nepal; nurses throughout the global South are moving North for what they see as better working and living conditions. 

Please watch for the new episode to drop in your feed next week. 

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From Kathmandu to Kabul is not really that far in this era of daily intercontinental flights. And today’s guest Prem Awasthi is also fortunate in that he gets to make the return trip home at least every six weeks. But still, he already feels that less than a year after migrating to work abroad, his roots in his homeland are somehow shallower. 

If you missed it, Prem was the first ever guest of the show after we relaunched earlier this year to focus solely on migration and Nepal. In that chat, he told us about his early life in Doti district, in Nepal’s Far West region. When he spoke you could hear his deep attachment to that place, so I wonder—for him, does living and working in Kabul not only mean being away from his country, but does it also signify one more step away from his deepest roots, in his home village?

In our latest chat, which we recorded at Himal Media in Patan Dhoka, we also discuss if Prem has become comfortable in his new, less visible role, on a much larger team, that he’s taken on in Afghanistan. His tasks there are much different than during the nearly two decades that he worked on the frontlines of humanitarian assistance for the UN in Nepal. 

Finally, Prem has some thoughts for others who might be contemplating a similar move. 

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Today’s episode is not a migration story; you could even call it a non-migration story. I’m chatting with someone successful enough in her field that you could easily imagine her skills being in demand in many other countries, and that she could leave Nepal if she wished. But of course she hasn’t. 

Like many Nepalis, Dr Rojina Shilpakar went to Bangladesh to study medicine, then returned to Nepal. Searching for a niche, she found it quite fast at Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital, performing surgery on survivors of burns. Today she is deputy medical director at the hospital, a trainer of burns surgery at the regional level, and an advocate for training of health personnel working outside Kathmandu, so that burn survivors who arrive in the capital have a better chance of survival. 

As much as I enjoyed this conversation, I hesitate to draw any lessons from Rojina’s story that might apply to Nepal more broadly. The experiences she’s lived and the decisions she made are unique to her. What I do know from our chat, is that she has been able to find a job in Nepal that challenges her and that she is devoted to. I wish that more people will find themselves in such a situation. 

Thank you as always to Himal Media for welcoming me into their studio for this recording. And a warning: there are some graphic descriptions of surgery in this episode. Please take care while listening.

Resources

Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital, Facebook page

Interburns network

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Up until now I've been recording most of these episodes speaking into a half-empty clothes cupboard. It's sounded surprisingly good, at least to me, but from next week I will have a slightly more professional setup: a dedicated — though tiny — space, basic soundproofing on the walls, and a new mic. I hope we'll be able to hear the difference.

In migration news this week, I came across an article featuring data on students going overseas to study in the past year. I must admit that my western bias shows when I say that I didn't even imagine the country that was the #1 destination — Japan. Why Japan? Thanks to a engaging documentary by Dipesh Kharel, The Japanese Dream: Nepali students in Japan, I learned that there are many reasons. First, visa requirements are  easier for Japan than for some other countries. Once there, students can work part-time — a set number of hours a week — which is also key. 

By the way, according to the documentary, there were 45,000 Nepali students in the country in 2023. This compares to 5,000 Nepalis in total in Japan in 2005. A fun fact that I learned: there are 600 Nepali restaurants in Tokyo alone.

Dipesh follows a handful of students, from when they're studying Japanese in Nepal and planning to migrate, to their arrival in Japan and in later years, juggling responsibilities of work and family. I like that he doesn't paint a fake, rosy portrait, but shows some of their hard times also. There's a particularly poignant scene when he's interviewing the father of Rajkumar, who's now in Japan. The father tells him that the day his son learned that he got his visa he had the equivalent of $18. Six days later he had raised $15,000 so his son could migrate. "I can't pay this back," he told his son, meaning the burden was now shifted to the young man.

Resources

Nepali students' destinations

Documentary about Nepali students in Japan, by Dipesh Kharel

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Mistreatment of migrant workers, especially those forced to work in hot, dangerous conditions, created huge headlines in the run-up to the Qatar World Cup in 2022, thanks in part to the work of today’s guest—journalist Pramod Acharya. Pramod’s subsequent reporting also made the news globally. Also done in collaboration with journalists around the world, it spotlighted the conditions faced by Nepalis and others working in Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia, and led to Amazon changing some of its work practices.

For that reporting, Pramod and his colleagues have received numerous nominations and awards, including—for the Amazon work—the Excellence in International Reporting award from the Asian American Journalists Association and the Human Rights Press Award, from Human Rights Watch and others. Today he’ll tell us how and where he got his start in journalism, how migration from Nepal has changed in the decade since he started investigating it, and the role that the media might play in making positive change. 

Resources

One of Pramod’s reports on the Qatar World Cup
A report from Pramod on Amazon warehouses
Centre for Investigative Journalism, Nepal 

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Last week the show reached 80 episodes. It's not a significant number, except that it brings us closer to what will be a milestone—100 episodes. I figure we'll reach that at around the end of the year, and will definitely want to mark it somehow. Maybe with T-shirts, other 'merch', or a Best Of episode? How about an online party? If you have any ideas to celebrate, send them along using the text message link at the top left of these notes.

In migration news this week, Republica newspaper reported that the government had put 'on hold' 548 manpower agencies. These are the companies that arrange jobs for migrant workers going abroad, and which are constantly being accused of over charging and otherwise trying to take advantage of workers. 548 is a huge figure, given that the total number of agencies is said to be about 850 - 870, but based on the accusations that fly around about deceitful agencies, it's not all that surprising. The big question for me is: will these companies soon be let off the hook or will they actually be punished somehow?

This week's other news that I noted is an argument that the 'brain drain' of educated students should actually be considered a 'brain circulation'. The authors suggest that eventually the students give back a huge amount to their home countries, via remittances and other means. I would like to see more statistics behind these claims, but it's certainly an interesting theory.

Next week we'll be speaking with Nepali journalist Pramod Acharya. His reporting about Nepalis working in Persian Gulf countries, especially those building stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar and others working in Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia, has earned him many awards and high praise.

Let us know what you thought of this week's episode, on social media, via email or text message.

Resources

Manpower agencies suspended

Brain drain or brain circulation?

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It’s amazing what you can find when curiosity is your guide.

I was on a reporting trip in Taplejung district in northeast Nepal, bordering Tibet and India. I had an extra day so I thought I’d look for a school that provides meals to its students. It’s a topic I’ve been following for the past couple of years. I asked a guy I met at the hotel if he knew of a school principal in town— it turned out that he was the head of the committee of a local school. He took me to see the noon meal being served, then gave me a tour of the entire school area.

I was shocked to see a new building that might have been imported from Europe. With a light-coloured exterior of sharp angles, inside it featured huge windows, tall ceilings, a super wide, wooden staircase, and — perhaps most pleasantly surprising to me — a coffee bar.

The astonishing looking building in Taplejung, on the grounds of Bhanu Jana Secondary School, is the IT Academy. It’s been running for the past couple of years and includes a studio, where we recorded this episode, with Head Teacher Kishor Kumar Rai. The main aim of the Academy is to train recent graduates with online skills so that they can work from Taplejung instead of joining the tens of thousands of young people migrating from Nepal every month. The IT Academy was built with support from the Human Practice Foundation, a non-profit from Denmark,

So far the Academy has graduated 61 young people. 14 of them are employed online as digital creators for companies in places including Denmark, Singapore and South Korea. Those are small numbers, I know, but you have to start somewhere and it does seem that the management team has a growth plan. By the way, the donor that Kishor Rai mentions is Mr Waldemar Schmidt. Learn more about the IT Academy in our conversation now.

Resources

IT Academy

Bhanu Jana Secondary School (Facebook)

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