Foreign employment in Nepal: issues of Brain Drain and Brain

Gain

"We wouldn’t have gone abroad if there were

opportunities and employment in the

country.” Seema Parajuli,a visa applicant

HISTORY OF EXPATRIATION

HISTORY OF EXPATRIATION Nepal has a long history of foreign

employment in India, dating back to 19th century, when men from the hill areas migrated westwards to the city of Lahore in the northern region of Punjab.

There they joined up as soldiers in the army of the Sikh Rajah, Ranjit Singh. Even today, those working abroad are popularly known as "lahures."

HISTORY OF EXPATRIATION After Anglo-Nepal war (1814-1816), an

increasing number of "Gurkhas" joined the British army in India, starting a tradition that continues today.

The development of tea estates in northeast India increased demand for Nepali workers who came in substantial numbers, and a significant expatriate Nepali community began to grow in those areas.

Over the next few decades, Nepali soldiers in Gurkha Regiment saw action in defense of Indian and British interests in other parts of Asia, including Kashmir, Malaya, and Borneo.

NEPAL’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIAGNOSIS Agriculture remains a major source of

livelihood, tourism is also important. But Nepal's major exports is labor, and

most rural households now depend on at least one member's earnings from employment away from home and often from abroad.

The Labor Act of 1985 has facilitated arrangements for Nepali migration to about a dozen specified countries, but the government has failed to develop a coherent labor export policy.

Country Articles Overseas Nepali Population

India Nepali Indian 4,100,000

Burma Burmese Gurkha 400,000

Saudi Arabia Nepalis in Saudi Arabia 350,000

Malaysia Nepalese people in Malaysia

300,000

United States Nepalese American 110,616

Bhutan Lhotshampa 110,000

Qatar Nepalis in Qatar 100,000

Japan Nepalis in Japan 100,000

United Arab Emirates Nepalis in the United Arab Emirates

50,000

United Kingdom Nepalis in the United Kingdom

35,000

Iraq 30,000

China Nepalis in China 21,000

Continental Europe 20,000

Hong Kong Nepalis in Hong Kong 16,000

Australia Nepalese Australian 10,000

South Korea Nepalis in South Korea 100,000

Canada Nepalese Canadian 6,000

Total Overseas Nepal Population

~5,643,000

Nepali overseas

DIRE STRAIT

DIRE STRAIT 1,200 Nepalis leave the country every

day to study and work in other countries About 982,000 Nepalis emigrated from

the country in 2010. This constitutes 3.3 percent of Nepal’s total population.

Nepal was among the 10 low-income countries with the highest migration rates in 2010.

Contribution of remittance to GDP 23.6 percent.

56 percent of households seeking direct benefits due to this sector.

Social Problems like responsibility voidance causing worries for child-care, family-matters and nurturing of elder citizens at home.

No investments from the government like technical schools, colleges, and training centers.

DIRE STRAIT

“There is a shortage of doctors in America and the gap is filled by other countries like China, India, and Nepal and so on,” says Gagan Thapa.

Similarly there is demand for nurses abroad and many Nepali nurses’ head to the West for attractive salaries.

The western countries are benefiting without foundation investment in doctors, nurses and other professionals while our country is thinning out on experts and professionals.

WHAT IS BRAIN DRAIN? Also known as “The human capital

flight”. Can be simply defined as the mass emigration of technically skilled people from one country to another country

“There are not only Nepali manual labourers working in the Qatar but approximately 200 to 300 Nepali engineers working on massive infrastructure there,”

Even before official work hours commence at 9 a.m., people flood the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, police offices and embassies in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.

Young people stand in long queues to obtain the various documentations necessary to leave the country, like passports and character certificates.

Every other household’s

problem

KAUSHAL SILWAL

He belongs to a middle-class family. He Chose to study in America in the

discipline of chemical and bio-technical engineering.

“There is a demand for pharmaceutical companies and opportunities can be created here,” informs Silwal.

He wishes to establish a bio-tech firm which focuses on gene therapy in Nepal. However, he is sceptical as he sees better opportunities in the west.

KAUSHAL SILWAL

KAUSHAL SILWAL “University opportunities are limited in

Nepal. We have to develop our educational system and make it qualitative and research oriented,”

“Politics in Nepal is in a state of limbo making the country detrimental. Realistically no one is willing to return if the country’s situation is such,” opines Silwal.

DR. KALYAN BIKRAM SHAH

DR. KALYAN BIKRAM SHAH 27 year old, is a young Nepali aspiring

to go abroad. A native of Janakpur, he spends hours at Internet cafes and counseling centers researching opportunities to study abroad.

“I want to go abroad for a good job and a secured future,” he says.

His family sold their land and took out loans to send him to medical school in China.

DR. KALYAN BIKRAM SHAH He currently works at a private hospital

here and earns 25,000 rupees per month.

Spent few months working in Gulmi district to serve the people, as he says he dreamed of becoming a doctor so he could serve his country.

But with the increasing cost of raising a family and paying back interest , he says he can't stay in Nepal and help the needy.

DR. KALYAN BIKRAM SHAH “There aren’t any good opportunities

here,” he says. “The important moments of my life are being wasted here. I don’t want that to happen.”

The United States is his first destination of choice. But if can’t obtain a U.S. visa, he says he’ll try to go to a European country – or any developed country.

DR. KALYAN BIKRAM SHAH “We only implement programs as far as

our budget goes,” Shah says “If the country realizes our needs, we can come back in future,” .

But for Ishwor Wagle, it’s a different story. “I’m moving to the U.S. with my family,” he says. “I’m not obligated to return.”

ISHWOR WAGLE, 39

ISHWOR WAGLE He also says that there is not much

opportunity to advance as he comes from a middle-class family outside the capital.

As frustration mounted, he and his wife applied for Diversity Visas last year.

“People like me don’t get respected here,” he says. “Now I’ll go to America and have a good future for me and my children.”

ISHWOR WAGLE His wife won a Diversity Visa to the

United States. “I want to embark to my dream

destination as soon as possible,” he says

Wagle is also active in politics and is affiliated with the Nepali Congress party.

He thought he could end poverty, unemployment and corruption here. But his sole effort couldn’t do much.

SRIJANA SHARMA, 66

SRIJANA SHARMA She thought that she had educated her

children enough to launch successful lives here.

Instead, they migrated. Though Sharma’s son sends her money, she says that care and love are more important at her age.

She lives alone and says she has no one to take care of her.

SRIJANA SHARMA Sharma has visited her son and

daughter in the United States She hasn’t been able to spend more

than a month in the foreign land. Because she was left in a community

that doesn’t speak her language while her children and grandchildren are off at work and school.

SRIJANA SHARMA “My son and daughter-in-law don’t want

to return,” she says. “And old people like us want to die in our own country.”

Though she lives alone, she says that she’s not alone in her predicament.

“It’s not only my problem,” she says, “It’s every other household’s problem.”

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