WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 56 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 34.5 C 4.5 C Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 10-01-2077 Dhangadi Jomsom With hundreds of thousands of migrants due to return, Nepal braces for a crisis Nepalis who work abroad are likely to lose their jobs in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government must make plans to accommodate them. PRITHVI MAN SHRESTHA & CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL KATHMANDU, APRIL 21 A scenario that experts had long warned about is likely to soon come to pass. And it is going to overwhelm the Nepali state. Foreign employment has played an instrumental role in keeping the Nepali economy afloat, but it was never a sustainable option. Now that the global economy is in the throes of a recession due to the Covid-19 pan- demic, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis abroad are likely to lose their jobs and return home. “The government now has the POST FILE PHOTO responsibility of managing the liveli- If a large number of Nepalis return from hoods of around 10 million people, foreign jobs, Nepal will lose remittance. POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA even if we go by the estimate that People leaving Kathmandu arrive for buses at Jadibuti, Koteshwor on a rainy Tuesday evening. Arrangements were made to send people stranded by a prolonged lockdown to their home districts. one migrant worker supports a family Gulf and Malaysia. of three,” said Govinda Nepal, an “Nepalis go abroad to work because economist. there are no jobs in the country and The government does not have exact we have not been able to create job data of how many Nepalis are cur- opportunities,” said Yubraj Nepal, rently employed abroad, but they esti- director at the Centre for Migration Like most vulnerable groups, soon-to-be and new mated to number in the millions. and International Relations, an organ- According to the Migration in Nepal isation that works in labour migration report, there are an estimated 500,000 policy and workers’ welfare. “We don’t Nepali migrants in Malaysia, the most know what will happen if workers mothers face an uncertain near future popular labour destination, followed return home in droves.” by Qatar with over 400,000, Saudi A number of Gulf countries have Arabia 334,451, the United Arab of already asked governments to take With hospitals and public transport shut, women can’t go for regular check-ups for themselves and their children. Emirates 224,905 and Kuwait 70,000. their migrant workers back, as their These five countries alone accommo- economies are facing contraction ELISHA SHRESTHA & THOMAS HEATON “The last time I visited the hospital, date over 1.5 million Nepalis. amid the Covid-19 pandemic. KATHMANDU, APRIL 21 I had my blood and urine tested Although unofficial estimates also The United Arab Emirates has even because I was suffering from extreme vary widely, the Nepali population in threatened countries who don’t take When Ashmita discovered she was fatigue and back pains,” said Ashmita, India is said to number between 3 to 4 their citizens home with “consequenc- pregnant with her first child seven who did not want her last name dis- million. A majority of Nepalis who es”, including blacklisting and scrap- months ago, a midwife told her to reg- closed. “The doctor asked me to collect work abroad are employed in India. But ping labour relations. ularly visit the hospital for check-ups the report a few days later. However, since Nepal and India share an open Another Gulf country, Kuwait, throughout her pregnancy. Ashmita the lockdown was announced, and I border, there are no official figures. which had swiftly offered general abided. have yet to collect the report. I still With lockdowns in place and busi- amnesty to all undocumented workers So every two weeks, she visited the have health complications, but I’m nesses shuttered, most of these in a bid to encourage them to return Paropakar Maternity and Women’s unable to visit the doctor.” Nepalis are currently out of jobs and home, also came up with a similar Hospital to receive antenatal care. The 18-year-old is one of many even when the lockdowns are relaxed, warning of reconsidering labour rela- However, her hospital visits came to expecting and new mothers dealing they are not likely to be employed, tions with countries that refuse to an abrupt halt when the government with anxiety and uncertainty because POST FILE PHOTO given the beating most economies are withdraw their citizens. declared a lockdown to control the of the nationwide lockdown as they Safe motherhood, which already is a challenge in backward areas, has become a far cry now. currently taking. “Sooner or later, these countries are spread of Covid-19 on March 23. are unable to hold regular face-to-face Nepal is already facing pressure to likely to send Nepali workers home,” consultations with midwives or help me except for my husband,” said into tears because they can’t go for bring home at least 70,000 Nepali said Nepal of the Centre for Migration hospital staff. Few hospitals have Ashmita. “My main concern is how will regular check-ups,” Tripathi said. migrant workers from the Gulf and International Relations. “The outpatient services currently I go to the hospital for my delivery.” The helpline provides women with nations, according to a report in prospect of Nepali workers being open, but making it to the hospi- To assist women like Ashmita, the relevant information, especially on Kantipur, the Post’s sister paper. rehired depends on how long the tals is next to impossible with Midwives’ Society of Nepal has been things like the provision for airlifts in It’s time the government started impact of this crisis lingers and how public transport prohibited. running a phone-in counselling ser- extreme circumstances, and helps making plans to accommodate the they respond.” The Paropakar Maternity vice to provide both clinical and psy- connect women to organisations pro- migrants who are likely to return If Nepali workers start to return Hospital is still open, but chological advice to worried mothers- viding food, finances or transporta- home in droves, say experts, but there home, Nepal will struggle to accom- Ashmita is unable to get there to-be and new mothers. The free ser- tion. Tripathi and her colleagues have is little evidence that the current modate all of these working-age men because she doesn’t have trans- vice has already dealt with over 100 mostly dealt with women in administration has understood the and women. But their return will also port of her own. mothers since the lockdown started, Kathmandu, but they’ve also received severity of the crisis that looms. mean that the Nepali economy will “I’m stressed and worried said midwife Rukumani Tripathi. calls from as far as Pokhara, Jhapa, Instead, it has repeatedly said that lose out on its most significant source thinking that if the lockdown “Most women are calling us in a Nepalgunj and Butwal. there are no immediate plans to repat- of income. continues, I won’t have anyone to panicked state. Some of them burst >> Continued on page 5 riate Nepali workers from the Persian >> Continued on page 5 C M Y K WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020 | 02 MEDLEY Inside the Post Quote of the day Oli’s ordinance issuance draws criticism as an attack on democratic National values and constitutional spirit, Page 3 Organisations working in the education sector have suggested the government scrap the secondary education examination and the tests for grade 11 and 12 and promote the students through internal evaluation amid uncertainty over resump- “The party and the government should not tion of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic. deviate from their main responsibility and should not involve in actions that under- Opinion While the Nepal government is playing a significant role to prevent Covid-19 from mine democratic and constitutional values spreading, the impact on vulnerable communities does not appear on the govern- ment’s radar, nor has there been media coverage of the issue. and the spirit of the rule of law.” Madhav Kumar Nepal, senior Nepal Communist Party leader, on Money the two ordinances issued by Prime Minsiter KP Sharma Oli. Cash-strapped Virgin Australia collapsed on Tuesday, making it the largest carri- er yet to buckle under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged the global airline industry. Most read online World The UN General Assembly has demanded global action to quickly scale up the Oli’s sudden issuance of two ordinances raises development of and access to medicines, vaccines and equipment to battle the pandemic, while the World Health Organization warned Tuesday that rushing to concerns of a party split in the making ease coronavirus lockdowns could lead to a resurgence of the outbreak. In the midst of a global pandemic that has almost shuttered the entire world, the KP Sharma Oli Cabinet introduced two ordinances on Monday—both unrelated to the fight against Covid-19. The two ordinances, presented suddenly, are relat- Culture & Arts ed to political parties and the Constitutional Council. Misinformation spreads like wildfire in any major event. But this infodemic, meaning an excessive amount of information that circulates on the internet most of which is plagued by fake news, can have far-reaching impacts, experts believe. A worrying rise in Islamophobia ever since a number of Muslim men were diagnosed with Covid-19 On Saturday, a few 10 rupee notes dropped from the pockets of two Muslim women walking in Janakpur, an incident that was caught on CCTV camera.