After the earthquake, most youths have cancelled their plans to migrate abroad . They are, instead, busy rebuilding their destroyed houses. Photo: Om Astha RaiThe 25 April earthquake is expected to accelerate the rate at which Nepal's youths are migrating abroad for works.
But the earthquake's initial impact is just opposite: the deaths and destruction have led to a dramatic fall in the number of youths flying overseas.
Only a little more than 30,000 youths, mostly from the districts unaffected by the earthquake, have left the country since 25 April.
According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), altogether 52,210 youths had left the country for overseas jobs from mid March to mid April. But this number fell to just 31,375 people in the following month (mid April-mid May).
The DoFE officials say virtually no one has left the country from the earthquake-affected districts since 25 April. The 3125 youths migrating abroad in this period left the country either a few days before 25 April or from the unaffected districts.
Ganesh Gurung, an expert on migration and remittance economy, says the drop in the number of youths leaving the country is temporary and more men and women will migrate abroad in the months to come.
"Most people who lost their homes in the earthquake are likely to migrate abroad to pay off loans that they take to rebuild their houses," says Gurung.
The earthquake has severely affected 16 districts, leaving more than 8,000 people dead and 18,000 people wounded. The catastrophe also destroyed around 600,000 houses.
The migration trend seems to have reversed in the first month of the earthquake, with youths staying home and those who were already abroad returning to rebuild their homes.