Nepali migrant workers rebuild lives

This is the 73rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad.

Excerpts from conversations with Malaysian-based workers from Jajarkot, hired under a responsible recruitment drive 18 months ago. Some of the candidates were previously interviewed last November 3. 

Jeevan Shahi

As the eldest son, I support 10 family members: my wife and two sons, my parents during illness and festivals, my brother’s family while he prepares for the civil service exam, and my sister who is a student.

If one person living abroad helps 10 family members, I am content to be a migrant worker overseas. My sons are now 14 and 12. They are growing up quickly, and I miss them. Mostly, I miss my elderly parents. They tell me they think of me when they are eating good food, especially when my mother cooks meat. My mother also misses me when there are fresh apples or cucumbers from the field. I worry about my parents most.

I recently sent them a smart phone which my father is still trying to learn how to use. Until recently, I could only see their faces when my family members were visiting them. I watched them this Dasain, and it made me homesick. Once my father learns to use the phone we can have more frequent video calls.

Before coming to Malaysia, I had only gone to India to work. But when I saw that we did not have to pay any recruitment fees for this job, I thought, why not give it a try. It turned out to be a good decision.

Otherwise, I would have gone to India where I could earn Rs20,000 at most. Here, with overtime, I can earn over Rs100,000. With my savings, I have bought land near the market in Kohalpur where I moved a few years back. I plan to build a house and run a small ice cream business there.

I have to think about a viable business plan because unlike in the mountains, you have to even buy water in the Tarai. My father has suggested we bring down two of our buffalos from Jajarkot to Kohalpur for the ice cream venture. I am not impressed with the watered down milk from the dairy.

I will have to invest in ice-cream makers, refrigerators, physical facilities and several pushcarts. I will engage all my family members, and believe that it will be a lucrative business.

I vividly remember the earthquake two years ago. It still makes my body tremble. We had gone to Jajarkot to my parents’ house from Kohalpur. We were fast asleep when the earthquake struck at 11PM. When the house started shaking, we thought it was ghosts.

We rushed outside. There was no phone signal, and people were blowing whistles. We dared not go back to the house. It was difficult to go to sleep. It was Jajarkot’s black day.

Janak Bahadur Singh

Within a month of arriving in Malaysia, my mother fell sick. She needed surgery and had to be rushed to Nepalganj and medical costs were more than Rs400,000. We relied on loans, including from colleagues in Malaysia to cover the costs.

When there is a family member abroad, it is easier for folks back home to borrow money from local lenders. I have now paid off my loans, and my mother is doing better. I had to postpone plans to rebuild our house, but now I have used my savings to pay an advance to builders.

Read also: Quake survivors migrate for work

But just before Dasain, my brother’s two daughters were swept away by a river in Nepalganj and drowned. We are in mourning and have postponed construction for six months, and hopefully the advance will be reimbursed.

Since we will not be using my savings immediately for the house, I might invest it for my sister’s plan to migrate to Japan.

Srijung B K

It has been two years since the earthquake, and 18 months since I came here. We have not  received support from the Nepal government other than the Rs50,000 to build a temporary shelter.

With my overseas earnings, we have bought land in the market area since the family home is in a remote area. My long-term plan is to start an agro-vet shop and poultry farm, for which the new location is more suitable. I hope to start building a house in the coming year.

This is my first overseas work, and I plan to stay for another six or seven years if all goes well. I miss my family and the village environment back in Jajarkot, but it helps that many of us from my village are also here.

Remittances have helped my family cover household expenses. My father used to support the family with his carpentry job but his health is failing as he ages. So I have stepped up.

Khadak Singh

After the earthquake I came to Malaysia, and with my earnings have paid off our Rs800,000 loan for my father’s medical expenses. I have also bought land in Kohalpur.

Paying off the loans is a big relief to the family, since the debt trap created a lot of tension in the household. Now we are free from that burden.

I plan to stay here for another five years or so. Other than the first tranch of the Rs50,000 we received from the Nepal government to build a temporary shelter, there has been no other help. We added some of our own money to make decent temprorary living quarters.

Uncertainty about government reconstruction guidelines for more support has delayed our plans to rebuild our house. I don’t have much expectation, but will build a house regardless in Kohalpur and bring my family down.

I continue to write songs in Malaysia, and when the time and situation allow it, I plan to record them in a studio. When I last migrated to Malaysia, it was just to get out of Nepal and I did not achieve much. This time, I am planning better and working hard to achieve my goals.

Bir Bahadur Karki

When I was working in Saudi Arabia, I had once visited a goat farm in the desert. After seeing how 150 goats were raised in such an arid place, it made me think of everything we could do in our village where there is more vegetation.

These thoughts kept recurring, and I was so determined to run a farm back home that I resigned from my job and returned to Nepal.

Many advised me I could get better returns if I invested elsewhere, but I put all my money into buying land and building sheds for goats, chicken, and fish ponds. I did not have much experience, but started with different goat breeds. But they got sick and I suffered heavy losses.

I sought help from the government, but there was no support besides a small grant and recognition as a ‘best farmer’. I struggled to pay my taxes, so I decided to migrate overseas so I could save enough to invest in agriculture in Nepal.

My heart is still in it, and my only hope is to one day become the best livestock farmer. So far, I have saved Rs1.5 million and am planning to eventually set up a dairy farm in Nepal.

My wife is already doing lemon and orange agriculture back home, with saplings from the government although we don’t have much income from that business yet.

I advise her from Malaysia, and we both discuss and make decisions together. I am confident that we will do better in future.

My family in Jajarkot is still living in a temporary shelter. There has been no housing grant, and the guidelines are confusing. My wife was expecting when I came to Malaysia, and there is no male member of my family after my father died. I have put in extra effort to build a comfortable, well-insulated shelter.

My son was born three months after I came to Malaysia. I was extremely nervous when my wife went into labour. When my sister-in-law called to tell me that the baby was born, I was relieved and shared the good news with my friends.

I plan to stay on in Malaysia since I have some debts to pay off. I will be home next Dasain, and that is when I will get to see my son for the first time.