<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d249c7e80680e0c965ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="718"/><figcaption>Raju at Tilicho Lake while guiding Korean trekking guests. All Photos: RAJU SUBEDI.</figcaption></figure>This is the 18th instalment of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Diaspora Diaries</a>, a regular series in Nepali Times with stories of Nepalis living and working abroad. Raju SubediI never intended to migrate overseas for work. But there was talk that families affected during the Maoist period would get a special labour quota in South Korea under its <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Seoul-searching,1387" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Employment Permit System (EPS)</a>. My father, who had been wounded during the conflict, encouraged me to prepare for the EPS Korean language test. And I did.The special quota rumour turned out to be false, but my preparation did not go to waste. I passed my EPS language test for which I prepared at the travel company I worked for. Back then, there was just one language book to prepare from. I was familiar with using the internet because of our online bookings, the concept of using the net to study was foreign to me. Soon in 2008, I was on a plane full of Nepalis in EPS hats and jackets heading out.I was homesick and the job at a manufacturing company was physically taxing. It was a difficult first three months. Perhaps if I had grown up in Kaskikot, the village where I was born, I would have been more accustomed to physical labour. But my parents had moved to Pokhara when I was very young, and the only work I had done was a desk job at the travel company.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d279c7e80680e0c965bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="540"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d2a9c7e80680e0c965cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="540">Raju Subedi in Korea.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d2c9c7e80680e0c965djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="666">Sometimes, my hands hurt so much when I woke up after 12 hours of work the day before that I had difficulty even opening the door. My back also started to hurt, and it was clear that the job was not for me. So, I asked my employer to give me a release letter so I could move to another job. It took a while, but he agreed reluctantly.I ended up switching jobs multiple times. One of them was piling up cartons at another company. I thought that was also too taxing, only to realise that the next job at a car parts company was even harder. The company was prohibited by immigration rules from renewing the visas of foreign workers even though they liked my work as they had just let go of two local employees. A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-of-workers-working-together/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">migrant worker support group</a> stepped in and decided to sue the company and the government on my behalf.I had three options: return to Nepal, to stay on illegally, or to fight a legal battle. The last one made the most sense. The court case bought me time to legally stay in South Korea while the case was pending. But I did not have a work permit so I had to work illegally.An irregular status makes you vulnerable and easier to discriminate against whether in pay or just how a worker is treated overall by employers and fellow-workers. The court’s verdict finally made the company pay me a month’s basic salary as compensation, but my visa was not renewed. I subsequently applied for refugee status which was also eventually declined. I did not bother to appeal the decision, and after seven years in Korea I came home for good.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-qatar-job-mirage/">The Qatar job mirage</a>, Nepali Times<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d2e9c7e80680e0c965ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="718"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The bright side of the legal battle was that it forced me to learn Korean. Earlier I had learnt Korean just to pass an exam, and by the time I had got the job it had been two years and I had forgotten most of what I had learnt. My colleagues were from Nepal and other Asian countries which meant I did not have to speak Korean much.It was only when I quit my job and applied for a new one that I realised just how rusty my language skills were. I scrambled to find Nepali seniors who spoke the language fluently whenever I got a call about a potential employment opportunity.But in court, the desperation to express myself made me learn Korean more diligently, and watch Korean movies a couple of hours everyday. It was not formal training, but life experiences that drove me to learn the language.Fighting a legal battle in a foreign country is not easy. It was difficult to take time off from work because a worker’s worth is measured solely by how much we produce. Then when my employers found out I was fighting a legal battle, they wanted to disassociate from me. They did not want to be found out hiring an irregular worker.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d319c7e80680e0c965fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="718"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>No matter how difficult it got for me in Korea, whether because I lost my jobs or struggled to find new employment, or the legal case which was an uphill battle, the thought of coming back to Nepal never crossed my mind even remotely. I had bought land in Nepal and was bent on staying on until I paid off my loans. Furthermore, if I did not make it in Korea, I was convinced that I would not be able to make it in life. I, too, wanted to be a Korean success story just like many other returnees I had met in Korea and Nepal.I struggled a lot. We Nepalis referred to the glittery ‘Korean dream’ as "दुई गुणा अन्ठाउन्न” — referring to the Rs200,000 monthly salary over a 58-month period, which was our target earnings. That kind of money would transform my life.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d349c7e80680e0c9660jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="1280"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>We did not realise that we may not always earn the promised Rs200,000 a month because overtime may not always be available to top up our basic salary. Or we may not be physically able to do physically demanding overtime work. Besides being difficult, routine and repetitive tasks day in and day out can also be mentally taxing. Since the time I was there, things have improved for foreign workers in Korea and perhaps lessons from the experiences of EPS predecessors like us help make adjustments to the program.The journey of my life was full of challenges. But I met the kindest Koreans. One taught me how to repair mobile phones, a skill that has come in very handy. Another hired me back even though I had quit after he found out I was struggling with the court case. I was offered shelter and legal support by strangers who just wanted to help migrants in distress like myself. Before I left Korea, my colleagues even raised money to spend on anything I wanted. There were moments and people who touched me deeply.It turns out that my connection with Korea only grew stronger after I returned to Nepal in 2015. While I was still trying to decide what was next for me, a friend recommended me to his Korean client who wanted to go trekking in Nepal. At that time, I did not even know that many Koreans came to Nepal for trekking — and a majority of them hiked to Annapurna Base Camp. The client also ran a trekking outfit company in Korea and started recommending me to people.I started organising treks for more and more Korean guests, and soon my Seoul Pokhara Travel and Tours became known in Korea as one of the best Nepali travel companies. I have employed four Nepali Korea returnees and two who have passed the Korean exam and are waiting to go to Korea for work.My clients are entirely Korean, and the business was going quite well until the Covid-19 pandemic struck. But tourism has revived and on 12 September alone, for example, I was looking after 12 Korean trekking teams simultaneously. There are some other trekking agencies in Pokhara also catering to Korean clients. Soon, I plan to also start a Korean restaurant in Pokhara.I may have learnt Korean out of desperation to tell my story in Korea, but it is serving me well today back home in Nepal.Translated from a conversation with the author. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Diaspora Diaries</a> is a regular column in Nepali Times providing a platform for Nepalis to share their experiences of living, working, studying abroad.Authentic and original entries can be sent to <a href="mailto:editors@nepalitimes.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">editors@nepalitimes.com</a> with Diaspora Diaries in the subject line. Read also: <a style="font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.15px; background-color: #ffffff; outline: 0px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-home-and-the-deep-blue-sea/">Between home and the deep blue sea</a>, Prakash Gurung

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Speaking the language of overseas work

<figure><img width="816" height="612" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1df69c7e80680e0af3e3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Aakash KC finally flew to Korea on 13 December to rejoin his job after being stranded in Nepal for two years. Photo: AAKASH KC</figcaption></figure>When Aakash KC flew to Kathmandu from Seoul in February 2020, he was looking forward to a three-month break in Nepal from his job in South Korea. Little did he know that he would be stranded for almost two agonising years in Nepal due to the pandemic. KC finally flew back to Seoul on Monday after months of uncertainty because of confusing information on Covid, flip-flopping rules. “As per Korean law, I had to come to Nepal for three months before resuming with same employer for another five years,” KC said as he prepared to leave. KC is part of the much-coveted <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Korea-treating-Nepali-migrant-workers-right,2813" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Employment Permit Scheme (EPS)</a>, a government-to-government partnership between Nepal and Korea to supply workers, and is luckier than most other Nepali migrants because he had an employer who waited to have him back. KC had to renew his Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance (CCVI) multiple times with help from his Korean employer. He said: “I used to feel anxious when co-workers from Sri Lanka had returned to their jobs in Korea whereas my future was uncertain.” KC’s employer was not just patient, he even sent him financial help during the early months of the pandemic. It is a testament to the hard work and trust that Nepali workers like KC have built with their Korean employers that they are willing to do that.  <img width="455" height="286" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1df89c7e80680e0af3e4jpeg.jpg" alt="">KC did not look for any other options during the past two years, although he was tempted to prepare for Nepal’s civil service exams. He has retained his language skills, and earlier this week was excited about returning to Korea. To be sure, not everyone is as lucky as KC. Sunita Gurung worked on a farm in Korea, and received her CCVI for continued employment. But her employer cancelled because the process dragged on for too long, leaving her heartbroken and helpless. “I understand why he did that,” Gurung said. “How long can an employer wait when I could not confirm when I could return?” For over 10,000 other Nepalis who passed the competitive Korean language and skills exams, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-mobility/crossborder-virus-and-nepali-migrant-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemic has been a roller coaster ride</a>. They were too far along the process to let go of lucrative job opportunities in Korea that guarantees high wages and a secure future.  <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1dfa9c7e80680e0af3e5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Nepali workers boarding a Korean Air flight in Kathmandu this week after being stuck for nearly two years. Korea is opening up cautiously to see if there is another Covid surge. Photo: AAKASH KC</figcaption></figure>The workers saw the Gulf and Malaysia opening up after the lockdowns, and could not understand why Korea was still closed. Some workers were under pressure from their families to take up whatever overseas job was available. “When my family saw others from the community headed to Gulf, they asked why I could not do the same. They don’t understand,” said one worker. All the uncertainty and false alarms over the past year and a half has taken a toll on the mental health of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Korean-kafala-migrants-in-Korea,4025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aspirants for Korea</a>. The lack of clear information also means confusion about whether the delay was due to Covid-19 restrictions in Nepal or Korea, vaccine status, or the result of insufficient diplomatic lobbying by the Nepal government.It has not helped that for almost three years, there has not been a Nepali ambassador in Seoul. Junior embassy staff do not have the same access and influence as an ambassador, and the country’s labour diplomacy has suffered as a result.“We knew it was due to public health concerns and the Korea government was using similar criteria to all EPS partner countries to assess whether to allow workers or not, but our government was also not being proactive,” said Askash KC who <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delayed-dreams-for-korea-bound-nepalis/">took to the streets</a> earlier this year to put pressure on the Nepal government to lobby with the Koreans.  <figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1dfc9c7e80680e0af3e6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Trilok Pant finally flew to Korea in October after waiting for nearly two years and is back at his job. "Work has started in full swing," he says. Photo: TRILOK PANT</figcaption></figure>The EPS Struggle Committee met government officials, including all five labour ministers in the past two years. A running joke within the Struggle Committee was that one labour minister who lasted only a few days in office earlier this year asked the members who had gone to appeal to him: “What is EPS?”The South Koreans had set three criteria for the corridors to resume: the presence of direct, regular flights to Incheon, all migrants buy Covid-19 insurance, and workers pay for ten-day quarantines on arrival in Korea. All these criteria were met, and despite the added cost to the workers, Nepalis finally started flying to Korea in October. Trilok Pant was among the first lot that went to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dead-end-of-the-korean-dream/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Korea</a> in October after spending 22 months here. “There was so much excitement among the 48 Nepalis who went on the first flight,” he said on the phone from Korea. “Work has started in full swing now.”Like KC, Pant was also lucky to have a kind employer who sent him money during the pandemic, and waited for him as he renewed his CCVI four times because it only had six-month validity. “On my first day out of quarantine, he took us out for dinner,” Pant recalled. “It was a happy reunion.” <figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1dff9c7e80680e0af3e7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Trilok Pant with his co-workers, including Nepalis, in Korea pre-pandemic. Photo: TRILOK PANT</figcaption></figure>In the 22 months that he was stranded in Nepal, Pant did not do any work because of the uncertainty about Korea. But Korean employers, too, have faced problems because their workers could not get back. Nepalis mostly are on jobs that locals will not do, especially not for the salaries for migrant workers. “Nepalis have a reputation for hard work and honesty, which worked to our advantage this time as our employers waited for us patiently amid all the uncertainty and inconvenience,” Pant added. For now, only a small proportion of those waiting have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-long-wait-before-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">able to rejoin jobs</a>, and the Koreans appear to opening up cautiously to see if there is a Covid surge. Only if all goes well in the coming months will more workers be let in. And there are thousands of Nepalis waiting to fly out.

Long wait over, Nepalis return to Korea

<figure><img width="777" height="1035" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda0e9c7e80680e092ed8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>One of many rallies organised by the EPS Struggle Committee in which Nepali migrant workers prevented from going to Korea have taken part. Photos: AJAY SODARI AND BIRENDRA BOGATI</figcaption></figure>From his early years, Bhim Oli from Dang knew that he wanted to go abroad to work and earn so that he could support his family. His dream, like that of many Nepali men, was to work hard and make a comfortable living for his family.On the top of that list for overseas job destinations was Korea. But the preparation costs for South Korea’s Employment Permit Scheme (EPS), language training, food and lodging expenses in Kathmandu were exorbitant.For the majority of Nepali migrant workers, the Gulf and Malaysia are final destination countries. But for Oli, Qatar was a means to an end. He took up a stint in Qatar as a waiter after completing his Bachelor’s, with a singular purpose of saving up enough so he could return and focus on his preparations for Korean language tests.The now-familiar acronym EPS usually conjures up images of tens of thousands of Nepalis lining up to register for the mandatory Korean language tests. Since 2008, over 66,000 Nepalis have obtained jobs in South Korea through this program in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The exam itself has been taken by a staggering 585,000 Nepalis, but less than one-tenth of the test-takers eventually get a job in Korea.  <figure><img width="720" height="405" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda119c7e80680e092ed9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After toiling for 18 months in Qatar as a ‘target earner’, Oli returned to Nepal with savings of Rs650,000 to begin his preparation for the Korean EPS. In 2017, he failed his exam. Undeterred, he studied harder for the next one and was one of the 7,996 who passed it, out of 82,264 test-takers in 2018.“I cannot afford to go to the US. The only option for people like us to try to go to the US is via irregular channels, which costs over 40 lakhs (Rs4 million). Savings in the Middle East or Malaysia are nominal, so I was eyeing Japan and Korea as the best alternatives,” he explains. “In Korea, I can expect to earn one crore (Rs 10 million) in 4 years 10 months, an amount that would be impossible elsewhere.”But his dreams came crashing down with the onset of the pandemic. Oli was matched with his employer on 3 March, 2020. But unfortunately his employer cancelled his contract in December after he had been waiting for over six months.The pandemic has thrown the prospect of the new cohorts of aspirant EPS workers in a limbo. The flight restrictions, lockdown and the classification of Nepal by South Korea in the ‘red zone’ for public health reasons has riddled the past year with uncertainties.“They have other options to bring in workers from East Asian countries where mobility has not been barred, so it is understandable,” Bhim Oli says. “Thankfully, I have been matched with another employer but am worried that I will again lose this opportunity if things don’t change soon.”His story is not unique.For Ajay Sodari from Kailali, the lure of South Korea came from the transformation he saw in the living standard in the life of an acquaintance. It seemed within reach for someone like him from a humble background, if he only put in the effort. Unfortunately, he failed the Korean language test in Kathmandu in 2018. Unable to afford another expensive stay in Kathmandu, he went to Himachal, India for four months to pick apples, earned around Rs80,000 and used that money to survive in the city as he prepared diligently. “I studied around 18 hours a day for the language test—I had not studied that hard for my SLC, 12th or Bachelors, but I finally managed to pass in 2019,” says Sodari. It was also the year that the government of Korea made an additional skills test mandatory, so it took another few months of preparation. Luckily, he passed. Altogether, 92,000 individuals took the test that year, of which only 12,000 passed.Sodari was selected to work in an aluminium company. He was thrilled when the cabinet decided in May 2020, to let workers head to South Korea. But the decision has been confined to announcements, as none of the migrants have been able to travel.Frustrated, and knowing that there were thousands of others in his situation, Sodari started a group called <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-overseas-workers-who-remain-behind/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-overseas-workers-who-remain-behind/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617157112261000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEr9_-0OaHXf451xm0auj-YqR5hKQ">EPS Struggle Committee</a> and staged a protest at the Mandala in Kathmandu. They have held three such <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-long-wait-before-flight/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-long-wait-before-flight/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617157112261000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHQsUwKBvvQc3UPCcNadPKprzpdFg">protests</a> in the last 13 months, bringing together hundreds of migrants from all over Nepal, but to no avail.The group has turned to various authorities for help, beginning from labour ministers, to Korean and Nepal government authorities. While they are only met with empty promises and false assurances, they remain persistent in their efforts to get things moving. But the absence of a Nepali ambassador in Seoul for the last two years has adversely affected active diplomacy. <figure><img width="1822" height="1236" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda139c7e80680e092edajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The issuance of visas has been stopped due to public health concerns. Until last week, Nepal was included in the red zone. But as of last week, they have lifted Nepal from this category and partially started issuing visas in certain categories, like for students,” says Indra Gautam, Director of the EPS Department. “Gradually, they will start issuing visas for EPS workers as well and we are putting in the necessary requests.”In addition to public health concerns, the Korean side has also expressed concern about a high number of fraudulent cases among test-takers from Nepal. Gautam says that this is currently being worked on, “We are now looking to conduct the exams online and to use biometrics to address the issue of fraud. The preparations are ongoing and once done, we will release information about the dates for the next examinations.”The men who have been waiting report that they have not just lost face in their families, but also money and suffered overwhelming mental stress. Sodari and other others in waiting say they do not want to be bargaining chips in the negotiations. “We have invested so much time and money and cannot afford to give up on our dreams. But this has been dragging on for so long, we cannot invest in businesses here, migrate to another country because we will be left neither here nor there as this will eventually work out,” he says.Gautam says the preparation towards a more transparent testing system affects the dates for the new test-takers. It is not tied to the issuance of visas for outgoing workers which is due to a public health concern.Since 2008, Nepalis have been taking their chances in this highly competitive program alongside competitors from 15 other countries from South and Southeast Asia. The annual quota has fluctuated, which is attributed to the domestic labour demand in Korea as expressed by employers, diplomatic ties, and the number of workers who overstay their legally allotted time that can penalise the country quota in the subsequent years. <figure><img width="1752" height="806" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda169c7e80680e092edbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The volume of workers from Nepal and Cambodia, in particular, had become relatively more important over the years. One of the reasons for it was the rising share of these <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30471" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30471&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617157112261000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFw-nkRksmltNSgesrDoce1dI364A">workers in the agriculture sector</a>. The number to be hired from Nepal remains uncertain. Korea's EPS was given the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30471">UN 2011 Public Service Award</a> in the 'Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service' category. An evaluation of this program in the Philippines, one of the 16 EPS partner countries, showed the impact on households of workers -- an <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/69347/1/731593413.pdf">increase in monthly expenditure</a> by 30-60% with most of it in health and education. In 2021, about 52,000 workers are expected to be hired from the partner countries.   To be sure, the aspirants are also aware that life in South Korea is not going to be easy as there are aspects that give the employer the upper hand. The difficulties in changing jobs and mismanaged expectations present a whole gamut of other challenges.  Nepalis who pass the EPS exams are educated, whereas the jobs they are offered are what are categorised as ‘dirty, dangerous and demeaning’. Mismatched expectations along with expectations from families can be unbearable for some. Some migrants succumb to the pressure as has been previously reported in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dead-end-of-the-korean-dream/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/dead-end-of-the-korean-dream/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617157112261000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEHeJ184AhaxNadCHqrToezGdnDkQ">Nepali Times</a>. Of the 143 deaths of Nepalis between 2009 and 2018, for example, 43 were suicide cases which got the attention of policymakers from both countries but little by way of action.  <figure><img width="720" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda189c7e80680e092edcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even after the onset of the pandemic, while aspirants are waiting to be employed in South Korea, the country itself has been receiving flak for certain measures it proposed. Recently, for example, a proposal requiring all foreign workers to get tested has received much criticism, including from the Nepali community in Korea. This proposal was quickly withdrawn <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-idUSKBN2BB0MK" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea-idUSKBN2BB0MK&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617157112261000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLRUNfgnGRZMgZwp56Cpy5LnkG_Q">in the face of criticism</a>.It is not just new workers who have been impacted by Covid-19. Of the estimated 10,000 EPS workers stranded, a significant number are committed workers who completed over four years of stay already and were returning. The Korean government has imposed a ‘4 years 10 months’ cap, a way to ensure that migrant workers under EPS cannot qualify for permanent residency, which is available to foreigners in Korea after they reside legally for five years or longer. <figure><img width="1378" height="1038" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda1b9c7e80680e092eddjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Prakash Shrestha, a member of the EPS Struggle Committee, is a returnee migrant, who wants to go back to Korea to the same employer. “Once we land in Korea, we already dream of returning to Korea as committed workers for another 4 years and ten months, so we can double our savings,” he says.Prior to moving to Korea, Shrestha worked in a restaurant in Kathmandu but was not able to save much with his monthly earnings of Rs 12,000.He competed with 64,000 individuals taking the EPS exam in 2014. His starting salary in Korea was Rs101,000. By the time he left in 2019, he was earning close to Rs300,000 a month.He was supposed to return at the end of February 2020 as a ‘committed worker’ but has been stuck in Nepal. “I was so close to flying out and resuming my job that would have been safe for the next four years. What a difference a few days can make,” adds Shrestha, admitting that the stress has taken a toll on his mental health.“My employer, luckily, has been patient and is willing to wait for me. Having worked with the same employer for four and a half years, we have developed trust and familiarity with each other so I feel fortunate,” says Shrestha. Like many others, he is now waiting for the announcement to be allowed to fly back to Korea.

Upasana Khadka

Delayed dreams for Korea-bound Nepalis

<figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f779c7e80680e056e2ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Bandana Timalsina reaches out to touch her husband‘s face one last time before his cremation at Pashupati in August. Kedar Timalsina hung himself at a seafood factory in Busan where he worked. Photos: Ki Mindo/ The Seoul Shinmun</figcaption></figure>For many Nepalis, it is dream to find work in Korea where they expect to earn many times more than in Nepal. Yet, there is a dark side to the Korean Dream: between 2009 to 2018, there were 143 deaths of Nepali workers in South Korean soil, and of them 43 were suicides.The 31% suicide rate is much higher than workers from other nationalities. Among Burmese workers, there was a total of 51 deaths and 4 involved suicide, from 2011 to August 2019. Suicides rate is relatively low among Vietnamese migrant workers with zero suicide out of the 14 deaths from 2017 to August 2019.Most of these deaths involved E-9 non-professional employment visa holders who had been employed at farms and factories that suffer a chronic labour shortage. While these tragic deaths repeat every year, the South Korean government does not have a clue why so many migrant workers make such an extreme choice."Nepali migrant workers who come to South Korea under the employment permit system tend to be highly educated," notes Seo Seonyoung, a Sociology researcher at Yonsei University. “Their families have great expectation for them, but as soon in Korea they find themselves at the lowest rung of the workforce ladder. The unbearable stress could eventually force them to commit suicide." <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f7a9c7e80680e056e2fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A mother holds the photograph of her son, who suffered from depression while working in South Korea, and died after he returned. There have been 43 suicides by Nepali workers in Korea between 2009-2018.</figcaption></figure>There are growing voices calling for a systematic improvement to end the vicious cycle. The South Korean government has been trying to improve ties as part of its 'New Southern Policy' to balance its need for migrant workers to address the shortfall of workers.There are now 2.42 million migrant workers in Korea, and the number has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. Local farms and factories cannot function without migrant workforces.Hong Sung Soo, Law professor at Sookmyung Women's University says: "Discrimination and xenophobia towards migrants are not only inappropriate, but also not clever at all if we consider our industrial and demographic reality."Labour rights groups and health activists have been trying to find out why there is such a high suicide rate among Nepali migrant workers in farms and factories in South Korea."It is not just a single factor, there is a web of complex reasons that trap migrant workers towards the extreme choice," explains Jeong Young-seob, Co-director of the group, Migrants Act.A field survey in August of 141 migrant workers from Nepal by the Seoul Shinmun newspaper, Green Hospital and the Migrants Trade Union showed that there were four main factors: gap between expectation and reality of working in Korea, lack of exit, high expectations from loved ones back home, and ruined relationships in Nepal.Great Expectations = Great DisappointmentsTo aspiring Nepali migrant workers, South Korea is a land of opportunity, where they hope to earn five to eight times more than in a job back home. Even highly educated young Nepalis apply for an E-9 visa to South Korea. But when they arrive, they often struggle with harsh labour conditions and discrimination. Of the respondents in the survey, 28% cited a gap between the reality of their work and the expectations they had. Like Surendra, 28, who has been working in a mushroom farm for three years. He has a degree from Tribhuvan University.He says: "Before I came here, I was excited about earning Rs300,000 a month, but I had no idea about working and living conditions. Back home we rarely experience working for 12 hours without any real break. I was not even learning any skills, it was simple manual labour.”The survey showed that 45.6% of the respondents worked more than 52 hours a week, and 19% said they worked 60 hours a week, and only 26% said they had a normal 5-day work week.No ExitAfter working in South Korea for 16 months, Nepali migrant worker Shrestha, 27, jumped from the rooftop of his company dorm in June 2017. He had been suffering from insomnia as he struggled to adjust to alternate day and night shifts. His suicide note said: ‘I have been seeing doctors for health problems and sleep disorders. It did not improve. I wanted to quit and find another job but the company did not allow it. I wanted to go back to Nepal to recover, but the company said no.’ The survey showed that 71% of respondents had tried to find a new job, and 36% of them said this was because of long working hours and dangerous conditions.Migrant workers who come to South Korea under the employment permit system are allowed to change workplaces up to three times within a three-year period. But it requires permission from their employers.Hard WorkNo matter how harsh and hostile the work environment in Korea, returning to Nepal is not an option for most. It was not easy for them to come to Korea in the first place, and they carry the weight of their family's expectations on their shoulders."If migrant workers go back, the villagers would criticise them for forsaking a great opportunity, people will laugh at their failure and brand them weak. Caught between a rock and a hard place, many Nepali migrant workers commit suicide," explained Udaya Rai, the Nepali head of the Migrants Trade Union.Ruined RelationshipsWhat sustains migrant workers despite harsh working conditions in Korea is love of families back home. However, when their relationship collapses, it leads to great emotional stress. Tej Bahadur Gurung, 29, had two friends who committed suicide due to family or relationship problems.Kham Gurung, 45, recalled: "I had to deal with a family issue while I was working non-stop in Korea, but I couldn't afford to go back. That really tormented me."Naivety and lack of exposure to the outside world among Nepali youth who need better jobs to take care of their families creates a problem, says Kapil B Dahal of the Department of Anthropology at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.Dahal says there have been no systematic study of suicides among Nepali migrant workers in Korea, or elsewhere. The Korean Ministry of Justice keeps a record of the deaths of migrant workers by country, but does not have data on the cause of death."Nepali migrant workers in the Middle East and Europe also commit suicides, yet the Nepal government and politicians do not do anything. Nepali migrant workers make a great contribution to the country's economy, but their health is overlooked and their suicides are ignored," Dahal says.The Nepal Embassy in Seoul offers counseling services for migrant workers, but Udaya Rai of the Migrant Trade Union questioned its effectiveness. "They are not interested in addressing these deaths and suicides, they fear the South Korean government might slash the quota for Nepalis if we start to speak up. That is why they stay silent and hurriedly send bodies back to Nepal." <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f7d9c7e80680e056e30jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Wrapped in cardboard, the coffin containing the remains of Kedar Timalsina arrives at Kathmandu airport in September.</figcaption></figure>Kedar Timalsina, 28 A coffin was rolled out of the arrival area of Kathmandu airport recently. Inside was the body of Kedar Timalsina who hanged himself on 20 July in Busan inside the warehouse of the seafood processing factory where he worked."This paper doesn't say anything about why Kedar killed himself," family members at Kathmandu airport said, examining his death certificate from South Korean police.Kedar’s family could not understand why he would kill himself. It had been only 25 days since his wife Bandana gave birth to their first son. "I even heard Kedar threw a big party in Korea to celebrate the birth of the baby. Why would such a man kill himself? It doesn't make any sense," said Bandana’s brother. Kedar had an aging mother who just turned 60, and would need his care more than before.What further frustrates the grieving family is the silence and indifference from both their government and the Korean authorities. For the Nepal Embassy in Seoul its responsibility was over after shipping the coffin to Kathmandu. South Korean police never investigated surveillance camera footage at the factory, or forensics on Kedar’s phone. <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f809c7e80680e056e31jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Bandana Timalsina with her son in her lap at their home in Dong Kharka village in September. The baby was only 25 days old when her father Kedar Timalsina took his own life while working at a factory in South Korea. </figcaption></figure>According to South Korean police, Kedar’s co-worker had told them he had recently purchased some land in Nepal, which turned out to be a fraud. Kedar’s family says that is not true because the land he bought two years ago had nearly doubled in price. None of Kedar’s personal belongings were returned to his family, and Korean police said the Embassy had told them the family did not want them back. The family said the Embassy had never contacted them about his belongings."We are responsible for confirming the identity and death certificate in order to promptly return the body back to family in Nepal. The Embassy does not send back items unless they are important," the Embassy of Nepal replied when asked about it.At the cremation site in Pashupati, Bandana wept as she caressed her husband’s face for the last time. “What do I do with our baby?” she cried. It took four hours for the fire to consume Kedar’s body, and with it his ‘Korean Dream’. <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f829c7e80680e056e32jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Maiya Gurung looks at a picture of her daughter with her husband Bal Bahadur Gurung, who committed suicide by jumping off a bridge in Seoul in June. After failing to secure a new job, Gurung was facing deportation back to Nepal. </figcaption></figure>Bal Bahadur Gurung, 32 "He really loved the children. These kids remind me of my husband every time I see them," said Maiya Gurung, 28, wiping tears with a tissue under her shades.Maiya's husband Bal Bahadur Gurung jumped off the Wolleung Bridge in Seoul, on 12 June, and died instantly after being hit by a passing vehicle. CCTV footage showed Bal Bahadur walking nervously back-and-forth over the bridge several times, hesitating. He had become an ‘unregistered’ migrant two days ago, and feared deportation.Bal Bahadur entered South Korea with a proper work visa in October 2017. In March, he left the company and registered himself at the Ministry of Labor to find another job. Migrant workers automatically lose their right to stay in the country if they fail to secure employment within three months. Bal Bahadur went back to Nepal to spend a short time with his family then returned to Korea, but had no luck finding a job within the three month deadline.Maiya Gurung came to South Korea to take her husband’s remains. Her neighbours tell her that her husband looked so happy when he was visiting Pokhara two months before his suicide. Shocked by his youngest son’s tragic death, Bal Bahadur’s father, a former soldier, is suffering from amnesia.Maiya’s seven-year-old daughter asks her: “Did Daddy die?”“No,” she replies, “your father has gone abroad to work." Maiya Gurung weeps as she tells us later, “I want to die, too. But when I think of these poor children, I can't." <figure><img width="720" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f859c7e80680e056e33jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dhan Raj Ghale’s hand-written suicide note in English. He took his own life eight years ago in Korea after an altercation with a Mongolian worker.</figcaption></figure>Dhan Raj Ghale, 40 ‘I am enocent. I have no mistake. Company cheating me. I am no crazy […] company take my signiture [...] please investigation please’ This is the note left by Dhan Raj Ghale’s hand-written suicide note in English before he hanged himself in 2011 while working at a futon factory in Daegu City. Dhan even had a plane ticket booked to go back to Nepal.Upon seeing a Korean reporter in August in Pokhara, Dhan’s wife Man Maya Ghale, 48, and Dhan’s younger brother Bhim Raj Ghale, 36, recalled the events of eight years ago.Bhim said his older brother was a hard-working man who loved his family more than anything else in the world. “After seeing the letters, I thought Dhan must have been bullied at work,” Bhim recalled.Dhan also left another short letter written in Nepali: ‘I’ve done nothing wrong. I once fought with another worker from Mongolia. I don’t know what that Mongolian guy told Korean people…’He also wrote twice to the manager of the company: ‘You don’t talk to me anymore. I don’t understand. Please tell me why.’ <figure><img width="960" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f879c7e80680e056e34jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Dhan Bahadur Ghale's brother Bhim with his suicide note at the family home in Pokhara in September.</figcaption></figure>The company, however, denied there was bullying, and that Dhan was never asked to sign any document. Dhan may have found Korea’s alternate day and night shifts difficult, and had been working night shifts for two months before his death. “My husband told me he could not sleep when he was working night shifts,” Man Maya recalled.Dhan’s daughter and son were ten and five at the time of their father’s death. Now they are in college and school. "I will never forgive those people who mistreated my father,” Dhan's son vows revenge, and the siblings have made joint promises to themselves they will never go overseas to work no matter what.Nevertheless, Man Maya and Bhim said they did not hate Koreans. “You see in South Korea, as well as in Nepal, there are good people and bad people. Sadly, my husband met bad people. I don’t want to blame all Koreans because of them. I just want those bad ones to be punished.”Some names have been changed.Ki Mindo is a reporter for The Seoul Shinmun key5088@seoul.or.kr These articles are reprinted under special arrangement with the Seoul Shinmun which published the <a href="https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20191001500198">stories</a> in Korean on 23 September, 2019 as part of a Special Series titled 'The 2019 Migrant Report: Betrayed Korean Dreams'.More stories from Nepali Times on Nepalis in Korea:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Korean-kafala-migrants-in-Korea,4025">Korea Kafala</a> by Om Astha Rai and Seulki Lee in Seoul<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Korea-treating-Nepali-migrant-workers-right,2813">Doing it the right way</a> by Seulki Lee<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/interview/interview-with-Korean-ambassador-Choi-Yong-Jin,2767">“Hope Nepal’s difficulties end soon” </a> Interview with Korean Ambassador hoe Yong Jin

Dead end of the Korean Dream

One aspect of colonial cartography of South Asia leaps out in this must-see exhibition – while the coastline of India, Ceylon, Burma are extraordinarily accurate in maps made more than 200 years ago, the Himalayan hinterland is wholly approximate and inexact. The accuracy improves as modern survey techniques are introduced by atlas-makers, but even then formidable terrain and forbidden lands thwart precision. Map aficionados will be fascinated by the 40 antique maps from The Rajbhandari Collection on display at the exhibition ‘Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making at Kathmandu Art Gallery’ at Baber Mahal Revisited from 13 February - 17 March.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="3485" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The first maps were made on clay tablets and cave paintings, but maps improved with Chinese maritime charts of Southeast Asia and beyond. Nautical maps created during the European Age of Exploration used geometry, latitude and longitude. Competition for colonial riches rested on the accuracy of these maps. The Portuguese had the lead in the 15th century, but were soon overtaken by the Spanish with Columbus voyaging to India but landing up in the Americas.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="4030" height="3407" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  European mapping of the coastline of peninsular India &nbsp;began after Vasco de Gama sailed around the Horn of Africa to arrive at what is now Kerala in 1498. The British and French struggled for control of India, and the Carnatic Wars of the 19th century were extensions of their rivalry in Europe.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2842" height="4160" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  While most of the maps at this exhibition were commissioned by the East India Company and the Survey of India, there are quite a few made by Parisian cartographers and feature Pondicherry and the Danish trading outpost at Tranquebar. Followed chronologically, the maps show improvements in cartographic techniques. The earliest French map L’Inde of J D Barbié du Bocage from 1760 is a copper engraving with hand painted colours demarcating boundaries. ‘Napaul’, ‘Gorka’ and ‘Catmando’ are depicted. The rivers of India are precisely drawn, as is the Brahmaputra (Yarou Tsanpou) even though locations across the rest of Tibet are rough estimates.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1675" height="604" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The 1781 map Carte des Indes en deçà et au-delà du Gange of Rigobert Bonne has slightly more detail about Nepal with even ‘Pattan’ and ‘Bagmally’ river marked. William Darton’s 1802 map has ‘Nogarcot’ and ‘Mocaumpour’ wrongly placed to the east of the valley of ‘Napaul’. Samuel Arrowsmith’s 1828 map ‘India and the Birman Empire’ has Nepal’s rough boundaries demarcated for the first time within a hand-coloured green border, with the mountain ‘Dholagiri’ and ‘Dhunchi’ appearing for the first time. The 1835 map by Boston-based American cartographer Thomas Bradford has a more precise ‘Burrampooter’ river with ‘Sgigatoe’, ‘Lassa’ and ‘Bootan’ marked. In Nepal, ‘Batgan’, ‘Macwampour’ and ‘Lelit Pattan’ appear near ‘Catmandu’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552" data-rendition-name="original" width="4094" height="3646" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  One striking landmark appears consistently through a century of map-making from 1760 onwards, and that is the sacred Yamdrok Tso near Lhasa. It is precisely located, although it is drawn as a circular lake called ‘Jamdro or Palto Lake’ till J Bartholomew’s lithographic map in 1893 Constable’s Hand Atlas of India. Bartholomew’s map is also where ‘Mt Everest’ appears for the first time with its altitude ’29,002ft’ after Peak XV was calculated to be the highest mountain in the world by the Survey of India. Meanwhile, ‘Kinchinjunga’ appears in some of the earlier maps from the mid-1800s, north of ‘Dorjeloo’. The maps did not only have locations of towns, rivers and mountains but also other interesting facts about places. History buffs will find much to pore over in these maps.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="2762" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Many have sites of major British battles while conquering India. The ‘British India’ map by J Rapkin has dates and times of the ‘Principle Massacres’ during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The map also shows India’s growing railway network with completed lines and those ‘in progress’. Narrow gauge lines can be seen in successive maps snaking up to the Nepal border to haul sal logs for sleepers for India’s expanding railway network. Many maps were drawn by British military intelligence. One even has the Kuti route of the Nepal Army while invading Tibet in 1791, and the Chinese Army’s advance in hot pursuit through Kerung to Nuwakot.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132" data-rendition-name="original" width="1173" height="679" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Pre-1857 maps show the western Tarai as a part of British India, but in later ones the Naya Muluk districts of Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur have reverted back to Nepal. The maps clearly mark Nepal as an independent nation, and represent it differently from Indian princely states. The Atlas of India of 1846 shows the ‘Dominion of the King of Nepal’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4149" height="3682" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Visitors will be curious about Nepal's claim to Limpiyadhura and Lipu Lek. A map by Mason &amp; Payne from 1846 clearly shows the ‘Kallee River’ as being the border between Nepal and British India, with Kalapni within Nepal. The Lipu Gad tributary (which India claims is the border) is not marked. Some other maps, however, seem to show the border not following the Kali river to Limpiyadhura but the tributary up to Lipu Lek.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f" data-rendition-name="original" width="875" height="1215" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making&nbsp; Kathmandu Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited&nbsp; 13 February – 17 March For guided walk-throughs and curatorial tours: +977 1-5318048 Panel discussions: -Cartographic Practices from the &nbsp;Gorkha Polity to the Present with Buddhi Narayan Shrestha and Kanak Mani Dixit&nbsp; Friday, 13 February, 4pm -Mapping Beyond Borders with Akhilesh Upadhyay and Amish Raj Mulmi Wednesday, 25 February, 4pm&nbsp;

Map land

The recent Nepali Times Substack post titled ‘Unresident Nepalis’ made me realise I also belong to the category of Nepalis who are technically Non-resident Nepali (NRN), but want to ‘permanently reside inside Nepal’.&nbsp;
Although this was meant as a joke, it is ironic that many of those who go abroad long to come back home, and those who have not emigrated cannot think of a good enough reason to stay back in Nepal.&nbsp;
As soon as the NRN Citizenship was officially introduced in late 2023, I had tried to apply for one but was shut down before even submitting my documents as the district administration office firmly told my then lawyer that I needed to prove “तिन पुस्ता” proof of three generations of Nepalis from my father’s side.&nbsp;
My late father was from Japan and relinquished his citizenship to become a Naturalised Nepali citizen in 2006. Three years ago, I dismissed the rejection with the thought that I will try again later when government officials would gain more experience with such applications.&nbsp;
Now, with an ailing mother and an energetic toddler, I felt the need to act soon and reached out to a law firm that specialises in NRN citizenship applications. To my surprise, they were positive after reviewing my documents, although they did warn me that we may need to overcome some obstacles.&nbsp;
In 2023, I had applied in the district office where my father had received his naturalised citizenship, but now the suggestion was to try from the district where my mother had received her Nepali ancestral origin “बंसागज” citizenship.&nbsp;
The lawyers pointed to the NRN citizenship mandate which clearly states that it can be acquired via a Nepali origin father, mother, grandfather or grandmother. The firm helped arrange the necessary documents required and the first step was to get a “सिफारिस” &nbsp;recommendation letter from my mother’s ward office.&nbsp;
This was the first hurdle as the ward office was unsure if they could issue such a letter, so they checked in with their head office, and luckily we received the go ahead. After persistent follow up from the law associates, they were able to provide us with a recommendation letter and we filled out the application forms.&nbsp;
The law firm wisely suggested that I take the paperwork myself to my mother’s district office while they stayed in the background in case I needed help explaining my situation.&nbsp;
With a big smile and cheerful tone, I dutifully followed the process and to my surprise, I found most of the officials ready to help without creating unnecessary hurdles. The application has to be signed off by the Chief District Officer (CDO) or Assistant CDO and just when I thought wow, I am going to breeze through this, one officer noticed that my father’s naturalised citizenship was from a different district and told me that I should apply for my NRN from there.&nbsp;
I explained that my father has already passed away and as he was not originally a Nepali, therefore it is not possible for me to get my NRN from his documents, as the requirement is ancestral “बंसागज” citizenship. The officer then went to check with their seniors and later told me that I would need police verification as an extra precaution.&nbsp;
Off I went to the police headquarters where they issued a sealed letter to be given to the police station that was in the same vicinity as my mother’s ward office. At the station I was told to get four people who are not my relatives to testify our documents are true.&nbsp;
This process happened to be more stressful than dealing with the government offices. At first, it turned out that most of my mother’s old neighbours had already passed away or had citizenship papers from another area. Others confirmed their availability, but later had conflicting schedules. Luckily, one very helpful old neighbour was able to arrange for enough people to verify the documents.&nbsp;
Encouraged that the end of the tunnel was in sight, I went back to the district office with all the requested documents, and after some initial pushback, I was finally referred to meet the official who signs off the documents before it goes to the CDO.&nbsp;
As luck would have it, the officials were in a meeting that lasted more than two hours, and I had to give my mother her insulin shot and noodles from the cafeteria in the waiting area.&nbsp;
When we were finally able to meet the officer, he didn’t even look at my papers properly and started questioning my lawyers whether they had even read the law, how could I apply for Nepali citizenship when I already had a Japanese passport, etc. He somehow assumed that I was looking to get a normal Nepali citizenship from my mother’s side, and we informed him that I was only looking to get an NRN citizenship, after which his tone became more apologetic and said that he would need to look into the law more closely.&nbsp;
It had already been three full days of working through each step of the process, and I had no problem waiting another day for the conclusion.&nbsp;
Perhaps because this NRN citizenship is a fairly new law and perhaps a lot of NRNs apply from the Nepal’s embassies in their country of domicile, throughout my experience, officials kept on telling me that a case such as mine has not been processed before.&nbsp;
My case being that I have never had a Nepali citizenship, my father having a naturalised Nepali citizenship and my mother being the only 100% Nepali in the family. I kept on saying that just because it has never been done before does not mean that it cannot be done, and sure enough, the next day the officer signed off on my documents, even kindly saying that they should have highly respected my application upon learning about my late father and his contributions to Nepal.&nbsp;
Although the intricacies of the NRN citizenship law have not been fully hacked out such as the transfer of land ownership, it is definitely a positive step in securing the rights and aspirations of fellow NRNs as many would agree that no matter where we go, “यो मन त मेरो नेपाली हो!”&nbsp;
Sonia Miyahara, Managing Director of Hotel Everest View, Trans Himalayan Tours &amp; Trekking Pvt Ltd &amp; Himalaya Kanko Kaihatsu Co. Ltd.

How I got my NRN Citizenship in Nepal

The arrest on 25 January of six people on charges of insurance fraud has brought the scandal of fake helicopter rescue of trekkers in Nepal to the fore once more, denting the image of the tourism industry. Trekking companies, helicopter operators and hospitals were said to be in cahoots to carry out medical evacuations that were not necessary. In some cases, even the rescues were said to be fake with false names of ‘patients’ and their ailments. The six who were arrested were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) with <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/travel-leisure/nepal-s-rescue-helicopter-scam-casts-doubt-on-tourism-credibility2" target="_blank">cheating insurance companies</a>of millions of dollars in the past four years with more than 300 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">fake chopper medevacs</a> from the base of Himalayan peaks to hospitals in Kathmandu. Nepali personnel of three companies, Nepal Charter Service, Everest Experience and Mountain Rescue were accused of heavily overcharging &nbsp;for fraudulent rescues, faking or inflating medical bills, and claiming payment of over $18 million over the years, the CIB said.&nbsp; In some cases, trekkers themselves who do not want to walk back along the same trail to Everest Base Camp or other routes, and pretend to be sick, are also said to be involved in the scam. “Tourism will attract opportunists, that is true everywhere,” explains Raj Gyawali of <a href="https://socialtours.com/" target="_blank">socialtours</a> and a partner of <a href="https://ethicaltravelportal.com/" target="_blank">Ethical Travel Portal</a>. “Our responsibility as an industry is to weed them out, protect what matters, and keep tourism rooted in passion, integrity, and long-term value.” The scam got <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/world/asia/mount-everest-helicopter-insurance-fraud.html" target="_blank">wide international attention</a>, and tainted the reputation of Nepal’s mountain tourism sector that employs up to 1 million people. International media headlined allegations that trekker food was spiked to cause diarrhoea to force evacuations. Despite the bad publicity, tourism operators see a silver lining. It shows that Nepal is cleaning up its act and the system is working. Besides, the cheaters are in a minority in an industry that provides some of the best organised and most experienced mountain tourism service in the world.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Helicopter medevac scam NT"> </figure>  “After years of talk and investigation, we are now seeing arrests and it’s encouraging to finally see action. This didn’t happen overnight,” Gyawali says. “The post GenZ interim government works with much less politics, we are seeing a functional system for the first time in decades in Nepal.”&nbsp; This is not a new story. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Insurance,361" target="_blank">Nepali Times first covered </a>trekking insurance scams in 2013, following up on an investigation by the British Mountaineering Council in <a href="https://www.thebmc.co.uk/" target="_blank">Summit magazine</a> about insurance fraud involving fake helicopter rescues. In <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">another news item</a> published in this paper in 2018 cited an investigation by insurance watchdog <a href="https://www.travellerassist.co/" target="_blank">Traveller Assist</a> which showed that a third of the 1,600 helicopter rescues in Nepal that year were fraudulent, costing up to $4 million. Insurance companies gave the Nepal government <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-trekking-industry-in-damage-control-mode" target="_blank">an ultimatum</a> to clean up its act, and an investigation committee was formed and 13 companies said to be involved were named. It now looks like although insurance fraud declined, it was still continuing to some extent till 2025. In the cut-throat competition in Nepal’s mountain tourism industry, companies undercut each other, and there are some trying to make a quick buck. These rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. Given Nepal’s remote terrain and extreme weather along Himalayan trekking routes, helicopter rescues are vital in saving hundreds of lives every year, rescuing trekkers and mountaineers suffering from acute mountain sickness, stomach or lung infections. “Nepal has a unique advantage over other Himalayan countries like India, Pakistan, or China because it allows private helicopter companies to conduct rescues,” Gyawali says. “This makes rescues faster and more accessible, often life-saving.” The real problem is that sometimes rescues take too long because of &nbsp;permission needed from multiple government agencies to conduct rescues near the Chinese border, which is considered sensitive. Last year, a mountaineer died on Himlung Himal because a helicopter company could not get clearance in time for a rescue.

Fake rescues hurt Himalayan tourism

This is the 83rd 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. Spain is regularising over 500,000 undocumented workers, and Nepalis come to me inquiring about the program. Those who benefit from it will be very lucky, as it is a life-changing opportunity. I know because I too benefited from the last large scaled regularisation program back in 2005. I left Nepal in 2000 and went to Germany, Belgium, France before landing in Spain. Things were pretty bad in Nepal back then with the Maoist conflict and strikes.&nbsp; Our business was impacted. There was not much hope. When you leave Nepal, you want to make something of yourself and support your family back home. But you have to dream in phases.&nbsp; The first dream is to get ‘kagaj’ or a temporary residence card (TRC). Only then can you focus on your actual dreams. Whether it was because the countries I traveled were not a good fit or because the chances of getting the document was low, I kept country hopping until I reached Spain in 2004. I have not left since.&nbsp; In Spain, I felt at home. The European dream had brought me here, salaries were higher than Gulf which I thought was too strict. Then there was the possibility of traveling to seven European countries back then with the Schengen visa.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  But mostly, I just wanted a secure life for me and my family. What I valued the most about Europe was free healthcare and education. This is very important because in other parts of the world including Nepal, people from our background are just one small disease away from losing half our capital and we spend a significant amount of money on educational expenses. Nepali dais back then told me it would be best to go to either Italy, Spain or Portugal if we wanted to establish ourselves as paper work was relatively easier there than in other European countries. My initial days in Spain without the paper work were difficult. Not concerns about being raided or deported because if we had our apartment, even police let us be.&nbsp; But it was because of unfair pay. You could not go home. It made you tense and irritable. It affects your mental well-being. Some are smart enough to invest time in skills as they wait that will prove useful. Others get depressed. The main reason we migrate is to support our family and when you cannot do it properly and are uncertain about when things will get better, it bothers you. This happened to me too, sometimes I would be staring at the TV and would flinch when other Nepalis asked me what is wrong, and why I look so lost.&nbsp; The newspaper Canarias also interviewed us about our conditions (pictured). I had not gone home since five years, and there was no way to. There was no social media like now to talk to family. Calling home from booths was expensive, just once every three weeks. You did not talk. It was just to hear voices, pass the phone around to say a quick hello.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  When you are undocumented, you don’t get fair wages. But you make that sacrifice because my bigger goal was to establish myself and in the meantime, to support family with whatever I could earn with my wages. All we could do was wait for a regularisation program to open. When Spain initiated such a program in 2005, we were so relieved. We were relatively new so did not understand the language. Other Nepalis guided us and were well-versed in the latest updates via news and consultation with immigration lawyers which they would pass on to us. This time, the regularisation program will come through within 30 days, but back then it took time. I had to wait for nine months. Those nine months felt like nine years. I would keep visiting the cyber café to check my online status. When friends got their notification, I would get even more anxious and wonder if I would get rejected. Maybe today? Maybe tomorrow? It was a long wait. I wanted to know what it felt like to hold the card in my hand. Then I could hold my five-year-old baby back in Nepal in my hand. She was born after I left for Europe. When I finally got it after nine months, I could not be happier. I informed my family. I thanked God. Even when I was having food, I would put the card right in front of me on my table. Food never tasted better, I would eat twice the amount with happiness. It was a different kind of elation — it opened the doors for me to think about my dreams, my targets and how to realise them.&nbsp; There was no stopping me now, I was going to go far. But mostly, I could go home. In that flight back to Nepal after six years my heart swelled and I knelt on the tarmac to pay respect to my motherland. The minute I saw my parents, I touched their feet for blessings. My wife and I cried. My daughter was scared of me and would run away - it took some time for her to get comfortable with my presence. I still break down when I think about it.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  A few trips to Nepal later, I brought my family to Spain after I had fulfilled various rules for family migration. As expenses rise for a migrant, the choice is to either work extra hours or start your own business. Since I got the TRC, I have done it all: various jobs, businesses from selling handicraft from India to a cyber cafe, and the restaurant business.&nbsp; As an entrepreneur, I have seen highs when I could open a second restaurant branch or earn enough to buy an apartment. I have seen lows where I closed down businesses and sold apartment. I have gone from an entrepreneur to a wage job to recoup the losses I made by working extra hours. When I felt comfortable enough, I have gone back to starting a new business.&nbsp; I have met wonderful people who have supported me when I started my business either by providing me financial help or as business partners. I have been duped by my own business partner or worked with colleagues who did not want me to prosper. I now run a handicraft shop, an Indian restaurant and a café. The struggle never ends. There are many Nepalis like me who are running businesses here and have bought property. Back in 2004, Nepalis were mostly working in jobs and for a slight salary bump, we would keep switching jobs. Now, they run their own businesses and have bought property. The power of honesty and hard work that Nepalis are known for helps in businesses. Malaga is incredibly beautiful and reminds me of Thamel. The brilliant weather and beautiful beaches attracts tourists. The houses are kept small to preserve the culture and civilisation.&nbsp; I miss Nepal. I especially miss my father who passed in 2020. He was my biggest cheerleader as I struggled thousands of miles away, and always reminded me that he was here for back support. My mother reminds me to keep at it without worrying.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2077" height="1433" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  Sometimes I ask myself, what did I leave behind to earn money and provide a good life to my family? I regret not getting to spend more time with my father before he died. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not left Nepal, but I would have figured something out. Whatever determination I have shown in Spain to navigate my life here, I would have used it back home, too.&nbsp; I have missed important milestones like weddings, births, deaths and festivals. I have missed it all. Of my three daughters I missed the births of the first two in Nepal. I was only there for my youngest’s birth, in Spain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1630" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  The regularisation program from 2005 that allowed me to raise the living standards of a number of living around me and reunite with my family. This platform was life changing for me, and my loved ones. There are many Nepalis who will be applying for the 2026 regularisation program if they meet the criteria like presence in the country for at least five months before December 31, 2025. Other European countries have tightened their policies so many Nepalis are in Spain. This is a great opportunity for Nepalis. There are many more undocumented workers than the available quota, a majority from Latin America in Spain who want to benefit. The Nepali diaspora is helping raise awareness and provide accurate information about the processes so they can benefit and no one is left out. I do whatever I can to support young Nepalis because I was in the same position 20 years ago.

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