This is the 31st instalment of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries">Diaspora Diaries</a>, a regular series in Nepali Times with stories of Nepalis living and working abroad. It had been nine years and one month since I had been working in Malaysia. I was planning to return home for good after reaching the 10-year mark. But I met with a life-threatening accident at the steel plant where I worked. It was dangerous work, and the explosion reminded me in the cruelest way just how dangerous it was. I was unconscious for five days in hospital. When I came to, I realised I had lost my left hand. I wept. As a worker who has only done physical labour all my life, what was I worth without my hand? The idea of returning home made me uncomfortable. I felt like it would be better if I just died there in Malaysia, disappeared without trace. Losing my hand, I had also lost my sense of dignity, confidence. The desire to isolate myself just grew stronger. But as time passed, I started coming to terms with reality. Malaysia was a second home to me. Of my nine siblings, seven have previously worked there. I had family and friends there who reached out to me, took care of me, fundraised for me and showered me with love. It was evident that I had earned the goodwill of people who stood by me at the lowest point in my life. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/i-went-to-earn-and-learn">“I went to earn and learn”</a>, Nawaraj Shrestha  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050111054_29ca47bc62f769118e2a3412dc24ddbd0c06cb80c828968f3914c357f3128c86.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023050111054_29ca47bc62f769118e2a3412dc24ddbd0c06cb80c828968f3914c357f3128c86" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="DD 31"></figure>  Life in my village in Ramechhap was difficult growing up given our economic background. I had no education or skills. To get a job that paid liveable wages overseas felt like the only option. After nearly a decade in Malaysia, I was well liked by my supervisors. I had good duty hours. My struggle in Malaysia allowed me to provide well for my family. In those nine years, I came home thrice on vacation. I had gone there with dreams and ambitions, but I was on my final flight home, maimed and dispirited. I had narrowly escaped death, but dreaded homecoming. I only told my family back home about my situation 15 days after regaining consciousness at the hospital. They were shocked and heartbroken, and insisted I come home immediately. I hung around in Malaysia with a missing limb. I refused to return home without compensation for my workplace accident. I wanted to benefit from their social security scheme and although I heard there were provisions for such support, being able to access it entailed paperwork and constant follow up. In particular, it also required the employer’s proactive support and follow up as they are more aware of the SOCSO program and how to access it than workers like us are. I also relied on informal support of friends and family until I got this sorted out. I may have lost my limb but my responsibility as a father continued so I decided to persist. I had nothing to lose after what had happened. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/migrant-worker-returns-to-create-work-at-home">Migrant worker returns to create work at home</a>, Sunil Bhujel  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050111054_aeeb65b811ec159bf56745d013ba7c4dc2cf99e023a6d919ff6e7d1d707bc44a.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023050111054_aeeb65b811ec159bf56745d013ba7c4dc2cf99e023a6d919ff6e7d1d707bc44a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="DD 31"></figure>  I used to be offered food and basic items for free from shops frequented by Nepalis, Bangladeshis and Vietnamese. They gave it out of love, but I used to feel bad as I felt these were handouts out of pity and it was discomforting and perhaps hurt my pride. I would feel bad about having these ungrateful thoughts, and for the reluctance to appreciate their generosity and kindness. These were complex emotions to deal with. My persistence finally paid off. I now get a monthly disability benefit of 824 Ringgit ($185) via bank transfers from SOCSO every three months. If I face any problem, the foreign employment board in Kathmandu supports me. I will benefit from this throughout my life which is a relief. It has helped me with some of my household expenses, and has ensured my children’s education. The Governments of Nepal and Malaysia have signed a social security agreement that makes it easier for people to benefit from the scheme in case of accident or death. The agreement provided me with strong support to claim my dues. I am hopeful that the Nepal government can facilitate such support by following up with the employer or the Malaysian government because workers like me do not necessarily know how to work the system there. For workers who face mishaps like I did or families of the deceased, I hope I can serve as an example or source of information about what is possible during these trying times. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-better-or-verse-in-the-gulf">For better or verse in the Gulf</a>, Dalbir Singh Baraili  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023050111054_5a4d60cd9210c982486dbbff20870391d8c260c4d14b6388dc15deb4e7b3bed7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023050111054_5a4d60cd9210c982486dbbff20870391d8c260c4d14b6388dc15deb4e7b3bed7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="DD 31"></figure>  I get Rs2,100 as a disability benefit from the Nepal government as I am categorised under the ख category of disability and not क. But without my limb, I cannot work at all. What can I do with a meager Rs2,100? Which is why the lifelong Malaysian SOCSO benefit is important for me. Through the contributory Foreign Employment Welfare Fund and mandatory insurance under Nepal’s labour approval process, I also received a one time support of around Rs800,000 which provided some financial relief. Thankfully my labour permit was valid, if not, I would not have been eligible. I worry about those in my situation deprived of benefits because they do not have a valid labour permit or are unaware of social security benefits like the SOCSO scheme. Even after years, I can feel the weight of my missing limb. My phantom fingers feel like they are tightly clutched together and causes pain and discomfort throughout my waking hours. I use prosthetics but it is heavy and unnatural. I still break down when I watch shows like Indreni that cover similar stories. The memories do not go away, and the tears do not stop. When the odds are heavily stacked against you and you are left with lasting scars, lifetime social security support can at least provide something reliable to fall back on. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/adventures-of-a-nepali-coffee-aficionado">Adventures of a Nepali coffee aficionado</a>, Laxmi Prasad Timilsina Translated from an interview with the author. Diaspora Diaries 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">editors@nepalitimes.com</a> with 'Diaspora Diaries' in the subject line.

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Wounded in the line of duty

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111120/637216bc9c7e80680e0ba9abjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="970" height="910"/>During the 2017 election, overseas workers like myself consoled ourselves that in the next one, we would be eligible to vote. After all, the Constitution guarantees us the right.Nepalis in Nepal are voting on 13 May in local polls, but once again we are not allowed to. Nor can we cast our ballots in general elections later this year. We may not be allowed to vote in the next polls in five years, either.I had recently engaged with fellow Nepalis in Qatar about what their expectations from the government back home regarding the upcoming elections were, and despite the Constitution guaranteeing the right to vote what they thought about being prevented from exercising it.The sentiment among Nepalis was broadly similar. Not being allowed to vote means we do not have a say in matters that directly impact us or our families back home.This is despite the Constitution guaranteeing us our rights and a subsequent 2018 Supreme Court order to the government to make all the necessary arrangements to ensure us our voting rights.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-1/">Diaspora Diaries 1</a>, Nepali TimesMany countries allow absentee voting, and if our leaders had been willing, Nepal's embassies could be easily mobilised to facilitate it. But there is no interest, conversation or movement in that direction.There should at least have been discussions on the how’s and why’s, and not the present demeaning radio silence.The lack of interest shows that it is not just the practical challenges to facilitate overseas voting that the government does not want to entertain, but also the principle of allowing us to vote.At a time when frustration towards politics is at an all time high regardless of where Nepalis are based, it is a pity that those of us abroad cannot channel our frustration through the ballot box.Nomination filing is underway in Nepal, and candidates have started campaigning in an attempt to influence voters. Amidst the frenzy, despite being a significant chunk of the population, we are not in anyone’s radar.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Diaspora Diaries 2</a>, Nepali Times It seems as if we overseas Nepalis do not need to be influenced — not even with empty promises — which also means the issues that concern us do not get their due attention.It is ironic how on the one hand, public discourse has been dominated by the upcoming election in which migrants are not given much consideration, while on the other hand, falling remittances sent by migrants has become an issue of grave public concern.Those in power are even calling on us to send money legally to help the country. Our notes count, but our votes don’t, as the saying goes.The sole focus on remittances without a second thought for those sending money home is tragic. If the officials back home only understood that the two cannot be separated.If they realise that remittances are indeed critical for our economy and gets nervous when there is a dip, why do they do nothing to ease the lives of the senders?Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-3/">Diaspora Diaries 3</a>, Nepali TimesInstead, we are grossly inconvenienced by a system designed to make our lives difficult even before we migrate, during our time abroad, and when we return.Worrying about falling remittances alone is not meaningful. Remittances are linked to both quality and quantity of the overseas jobs. Emphasis by the Nepal government on capturing well-paying, available jobs abroad is limited. Instead, even the lucrative jobs that could be channelled to Nepalis are lost because of our complex labour approval system.Workers, for example, cannot take on assignments if the duration of the contract is less than two years under Nepal’s labour approval system, no matter their benefits. How many jobs have we lost to other countries because our approval system is so complicated and time consuming that employers would rather look elsewhere so they can fill the vacancies on time?Has anyone compared how much more time it takes to deploy one worker from Nepal compared to other countries? These concerns are especially pronounced after the pandemic when many lost their jobs and returned, or many like me had to compromise on our salaries during the business downturn due to Covid-19.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/diaspora-diaries-4/">Diaspora Diaries 4</a>, Nepali TimesThere are many restrictions and hurdles for those of us who are overseas, and who send or carry money home. Amid concerns regarding illicit transfers of money or gold smuggling, it is us migrants who get scapegoated and punished. I cannot easily bring home gold for my sister’s wedding, or an iPhone for my wife without getting severely punished.Every few months there is a new boss who introduces a new set of rules regarding what we can and cannot bring to the country, many times without any sound reason, and we get penalised accordingly. The rules change and are confusing even for me as a journalist who keeps track of all these regularly as part of my profession. How are others expected to keep up?I understand the concerns regarding illicit transfers that drive such decisions. But claiming to tackle these informal transfers by harassing migrant workers lets the real criminals off the hook. We workers get victimised even when we have nothing to do with  the smugglers, even while the problems at hand remain unaddressed.Any action taken is just for show or a bare scratch on the surface. It is as if the broader message from the government to us is that we should toil hard in the desert heat day and night, and send money home — but we cannot decide how to use it.Nepal's remittances are falling. But have the leaders and those in power ever done anything concrete to better understand why people use the informal hundi channel to send money and what steps can be taken to compete with this transfer?Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-qatar-job-mirage/">The Qatar job mirage</a>, Nepali TimesWhen both the commissions for transfer and exchange rate is better than formal rates, while being more convenient for both the sender and recipient who engage in phone transactions for home-based pick up and delivery of the amount, should we be surprised that many, especially those who earn very little and have very long working hours, should opt for this informal system of money transfer?What has been done to ensure easy digital transfers of remittances? What has been done to reduce the cost of transfer of remittances? What incentives are there for a normal worker to opt for formal transfers?It is just not about foreign employment or remittances, but issues that concern us as citizens being prevented from having a say in the elections. Even when we are disenfranchised from our voting rights, the election and state of affairs in Nepal remains an important part of our discourse and concern.One overseas Nepali shared with me that being away makes him understand the importance of having good leaders and representatives for economic growth and development, which he got to witness directly in ways that one may not have had a chance to back in Nepal.Another said that not being able to vote despite being on the voters list is a wasted opportunity to influence election outcomes and choose strong candidates. We are instead relegated to just sending remittances for our incompetent leaders to waste, they added.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/fate-joins-then-separates-siblings/">Fate joins, then separates, siblings</a>, Anil ShresthaWe sit here in a foreign land and helplessly watch our family members back home being repeatedly failed by our leaders. The election is also tied to our own futures back home. Many of us were compelled to migrate even for very low paying jobs with very little reward because of the government’s inability to provide jobs back home.One of my colleagues who has been in Qatar for the last 25 years has never once voted, and there is nothing he can do about it.I cannot speak for all, but for us sweating in the Gulf, our ultimate destination is always Nepal. We may stretch our employment until either our employers or our bodies allow it, but we will all come home eventually.However, the decision to return is never easy. What will we come back to, especially as returnees who could be potential entrepreneurs or jobseekers?When I talk to my colleagues here from the Philippines, it is evident how their government recognises their value, not just in words but in action.She shared how she recently cast her ballot for elections in the Philippines from Qatar. This makes me question: Would they care more about the senders and not just what is sent if we had the provision to exercise our constitutional right to vote?I am afraid we will not find the answer during this year's election cycle either.Read more:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-home-and-the-deep-blue-sea/">Between home and the deep blue sea</a>, Prakash Gurung<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-of-workers-working-together/">Power of workers working together</a>, Madhusudhan Ojha

Our notes count, but our votes don’t

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1e059c7e80680e0af3e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1501" height="1000"/>Exactly a year from now on 18 December 2022, the world will be glued to the media watching the final game of the World Cup live from Qatar. December 18 will also be <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Migrants Day</a> as well as Qatar’s National Day.For Nepalis, the 2022 World Cup is personal. The eight stadiums in Qatar where the games will be held are built on the blood, sweat and tears of tens of thousands of migrant workers, including from Nepal.“There is lots of excitement here in Doha with the FIFA Arab Cup that is going on,” says Ram, a Nepali construction worker from Dang district who worked on the impressive Lusail Stadium where the finals will be played on 18 December next year. “It seems these structures have come up virtually overnight, it is unbelievable. But I have come to realise it is all about money.”Ram himself makes $274 per month. Although it is a raise from the $206 he earned when he first started four years ago, he had to pay $1,000 to a recruiter in Nepal for the job. There are hundreds of thousands of Nepalis like Ram, the unknown builders of the impressive infrastructure. Lusail Stadium does have a wall full of photographs of some of the workers who helped build the stadium.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-days-of-international-migration/">The Days of International Migration</a>, EditorialBut Ram and migrants from other countries may have perhaps felt a deeper sense of pride to be associated with the World Cup had they been treated with more dignity, paid on time and in conditions free of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/home-workers-dead,3229" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/home-workers-dead,3229&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0UO_qQXo_rc9m3mSCaKu3r">exploitation and abuse</a>.In an online media briefing on Wednesday organised by Human Rights Watch (HRW), researchers said that although labour laws are relatively better in Qatar, things have not improved on the ground, and there is pushback from construction contractors working on World Cup infrastructure.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1e079c7e80680e0af3eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="455" height="286">"Qatar's legal framework is better than other countries' in the region, but the conditions on the ground are still bad. If they want to be a role model as they claim, much more needs to be done to protect workers rights," said May Romanos of Amnesty International.Qatar won the bid to host the World Cup a decade ago and has been on a massive construction spree. After <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-welcomes-qatar-labour-reform/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-welcomes-qatar-labour-reform/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw04tX5ly4i4sB_YfYnlcsz5">international media spotlig</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-welcomes-qatar-labour-reform/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-welcomes-qatar-labour-reform/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw04tX5ly4i4sB_YfYnlcsz5">ht </a>in 2018 it promised to reform labour conditions, but there are still reports of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-cup-stadium-workers-in-qatar-unpaid/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-cup-stadium-workers-in-qatar-unpaid/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw271Oj55fgeZRSvzESgOBPb">unpaid wages</a>, high recruitment costs, deplorable living conditions, and death from heat stress.There have been at least 30 deaths of migrant workers at World Cup construction sites, rights group say, 18 of them unexplained. In Kathmandu, the coffins arrived on flights from Doha, and the same planes took more migrant workers to Qatar.‘Died in his sleep’ (सुत्दा सुत्दै मर्यो) has become a colloquial Nepali term and the fatalities were attributed to ‘natural causes’. Mostly, there was nothing natural about them – they were a result of overwork, heat stroke and official apathy.Nepali workers were dying in Qatar, but they were also dying to work in Qatar. And therein was the conundrum. The money they earned building stadiums in Qatar, helped them build homes for their families back in Nepal."At least 70% of the deaths are unexplained which is not acceptable, especially in a country with such an advanced health system,” said Nicholas McGeehan of the rights group FairSquare. “Being a migrant worker in Qatar today is really bad for your health, and can kill you."Rameshwar is from Sarlahi district and works as an electrician in Qatar. He supports a Brazilian football team, works at a labour supply company. Like many other Nepali workers, he is worried that he will be sent home in 2022 before the FIFA games begin.“They mostly want to keep the maintenance workers, and might send everyone else back,” he says on the phone from Doha. “I am worried I will lose my job. How will I provide for my family after I return?”To be sure, Qatar cannot be singled out for blame. The exploitation of workers by unscrupulous recruiters and harassment by officials starts back in Nepal, even before workers leave home.At a time when construction for the World Cup was going full swing in Qatar, the ambassadorial post in Doha was vacant from 2013-17 when migrant abuses, including sudden deaths of Nepali workers, was at its peak and getting worldwide attention.Then, Prime Minister Deuba’s government recalled <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-must-now-send-skilled-workers-to-qatar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Narad Nath Bharadwaj </a>without naming his replacement, at a time when the need for labour diplomacy in Doha was most critical.And this year, Nepal and Qatar <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/qatar-police-recruitment-row-hits-nepalis/)" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/qatar-police-recruitment-row-hits-nepalis/)&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1BlPr22LANN53NlkWnrTNk">bungled a lucrative employment deal</a> to supply the Qatar Police with 200 Nepalis. They would have earned Rs180,000 a month, excluding overtime pay and end-of-service benefits. Unscrupulous authorities and recruiters knew that desperate Nepalis would be willing to pay under the table. But things got so messy that all 200 job orders were cancelled.“Everyone wanted a piece of the pie until there was no pie left at all,” said one activist.Nepal has also failed to fulfil its promise of reintegrating workers who had to return due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Schemes like the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/missing-the-plot-in-nepals-job-scheme/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZBnwLE_9JIp2B10Q7kd7h">Prime Minister's Employment Program</a> introduced with much fanfare have failed to deliver.There are reports that Qatar could be planning to send back many construction workers on extended leaves, including Nepalis, before the games begin in the stadiums and facilities they helped build.“Even if they let me stay, it is not like I could afford the tickets to go watch the games in the stadium,” says Rameshwor. “I will watch it on the TV screen.”There will be many Nepalis in the hospitality sector who will look after players and visitors in Doha during the World Cup, and workers are hopeful that there will be future projects they can engage in.But international rights watchdogs say the world’s attention is going to wane once the games are over and the media glare shifts. They say not a single worker died during construction of stadiums in London for the 2012 Olympics, and there is no reason why Qatar with its resources could not adhere to similar safety standards.“Despite Qatar’s PR offensive and sportswash, there is an urgent need for real and durable reforms because workers continue to suffer <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-cup-stadium-workers-in-qatar-unpaid/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-cup-stadium-workers-in-qatar-unpaid/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1639713374238000&amp;usg=AOvVaw271Oj55fgeZRSvzESgOBPb">wage abuse</a>, employers avoid accountability, complaints are ignored,” said Hiba Zayadin of Human Rights Watch.Meanwhile, back in Nepal, politicians are already in election mode, and will be too preoccupied with their campaigns during 2022 to pay attention to migrant welfare. There are already lofty claims about how in the next five years, if they are elected, they will curb migration and create jobs back home.Most Nepalis have heard all that before, and the trust deficit is so high that out-migration to Qatar and elsewhere seems like the more reliable – and for many, the only – alternative.The government should immediately ensure that Nepal’s embassies in destination countries for migrants are adequately staffed and funded. It could diversify out-migration towards better, higher paying jobs, and use bilateral labour agreements like the one with Qatar that is currently being renewed for better worker protection.

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Rights referees blow whistle on World Cup fouls

<figure><img width="708" height="499" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be3319c7e80680e083eedjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>A row has broken out in Nepal over the recruitment of Nepalis for the Qatar Police which tried to bypass the country’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">foreign employment</a> rules, and in which Qatari officials appear to be involved.The Department of Foreign Employment (DOFE), the regulatory body overseeing recruitment of overseas workers from Nepal, last week raided three companies (SOS Manpower Services, DD Human Resources and Hope International) for conducting interviews without permission for jobs in the Qatar Police.Hundreds of workers had lined up and had been reportedly told that they would have to pay Rs800,000 each in exchange for the job if they got selected.Rules state that both foreign employers and recruiters are supposed to get demand letters attested at the concerned missions abroad, obtain pre-approvals to conduct interviews, and publicly advertise the approved vacancies. But the recruiters had allegedly not followed this process.“We received a complaint regarding such interviews being conducted after which we sent teams unannounced to investigate. The recruiters did not follow any of the due processes required,” Kumar Dahal, Director General of DOFE told Nepali Times.   Dahal added that the recruitment companies has submitted justifications which are being investigated. Meanwhile all three companies have been suspended until further notice. “This speaks volumes about the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">malpractices rampant in the recruitment</a> of process and that there is collusion between different parties involved,” Dahal added. <img width="705" height="532" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181128/636be3339c7e80680e083eeejpeg.jpg" alt="">What made the issue more suspicious and caused an uproar is that a blue-plated Qatar Embassy vehicle was parked in one of the recruitment companies premises in Kathmandu when the raid took place, and there was a Qatari official present at the premises. The Qatar Embassy in Nepal has clarified it was not involved in the recruitment of Nepali workers, and was simply providing the vehicle to a Qatari delegation inspecting the recruiters. This is not the first time recruitment for Qatar has been in a controversy. The establishment of the Qatar Visa Center (QVC), a one stop service to simplify the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/for-nepals-migrant-workers-good-news-in-small-bites/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">immigration</a>, had also been criticised because it had been done without due consultation with the Nepal Government. While streamlining recruitment through a single-window for medical tests and biometrics was considered a welcome step to save time and money for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-the-minds-of-nepals-migrant-workers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">migrant workers</a>, eye brows were raised about Hem Gurung of SOS, the private sector partner chosen by the Qataris to run QVC. SOS is one of the recruitment companies now under the scanner for last week’s unauthorised recruitment. After initial resistance from the Labour Ministry to approve the establishment of QVC, it began operations in Nepal from early 2019. Sujit Kumar Shrestha of NAFEA (Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies) said there was speculation that all recruitment for Qatar was going to go through QVC, and they would be distributed to only 16 of the 854 recruitment companies in operation. The 16 were suspected to be forming a ‘syndicate’, which is against Nepal’s Foreign Employment regulation. NAFEA raised concern with the Foreign Ministry, Labour Ministry and the Parliamentary Committee. A taskforce was formed to investigate the issue, which is still ongoing.  “At that time we met QVC chair Hem Gurung and the Qatar Ambassador to Nepal and had been assured by both that that there is no syndicate. We had also raised the issue of hiring for the Qatar Police through a more transparent and competitive process which was received positively,” Shrestha said. Nepal's Ambassador to Qatar, Narad Nath Bharadwaj told Nepali Times from Doha that he had met Qatar Police officials last year who had expressed interest in hiring a few hundred Nepali workers. “I had advised that given the specific nature of this demand, it would be advisable to hire workers through a Government-to-Government agreement instead of through intermediaries,” Bharadwaj said. Qatar Police had previously hired 179 Nepalis through a few selected recruitment agencies, also leading to a row. Which is why Bharadwaj had suggested the government-to-government model, since this was for the Qatari state police. Last week, the Embassy in Doha resumed issuing demand attestation for Nepali workers, including for new ones, which had been halted during the pandemic. But there had been no demand letter for Qatar Police. Only existing workers on vacation were allowed to return. Because it is a government job, the Qatar Police openings present a more secure employment, and besides Nepalis there are recruits from Pakistan, Morocco, Sudan in the force. The intake will probably increase because of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-cup-stadium-workers-in-qatar-unpaid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha</a>. Nepalis in the Qatar Police are paid 3,000 Qatari Riyal (Rs97,000) for three months during training, after which they get Rs180,000 a month, excluding other benefits like overtime, end-of-service benefits, food and accommodation. However, few Nepalis who got those jobs in the previous batch of 179 recruits report paying recruitment agencies in Nepal Rs600,000 each for the job. “People confuse this job with other security jobs, but it is not the same,” a Nepali in the Qatar Police force told us on the phone from Doha. “It is a lot more professional. We have to undergo a grueling training in the initial few months when we are tested to our limits. Few could not handle it and returned. I now make close to USD3,000 a month and feel like my future is secure.” After training, the recruits are stationed at the courts, airports, jails etc and earn much better than other Nepali workers, with good facilities. Labour activists say it is unfortunate that this potentially rewarding job opportunity for Nepalis is now being thwarted by malpractice and vested interests of politically-connected individuals, and profit hungry recruiters in Nepal.

Qatar Police recruitment row hits Nepalis

<figure><img width="1000" height="1385" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58c49c7e80680e054853jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>The Nepal Communist Party government, with Prime Minister KP Oli at the helm, is nearing two years in office. It has been taken to task for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/own-worst-enemy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">non-performance and under-performance</a>. And rightly so. When it does take a decision it is usually the wrong one, like the project to fell a vast tract of forest for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an airport that may never be built</a>, or <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/melamchi-delayed-by-government-extortion/">sabotaging Melamchi</a>.There is a lot to be critical of about the present government. They give profound speeches, make wild promises, pass the buck, come up with excuses and when nothing works, threaten the messenger of bad tidings.Yet, there are ministers in government who are working quietly behind the scenes to get things done. They do not say much, they speak softly and carry a big stick. The late Minister of Tourism Rabindra Adhikari was one of them, and he multitasked to get various projects off the ground. His <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-last-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">death in a helicopter crash</a> in April was a tragic loss for the country.Alas his successor, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/unusual-appointment-extraordinary-tasks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yogesh Bhattarai</a>, though full of youthful energy and ambition, has fallen into the trap of making populist proclamations and issuing daft orders like playing the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/anti-national-anthem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national anthem during evening prayers at Pashupati</a>. Another NCP Young Turk in the cabinet who we do not hear much from is Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/win-win-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gokarna Bista.</a> Even as energy minister in the Jhalnath Khanal administration in 2012, Bista was known for his low profile and no-nonsense style.In May 2018, as labour minister, Bista took the unprecedented step of stopping Nepalis from going to Malaysia to work, soon after a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crossborder investigation by this newspaper</a>, Himal Khabarpatrika and Malaysiakini exposed corrupt Nepali and Malaysian officials and private companies overcharging more than Rs5 billion ($450 million) from over 600,000 Nepali workers between September 2013 and April 2018.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kleptocrats of Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur</a>, Ramu Sapkota and Alyaa AlhadjriIt was regime change in both Malaysia and Nepal that allowed the recruitment mechanism to be overhauled. Officials and private companies in Malaysia, with political protection in the Barisan Nasional coalition of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, worked with influential brokers in Kathmandu to cheat Nepali workers.In July, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/punished-in-malaysia-ignored-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began prosecution against</a> Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister and Internal Affairs Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Among the many charges against him was taking a $10 million bribe to permit company Ultra Kirana become a One Stop Centre for visa processing and labour migration from Nepal and other countries.No one has yet been charged in Nepal. Instead, Minister Bista came under pressure from powerful businesses with political protection, who had been profiting from fees levied on Nepali migrant workers.Despite this, Bista’s ministry pushed through an MoU with Malaysian Minister for Human Resources M Kulasegeran last year, which requires employers to pay for visa fees and air tickets of Nepali workers, as well as for other facilities.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/">Nepal and Malaysia rewrite rules for migrant labour</a>, Kunda DixitIt took almost a whole year for the technical details of that deal to be worked out by a joint working committee, which finalised them in Kuala Lumpur on 12 September, opening the door for the resumption of Nepali workers going to Malaysia.All credit for ironing out this deal goes to Ministers Bista and Kulasegeran, who have kept the welfare of workers at the forefront of all negotiations. As the minister <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-and-malaysia-rewrite-rules-for-migrant-labour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told this newspaper in an interview last week</a>, the goal has been to ensure that workers are not exploited, spend less on fees, earn decent pay and are treated well in the workplace.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali migrant workers</a> have been made to jump through hoops to get their paperwork done. They face harassment and demands for payoffs every step of the way before departure. Bista insisted on tackling this culture and making it as convenient as possible for workers to get the necessary tests and documents before departure.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bargaining-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bargaining power</a>, EditorialIn fact, one of the reasons for the delay in negotiations was Nepal’s insistence that the 37 institutions the Malaysians had recognised to do medical tests for workers needed to be increased to 122, and be located throughout the country. The ministry is also working to allow Nepali missions abroad, as well as provincial governments, to renew work permits. As with everything else in Nepal, laws and agreements are not enough. There are too many vested interest groups that have profited for too long from the sweat and blood of poor Nepali workers who will want to see this agreement fail.But let us give credit where it is due. And at this paper we are committed to keeping readers informed on progress. Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Labour pains</a>, Editorial <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> Nepali Times <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/470" target="_blank" rel="noopener">edition #470</a> of 25 September -1 October 2009 looked forward to the Dasain break:Dasain is here! So much has changed these past two decades — we’ve moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy to state-at-war to republic to absolute chaos and we’re still not done — but for Dasain, the song remains the same. Perhaps not quite the same. Commercialism is rife, but whatever the naysayers bang on about, Dasain remains a quintessentially Nepali festival.  <img width="327" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58c79c7e80680e054854jpeg.jpg" alt="">Whether you choose to celebrate it or not, when you see the kites flutter in the vigorous seasonal winds, when you see determined-looking family units trooping around your neighbourhood with huge plasters of tika on their foreheads, for an instant at least, one hopes we’ll all remember our connections with this great festival, forget our differences and think of them as the diversity that could still make us a great nation.

REDUCING  LABOUR  PAIN

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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