One of the most gratifying moments of my journey is meeting fellow country men and women scattered in every corners of the world. It may also end up being the saddest moment after discovering their plight and how they are languishing away from home.

So it comes as no surprise to me and us Nepalese when “The Guardian Today” last week ran a story titled “Revealed: Qatar’s World Cup ‘slaves”. It took “The People Game” for western media to finally notice the plight of the South Asian workers in Gulf States which we have known for so long.

It is always a heart wrenching to read stories of the desperate men and women who are lured to these foreign lands with promise of jobs, only to find themselves become modern day slaves. For some, the only way out of their inescapable situation is suicide and for few that are rescued, it’s too late. After months or even years of physical and mental abuse in the hands of their employers, they are no longer able function in a society.

I am afraid the problem will only get worse as our nation continue to lack political stability, sustained economic development and a growing population. The main source of problems with foreign employment industry stems from the unscrupulous manpower agencies at home and the host countries.

The way I understand how the labor export works today is that the government relies on private sector by issuing licenses to so called manpower agencies. These agencies in turn will find jobs, recruit and match workers with foreign employers. The manpower agencies will charge the workers a placement fees with no limitation to what they can charge. In many instances, the workers will take loans from local landowners who can charge interest exceeding 100% per year. If the foreign employment does not materialize as the worker expected, the worker could lose whatever property his or her family owns and the whole family could become indebt for life.

The Government needs to vet out the manpower agencies, individuals and all parties that engages in unscrupulous activities and punish them to the full extent of law. For example, whatever happened to the Nepali Ambassador to Saudi Arabia accused of stealing money meant for deceased migrant worker who died in Saudi Arabia?

 Was he ever punished for the crime he committed? How can we the people trust in our government to protect the workers when they engage in such despicable act and further go unpunished.

When problem is identified with the parties in the host country, our embassies needs to work with appropriate authorities to resolve the issue in good faith and in accordance with principle of international laws.

I am not advocating that we should stop foreign employment; however we should do everything to protect our brothers and sisters. NRN along with our embassies needs to play an active role in providing services and support to migrants, but, more importantly, they must advocate for migrants’ rights.

Government on their part must strengthen existing laws or craft new laws that will establish a higher standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their families. As the remittance sent by our overseas workers becomes increasingly an important pillar of Nepal’s economy, government needs to increase its investment in trainings and provide the necessary skills for our workers to succeed in their employment abroad. Government should also provide loans with minimum interest to the workers or impose a minimum interest rate that can be charged to the workers

The bottom line is our country needs to develop and strengthen development processes and increase employment at home. Lastly, please take a moment to sign a petition below.