After languishing in Kuwait for months, 20 Nepali migrant workers are finally set to return home. Ten of them boarded a flight to Kathmandu on Sunday while the other 10 are said to catch a Monday morning flight.
After languishing in Kuwait for months, 20 Nepali migrant workers are finally set to return home. Ten of them boarded a flight to Kathmandu on Sunday while the other 10 are said to catch a Monday morning flight.
The Nepali Embassy in Kuwait earlier this week had decided to send back 21 Nepali citizens, who were allegedly made redundant without pay by their company, Kharafi National.
However, only 20 of the rescued Nepalis were given air tickets by the embassy.
Suresh Kunwar, who hails from Dhurkot Rural Municipality in Gulmi, will be staying behind because he has not paid the fine of 40 Kuwaiti Dinar for remaining in the country without a valid stay permit. Kunwar lamented that his name was removed by the embassy from the returning list at the last hour.
“I was told that I was going back with the rest of the people. They had asked me to come to the embassy and collect my ticket and passport on Sunday. I left the company camp and reported to the embassy only to find that my name had been removed from the list,” he said.
Kunwar claimed that the embassy and Kharafi National paid for air tickets as well as overstay fines of only 20 Nepalis. He said he was the only person whose overstay fine remained unpaid.
“The embassy has paid for tickets and fine sum of up to 200 Kuwaiti Dinar of other Nepalis. I, on the other hand, who has been fined just 40 Kuwaiti Dinar was excluded,” he said. “I have been told to pay the fine from my own pocket, but I do not have any money with me. The embassy has said that it would talk with the manpower company and arrange the air ticket only if I pay the penalty.”
After reports about nearly 300 Nepalis living in a deplorable condition without work, money and valid stay-permits in Kuwait, the government had instructed the Nepali mission in Kuwait to rescue the troubled citizens without any delay.
The SOS Manpower Pvt Ltd, which is responsible for supplying most of the workers to Kharafi National, has agreed to assist the embassy financially to bring them home safely.
According to Kunwar, all expenses for sending back Nepali workers, in the first phase of rescue, were paid by the recruiting agency.
Those who had minimum penalty to pay for overstaying, had medical conditions, and were willing to return home without recouping their unpaid wages are being returned in the first phase.
Chandan Kumar Mandal was the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife.
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