Three Nepali nationals have been left in the lurch for the last 10 days in the Chinese city of Shenzhen after they could not pay amounts demanded by brokers for entering Hong Kong illegally. 

The Nepalis trapped in Shenzhen said that their brokers had asked for Rs. 100,000 from each of them for entering Hong Kong illegally via New Delhi, India to work there. The brokers had lured them with a false promise of jobs and a better life. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. 

The three Nepalis had flown to Shenzhen from New Delhi on December 30, only to be left in the lurch. They have been identified as Akhil Bhandari, Bhudi Gurung and Ashok Poudel of Kaski district. 

Bhandari holds Ramesh Subedi, proprietor of SRK Overseas manpower agency in Pokhara, responsible for landing them in trouble. “Assuring us of jobs in Hong Kong, Subedi aided by another broker, Roshan Chettri, sent us to the Chinese city on visiter visas issued from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. We had already spent a huge amount of money for visas and air tickets. So, we could not pay the amount demanded by the foreign agents. They have abandoned us midway to starve to death,” he said. 

Akhil Bhandari, Ashok Poudel and Bhudi Gurung in Shenzhen. (Purna Basnet) 

“When we reached Shenzhen, an Indian broker residing in Hong Kong telephoned us and asked us to show up at the Hong Kong border with 1,000 US dollars each if we wanted to cross the border illegally. But we had only 1,000 US dollars between the three of us. 

"And we were also not in a position to ask our families back home to send us additional money as we had already spent huge amounts to come to Hong Kong,” he said. 

According to Bhandari, they had given Rs. 1,000,000 each to Subedi to enter Hong Kong through illegal channels. They are now putting up at a cheap hotel, eating noodles since the last 10 days. 

“On April, 2013, I gave Subedi my passport and Rs. 400,000 in cash after he said we could work by showing refugee cards once we had entered Hong Kong illegally. But that was not true. He cheated us,” said Subdei on the phone, adding, he had told them that they could earn over Rs. 100,000 a month in Hong Kong. 

After the Hong Kong government tightened visas in 2005 to control the flow of immigrants, a large number of Nepalis have been entering Hong Kong illegally with the help of Chinese and Pakistani agents. They cross into Hong Kong late at night by sail boat from Luohu Port in Shenzhen. 

Last year, Mahesh Dahal, consul general, said that there are as up to 14 Nepalis residing in Hong Kong and claming to be refugees while another 12 are staying put stating that the government of Nepal would torture them if they returned home. 

It is learnt that dozens of Nepalis have entered Hong Kong illegally, paying hefty amounts to foreign agents. The Kaski-based manpower firm has reportedly been involved in sending Nepali workers illegally to Hong Kong since some time back. 

A few weeks ago, SRK Overseas had sent five Nepalis to Hong Kong through illegal means after they managed to pay Rs. 1,000,000 each to brokers. They were staying in a refugee camp in Hong Kong. When the government of Hong Kong did not issued them refugee cards, they surrendered to police. 

The immigration department of Hong Kong fined them around Rs. 100,000 each and asked them to return to Nepal, the Non-Resident Nepali Association in China informed Amrita Thapa, coordinator of Non-Resident Nepali Association in China. 

“We are mulling a return to Nepal. We do not want to spend additional money to enter Hong Kong illegally. We would be grateful if some organization provided us financial assistance to return home,” said Bhandari. 
 

 Published on: 7 January 2014 | Republica