Bimal Gautam

The manpower mafia has been taking innocent Nepalis, mostly women from villages, to Kuwait with promises of lucrative jobs, and leaving them in the lurch in that alien land. The Nepali embassy in Kuwait sent a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs in Kathmandu last week, outlining the plight of such people.

According to the report, over 22,000 Nepalis, mostly women, have already landed in the oil-rich country with fake passports, forged documents and the fabricated addresses of local agents who promised them jobs.

According to documents available, the traffickers changed photographs in passports and sent female and male laborers to Kuwait. The manpower mafia is found to have used the laborers´ photographs in the passposts of unknown men and women before sending them to Kuwait.

According to the victims, brokers approached them in their villages and lured them with the promise of jobs abroad. Nepali Ambassador to Kuwait Madhuwan Prasad Paudel informed Republica over the phone that about 60,000 Nepali male and female workers are currently in Kuwait.Of the total, about 22,000 reached there illegally. "Among those who came to Kuwait illegally 98 percent are women," Paudel added.
According to him, traffickers are found to have snatched away the laborers´ passports immediately after they landed in Kuwait.

"Those who feel cheated, if they are not actually sold by the brokers, cannot explicitly tell the exact name and address of the brokers nor anything about the name and address of the individuals who sold their passports to them," said Ambassador Paudyal, adding, "The wanton tendency of exploiting Nepali women is serious beyond imagination." According to him, more than 95 Nepali laborers in Kuwait are without their passports and other documents.

"This problem can be controlled meaningfully if a system that ensures authentic job vacancies and accurate names, addresses and locations of the [employer] companies is guaranteed by the Nepali embassies abroad," said Paudyal.

Sunkumari Nepali, Dekyung Tamang and Nani Rani Bishwokarma are among those who have been identified as cheated by brokers. The number of women exploited in this manner is high, according to the report.
"A broker came and asked for my photograph, saying he could find me a lucrative job in Kuwait if my photograph is used in someone else´s passport," states a letter submitted by Lekhraj Ghimire of Rupandehi at the Nepali embassy in Kuwait, adding, "I initially refused to go abroad on an unknown man´s passport but the brokers assured me that I wouldn´t be betrayed and subsequently I became ready to fly to Kuwait."
According to Ghimire, who submitted the letter at the Nepali embassy seeking justice, Hari Thapa of Sindhuli had forced him to fly to Kuwait.

"Thapa pasted my photograph in Nabaraj Dhakal´s passport--No. 30005060-- and subsequently received Rs 100,000 from me," he said in the letter, adding, "He assured me he would return the money if there was any problem but he has disappeared since then."

Manpower broker Thapa, according to documents, cheated nearly a dozen laborers he sent to Kuwait.
Prem Narayan Tharu of Rupauliaya, Nawalparasi and Sibaraj Pathak from Mahadebesthan, Dhading were among those cheated by him. Thapa tampered with Nirban Ali Ansari´s passport to sent Tharu to Kuwait while Pathak was sent with the passport of Karna Pariyar.

Likewise, Dal Bahadur Palli, Prakash Panthi, Sagar Panthi and others were cheated by Baglung district-based broker Tarka Bahadur Pun and Jaya Lal Chalise. Both Pun and Chalise tampered with the passorts of unknown men and women, changed the photographs and sent laborers to Kuwait.

"We have to beef up security checking at the airport before anyone departs from Nepal," said Secretary Paudyal, adding, "The Immigration Office and its officials must seriously enquire with every individual regarding his/her visa category, jobs and authenticity of the companies that offer the jobs."

According to him, the problem can be reduced if Nepal´s Labor Department approves manpower companies proposal to send labor abroad on the basis of information posted on the website of Nepali embassies abroad.

Published on: 24 September 2011 | The Kathmandu Post