The deep rooted hopes and dreams of making it big in the society.
The pretty words of getting an education abroad and a guaranteed job placement scheme of education consultancies.
Most Nepalese youth think their big dreams take shape only in abroad.
They leave behind their family, their friends and their jobs to pursue new employment abroad in hopes that it will make their lives better, almost confident that they will never be a part of the haunting silence.
Nepal is one of the top remittance recipient economies in proportion to GDP in Asia.
In a way, Nepal's economy is backed almost completely through work immigration.
The long queue of people leaving for foreign employment in TIA. More than 1000 of Nepalese leave the country for foreign employment.
Leaving abroad for more than 2 times expecting for a better life though he had already been a victim of human trafficking,
still applying for different placement of job. Reminiscence of his service as a security guard in Dubai.
Photographic memories of him while he was working abroad.
Learning the hard way that big dreams aren't achieved overnight in abroad.
Though the income is not that much as he expects, he drives a private car here in Kathmandu.
Believing in working hard now instead of seeking a new opportunity abroad.
Though the income is less he is still supporting his two kids and his wife back home in Hetauda.
Being well educated; While it is generally believed that only uneducated and unaware youth get scammed and trafficked,
the truth is that even well-educated people can be a victim. He spreads out his proof of achievement and experience letters.
He had a respectable job as a teacher before he went to abroad. He regrets about this life decision.
His hopes and dreams for the better life of him and his family.
After the entire struggle he faced and the struggle he is doing right now to support his family. It's the family that matters in the end.
STORY LINE
We are told to dream big from the start. Society loves success stories. Our societies make heroes out of the uncles and Dais ( brothers) who come home with flat screen TVs, big phones, perfumes in shiny bottles and an array of other flashy things. But, there is a haunting silence about the fate of those who come back in a casket, those who return abused, and those who come back with nothing.
So even after all these years of toiling and suffering of generations, for most Nepalese youth big dreams take shape only in the gulf. They leave behind their family, their friends and their jobs to pursue new employment abroad in hopes that it will make their lives better, almost confident that they will never be a part of the haunting silence.
Alochak Dulal, 35, was from the same school of thought. He had a Bachelors degree and was a teacher from Hetauda. Mr. Dulal got his degree back in 2005, and with a family background in teaching, he started teaching English to primary kids of Dibya Jyoti school, Hetauda.
He had grown up with the success stories and yearned for flying abroad to get a new job that would pay him much better. Along with his friends, he left for Dubai where worked as a security guard for 2 years (2008-2010). After the expiration of his contract, he came back to Nepal and worked as a supervisor for Fishtail Securities for two years in his hometown Hetuada.
While looking for an opportunity to go abroad again, he stumbled upon an education consultancy. They had a scheme of''Job Guarantee after 6 years of Cruise crouse in Malaysia.''He then took off to Malaysia in 2012 along with 15-20 people of his batch who shared big dreams. But, Mr. Dulal and his friends saw their hopes dashed and in pieces. He had been scammed, choked at the hands of fraudulence.
They took away his fundamental human rights forcing him to work at restaurants where he received frequent life-threatening messages any time he asked for his passway back home. He struggled for 9 months with no proper sleep and food, but he somehow got hold of his passport and flew back home as soon as possible with the help of some friends he made in Malaysia.
Depressed and bankrupted, he was ashamed to get back home without a success story. He pleaded for help wherever he could, but all he got were empty promises. Tired of waiting, he finally decided to go home.
Dulal then started to work part time in HER NEPAL as a (Certified Management Accountant) CMA thanks to a related course he did back in 2002. He lived a low-profile life for two years.
Still rooted deep were the hopes and dreams of making it big in the society. So, he applied for a job in Dubai as a taxi driver. He received his driving license from Transportation Department in Birgunj. Along with a couple of friends, he flew back to the land of dreams, Dubai. He waited 4-5 months there for his International license before he could work properly. As per his contract, he was promised a fair salary but all he earned there was commissions/tips and not a salary.
Frustrated and depressed yet again after difficult 20 months in the drylands, he finally got back home at the end of 2017. He now drives a private car here in Kathmandu and now believes in working hard and supporting his two kids and his wife back home in Hetauda.
Alochak Dulal learned the hard way that big dreams aren't achieved overnight in the Gulf. He has acknowledged that he was trafficked, that human trafficking isn't limited to women trafficking which is already extremely severe.
Nepal is one of the top remittance recipient economies in proportion to GDP in Asia. In a way, Nepal's economy is backed almost completely through work immigration. But, sadly work immigration is poorly managed which has resulted in the dominance of manpower companies and education consultancies, many of which scam Nepalese youth and traffick them to Gulf and other Asian countries.
While it is generally believed that only uneducated and unaware youth get scammed and trafficked, the truth is that even well-educated people can be a victim. So, who is to take charge and manage the network of consultancies and manpower companies that operate with a predatory attitude towards young people? Is it the government or the youth themselves?
