As per the report published by the World Bank, Nepal is the 19th largest receiver of remittance in the world receiving $8.1 billion of remittance per year.
More than half of the remittance in Nepal is received from the workers working in gulf countries like Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, and others. Nepali community is the second-largest expatriate community comprising more than 400 thousand of Nepali workers in Qatar. In Qatar, Nepali people are mostly sought for performing the unskilled and unqualified jobs but some of the Nepali workers are rising to the executive and other respected positions as well.
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| Image Source: Voices in Crisis |
The coronavirus outbreak has affected almost every country across the globe including gulf countries too. On Feb 27, Qatar identified its first case of Covid-19 which was found in a person who had recently returned from Iran. After the outbreak, the Qatari Government started to implement different strategies to contain the virus-like banning the travel from 15 different countries that were at high risk of the virus. The Ministry of Health issued a statement in the public interest about self-quarantine for the general public – citizens, permanent residents, and immigrant workers.
The number of people infected by the virus was minimal until the first week of March. But the Qatar News Agency informed that 238 people were infected by the virus in a single day, making the country’s total 262. The main reason for such a huge number of people affected was due to an outbreak of a virus in the Industrial Area of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Most of the migrant workers live densely in the industrial area that made the virus quite easy to spread.
Following the dramatic rise in the number of cases, the Qatari Government imposed a complete lockdown of the industrial area, from sector 1 to sector 32, with regular patrolling of the police. Qatar’s Government Communications Office (GCO) stated that the individuals in the quarantined area are seen and monitored by doctors and other medical personnel on a regular basis and the welfare and Medicare of all residents, including citizens and migrant workers, were met up to the standards.
The lockdown of the industrial camp was necessary after the virus was identified among the expatriate workers. The government informed the workers cooperating with their companies about the lockdown and followed by the possible penalties for violating the lockdown.
But the Guardian newspaper has reported that migrant workers in Qatar’s industrial camp are living in a ‘virtual prison’ in the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Hundreds of workers were found positive in the industrial camp making thousands of people living in the camp vulnerable.
Some of the workers were being put on unpaid leave by their companies until further notice making their future in Qatar uncertain. The workers from the industrial area are not allowed to walk in the groups and eat outside but they are allowed to buy necessary items and medicines.
On the other hand, Qatar’s Ministry of Labour and Public Health states that all workers are provided with sufficient Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and their salaries are paid on the schedule.
However, Amnesty International said that the labour accommodation camps of Qatar are overcrowded without adequate water and sanitation services. There are 8 to 10 people living in a single room in the camp that has communal kitchens and shared toilets, which are unhygienic and full of moulds and grimes, increasing the difficulty in stopping the transmission of the virus. It has made the workers unable to protect themselves from the virus in such dreadful scenarios. The government should not be keeping the workers in such conditions.
Whilst Nepali workers are kept under such situations in Qatar, the Nepal Government has banned everyone, including its own citizens, from entering the country. Ishwar Pokharel, deputy prime minister and defence minister, stated that the Nepal Government has banned the entry of all passengers, including Nepali citizens, from March 20. This decision of the government was highly criticized as millions of Nepali migrants stranded overseas. However, this new rule is not followed strictly at the moment allowing migrant workers to arrive in the country without any restrictions. Although the Nepal Government has established a corona helpdesk in every border entry-point, its impact has not been so effective.
In the midst of these events, the Qatari Government decided to deport 250 Nepali migrants stating that they violated the rules of quarantine.
One of the deported individuals said that he was taken in police custody while shopping, in the industrial area market, as police informed him that it was a routine check-up for the coronavirus. But, as soon as he was taken into custody he was handcuffed, and his mobile was snatched away by the police so that he cannot inform anyone about his deportation. Some of them were not given the salary by their company and even their money was taken by the police during custody.
The wages of the workers should be given on time. If they are not paid on a regular basis, not only them but their family will also face financial hardship. This is an emergency situation all over the world when everybody needs money the most. For countries like Nepal that have a huge dependency on remittance, it might be a huge blow.
On the other hand, some of the migrant workers in Qatar have different views about this scenario. It is said that most of those who were deported from Qatar are involved in gambling, illegal liquor trade and selling and operating unregistered restaurants. None of the migrants operating a registered eatery were deported. Every country in the world will deport the immigrants who don’t follow their rules. Some of the deported may be the innocent one but most of them do not have clean records.
As Qatari Government is regularly providing notices especially targeted to foreign migrants about the coronavirus one cannot be excused by saying that he was not provided the information. In addition, the Embassy of Nepal in Qatar has also been providing information targeting Nepali workers.
We, Nepalis, don’t have any experience of following the rules and regulations imposed by the state. It might be the reason that Nepali migrant workers were roaming in the streets and markets despite the lockdown. Everyone should respect the law of the state where they are residing at the moment. This is one of the crucial phases, where we should be more careful than usual.
After the deportation of 250 workers in the first phase, the Qatari Government again deported 150 more workers for violating the rules of self-isolation. Some of them were caught while playing volleyball, shopping and strolling in the market. The rules of self-isolation were clearly violated by the migrant workers, so the deportation was expected. However, the facility where the workers were kept in lockdown was below the standards. No matter what the reason was, Nepali migrant workers suffered.
This mass-deportation will have a huge impact on the economy of Nepal as a lot of families. Migrant workers should be educated before going abroad by our government.
After arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), those 400 deported workers were allowed to leave the airport just by simple fever check-up. They were not quarantined by the state instead were told to sign the form stating that they will stay in self-quarantine. But it is reported that all of them are not staying in the self-quarantine making thousands of people around them vulnerable. The third case of a corona patient in Nepal was of the individual who has recently returned from the gulf.
Since foreign employment is the main source of income in Nepal, this mass deportation has given a huge blow to our economy. It made the bad impression of the Nepali workers in the gulf that might affect the demand of Nepali workers abroad. Experts are saying that a lot of households are going to suffer due to this corona outbreak, it seems like it has already been started.
This incident from Qatar can be seen as the first sign of upcoming circumstances. The economy of the entire nation can be at the brink of collapse. We should be prepared for a huge recession in the economy all over the world. Nepal was on the verge of collapsing economically due to the Maoist insurgency period but was rescued by the trend of foreign employment. But, now again the developing financial condition of the country might collapse.
Due to the increase in foreign employment and its remittance, there is a trend in Nepali households to sell their land in villages in order to migrate to urban areas. Most of the land that was once used for agricultural purposes is now used for building houses decreasing the landmass for food production. The increase in remittance has decreased the working habit in Nepali citizens as we have been importing foods from foreign countries. With the decrease in remittance, Nepal might suffer from poverty and hunger after this outbreak of corona is contained.
Nepali workers’ reputation in foreign job-market is risked making the economy and lives of the Nepali citizens vulnerable resulting in the vulnerability of the whole country’s economy.
The number of people infected by the virus was minimal until the first week of March. But the Qatar News Agency informed that 238 people were infected by the virus in a single day, making the country’s total 262. The main reason for such a huge number of people affected was due to an outbreak of a virus in the Industrial Area of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Most of the migrant workers live densely in the industrial area that made the virus quite easy to spread.
Following the dramatic rise in the number of cases, the Qatari Government imposed a complete lockdown of the industrial area, from sector 1 to sector 32, with regular patrolling of the police. Qatar’s Government Communications Office (GCO) stated that the individuals in the quarantined area are seen and monitored by doctors and other medical personnel on a regular basis and the welfare and Medicare of all residents, including citizens and migrant workers, were met up to the standards.
The lockdown of the industrial camp was necessary after the virus was identified among the expatriate workers. The government informed the workers cooperating with their companies about the lockdown and followed by the possible penalties for violating the lockdown.
But the Guardian newspaper has reported that migrant workers in Qatar’s industrial camp are living in a ‘virtual prison’ in the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Hundreds of workers were found positive in the industrial camp making thousands of people living in the camp vulnerable.
Some of the workers were being put on unpaid leave by their companies until further notice making their future in Qatar uncertain. The workers from the industrial area are not allowed to walk in the groups and eat outside but they are allowed to buy necessary items and medicines.
On the other hand, Qatar’s Ministry of Labour and Public Health states that all workers are provided with sufficient Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and their salaries are paid on the schedule.
However, Amnesty International said that the labour accommodation camps of Qatar are overcrowded without adequate water and sanitation services. There are 8 to 10 people living in a single room in the camp that has communal kitchens and shared toilets, which are unhygienic and full of moulds and grimes, increasing the difficulty in stopping the transmission of the virus. It has made the workers unable to protect themselves from the virus in such dreadful scenarios. The government should not be keeping the workers in such conditions.
Whilst Nepali workers are kept under such situations in Qatar, the Nepal Government has banned everyone, including its own citizens, from entering the country. Ishwar Pokharel, deputy prime minister and defence minister, stated that the Nepal Government has banned the entry of all passengers, including Nepali citizens, from March 20. This decision of the government was highly criticized as millions of Nepali migrants stranded overseas. However, this new rule is not followed strictly at the moment allowing migrant workers to arrive in the country without any restrictions. Although the Nepal Government has established a corona helpdesk in every border entry-point, its impact has not been so effective.
In the midst of these events, the Qatari Government decided to deport 250 Nepali migrants stating that they violated the rules of quarantine.
One of the deported individuals said that he was taken in police custody while shopping, in the industrial area market, as police informed him that it was a routine check-up for the coronavirus. But, as soon as he was taken into custody he was handcuffed, and his mobile was snatched away by the police so that he cannot inform anyone about his deportation. Some of them were not given the salary by their company and even their money was taken by the police during custody.
The wages of the workers should be given on time. If they are not paid on a regular basis, not only them but their family will also face financial hardship. This is an emergency situation all over the world when everybody needs money the most. For countries like Nepal that have a huge dependency on remittance, it might be a huge blow.
On the other hand, some of the migrant workers in Qatar have different views about this scenario. It is said that most of those who were deported from Qatar are involved in gambling, illegal liquor trade and selling and operating unregistered restaurants. None of the migrants operating a registered eatery were deported. Every country in the world will deport the immigrants who don’t follow their rules. Some of the deported may be the innocent one but most of them do not have clean records.
As Qatari Government is regularly providing notices especially targeted to foreign migrants about the coronavirus one cannot be excused by saying that he was not provided the information. In addition, the Embassy of Nepal in Qatar has also been providing information targeting Nepali workers.
We, Nepalis, don’t have any experience of following the rules and regulations imposed by the state. It might be the reason that Nepali migrant workers were roaming in the streets and markets despite the lockdown. Everyone should respect the law of the state where they are residing at the moment. This is one of the crucial phases, where we should be more careful than usual.
After the deportation of 250 workers in the first phase, the Qatari Government again deported 150 more workers for violating the rules of self-isolation. Some of them were caught while playing volleyball, shopping and strolling in the market. The rules of self-isolation were clearly violated by the migrant workers, so the deportation was expected. However, the facility where the workers were kept in lockdown was below the standards. No matter what the reason was, Nepali migrant workers suffered.
This mass-deportation will have a huge impact on the economy of Nepal as a lot of families. Migrant workers should be educated before going abroad by our government.
After arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), those 400 deported workers were allowed to leave the airport just by simple fever check-up. They were not quarantined by the state instead were told to sign the form stating that they will stay in self-quarantine. But it is reported that all of them are not staying in the self-quarantine making thousands of people around them vulnerable. The third case of a corona patient in Nepal was of the individual who has recently returned from the gulf.
Since foreign employment is the main source of income in Nepal, this mass deportation has given a huge blow to our economy. It made the bad impression of the Nepali workers in the gulf that might affect the demand of Nepali workers abroad. Experts are saying that a lot of households are going to suffer due to this corona outbreak, it seems like it has already been started.
This incident from Qatar can be seen as the first sign of upcoming circumstances. The economy of the entire nation can be at the brink of collapse. We should be prepared for a huge recession in the economy all over the world. Nepal was on the verge of collapsing economically due to the Maoist insurgency period but was rescued by the trend of foreign employment. But, now again the developing financial condition of the country might collapse.
Due to the increase in foreign employment and its remittance, there is a trend in Nepali households to sell their land in villages in order to migrate to urban areas. Most of the land that was once used for agricultural purposes is now used for building houses decreasing the landmass for food production. The increase in remittance has decreased the working habit in Nepali citizens as we have been importing foods from foreign countries. With the decrease in remittance, Nepal might suffer from poverty and hunger after this outbreak of corona is contained.
Nepali workers’ reputation in foreign job-market is risked making the economy and lives of the Nepali citizens vulnerable resulting in the vulnerability of the whole country’s economy.
