Three months in Kuwait: The story of migrant worker Sushma

Hi everyone. I’m Marty Logan. Thank you for choosing to listen to Nepal Now: On the Move from the literally millions of podcasts available. This is our third episode since we shifted the show’s focus to migration — to, from, and within Nepal. And, I gotta say: I’m biting my nails waiting for feedback from you listeners — especially long-time fans. Good, bad or indifferent, I want to hear it. Your responses are the best way for me to see how I might improve the show. So please take a minute to leave a comment on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, email me at nepalnowpod(at)gmail.com, or leave a review on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

Today we’re speaking with another returnee to Nepal, but one with a much different story than what we heard from baker/entrepreneur Aanchal last week. We’re calling her Sushma, which is not her real name, because she has received threats from people who were involved in sending her to work in Kuwait. Sushma has filed a report with police, but nothing had come of it as of March 31st. The good news is that she is back home with her children, who she was very worried about, and taking medication.

Sushma left her village in Nepal’s Karnali region last November, and within a month was in Dubai, waiting to be taken to a job in Kuwait. She arrived there after a month but stayed only 3 months because she fell ill — but not before being threatened with harm if she didn’t go back to work. She also saw another worker being hit by a house owner, had her phone taken away, and was told by employers in another house that she couldn’t leave because “We bought you.”

Back in Nepal, Sushma, who didn’t attend school as a child and used to earn money in her village by manually breaking stones, is now saddled with a huge debt after her family mortgaged land to pay the agent for her ticket home. But given what she experienced in her brief stay in Kuwait, that seems far better than other possible outcomes.

This is the first episode where I worked with an interpreter, Pranika Koyu, who was in the studio with Sushma and I. She did an amazing job, but occasionally you might hear that I left out a voice when I shouldn’t have. That and any other editing errors are mine. A couple other notes: you’ll hear us talk about lakhs of money: 1 lakh is 100,000 Nepali rupees, which is about $750. Sushma says sometimes that the agent demanded 3 lakhs, 50,000 rupees for her return; other times she says 3 lakhs 20,000. We settled on the last amount. Finally, near the end of our conversation I ask Sushma about something I had heard earlier in the day about her police case. I deliberately deleted the name of the person who told me, for the same security reasons.

Just one more thing: I recently found out that there are two versions of the show on Apple Podcasts. I have no idea how that happened but it means I need to delete one. The choice is easy: one has all the episodes and one has fewer; one has quite a few subscribers – I like to think – and one has only about 20. So that second one I’m going to delete tomorrow. If you listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, just be aware of that. And if you notice something has changed, particularly if you can’t listen to the show anymore, I suggest that you delete the show and then resubscribe or re-follow, however it works on Apple. If you have any problems beyond that, please let me know.

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Thank you to the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters of Nepal and Himal Media for use of their studios.

Transcript

00:00:14 Marty

Hi everyone. I'm Marty Logan. Thank you for choosing to listen to Nepal. Now on the move from the literally millions of podcasts available.

00:00:24 Marty

This is our third episode since we shifted the show's focus to migration to from and within Nepal, and I gotta say I'm biting my nails waiting for feedback from you listeners.

00:00:37 Marty

Especially longtime fans.

00:00:39 Marty

Good, bad or indifferent, I want to hear it. Your responses are the best way for me to see how I might improve the show.

00:00:49 Marty

So please take a minute to leave a comment on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.

00:00:54 Marty

E-mail me at nepalnowpod@gmail.com or leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

00:01:03 Marty

Today, we're speaking with another returnee to Nepal, but one with a much different story than what we heard from Baker entrepreneur Ansel last week.

00:01:12 Marty

We're calling her Sushma, which is not her real name.

00:01:15 Marty

Because she has received threats from people who were involved in sending her to work in Kuwait.

00:01:21 Marty

Sushma has filed a report with police, but nothing has come of it. As of March 31st.

00:01:28 Marty

The good news is that she is back home with her children, who she was very worried about, and she's taking medication.

00:01:37 Marty

Sisma left her village in Nepal's Karnali region last November, and within a month was in Dubai waiting to be taken to a job in.

00:01:45 Marty

Kuwait.

00:01:47 Marty

She arrived there after a.

00:01:48 Marty

Month.

00:01:49 Marty

But stayed only three months because she fell ill.

00:01:53 Marty

But not before being threatened with harm if she didn't go back to.

00:01:57 Marty

Work.

00:01:59 Marty

She also saw another worker being hit by a house owner, had her phone taken away.

00:02:05 Marty

And was told by employers in another house that she couldn't leave because we bought to you.

00:02:13 Marty

Back in Nepal, Sushma, who didn't attend school as a child and used to earn money in her village by manually breaking Stones, is now settled with a huge debt after her family mortgage land to pay the agent for her ticket home. But given what she experienced.

00:02:32 Marty

In her brief stay in Kuwait that seems far better than other possible outcomes, this is the first episode where I worked with an interpreter, Panika Koyu, who was in the studio with Sushma and I.

00:02:48 Marty

She did an amazing job.

00:02:50 Marty

But occasionally you might hear that I left out a voice when I.

00:02:54 Marty

Shouldn't.

00:02:54 Marty

Have.

00:02:55 Marty

That and any other editing errors are mine. A couple of other notes. You'll hear us talk about lacks of money. One lack is 100,000 Nepali rupees, which is about 750 U.S. dollars.

00:03:13 Marty

Also, Sushma says sometimes that the agent demanded ₹3,50,000 for her return.

00:03:20 Marty

Other times, she says 3,20,000.

00:03:24 Marty

We settled on the last amount.

00:03:27 Marty

Finally, near the end of our conversation, I asked Sushma about something I had heard earlier in the day about her police case.

00:03:36 Marty

I deliberately deleted the name of the person who told me for the same security reasons.

00:03:42 Marty

Just one more thing I recently found out that there are two versions of the show on Apple Podcast. I have no idea how that happened, but it means I need to delete one. The choice is easy, one has all the episodes and one has fewer and one has quite a few subscribers. I like to think.

00:04:00 Marty

And one has only about 20, so that second one I'm going to delete. I'll do that tomorrow. If you listen to the show on Apple Podcast, just be aware of that. And if you notice something has changed, particularly if you can't access the show anymore, then I would suggest you delete it from Apple Podcast.

00:04:20 Marty

And then resubscribe or refollow. However, it works on Apple if you have any problems beyond that, let me know Nepal now pod@gmail.com or on our social channels. Please listen now to Sushma's story.

00:04:37 Marty

Sushma, welcome to Nepal now podcast.

00:04:45 Interpreter

Thank you.

00:04:47 Marty

We're going to talk about your migration experience. You've you've recently come back, but first, if you can tell me a little bit about where you grew up in your childhood, what that was like.

00:05:07 Interpreter

I grew up in Nepal only I have not even gone to India. I got married, I have children. But then like I lost contact with my husband after 2-3 years and that's why I had to go abroad.

00:05:21 Marty

OK. And I understand that you are from Rukum West is that?

00:05:28 Marty

Right.

00:05:33 Interpreter

I am like my maternal home is in Salem and I got married to Roku. I mean, I got married in Rukum.

00:05:41 Marty

OK. And so your family, is you still have your your own family in Salyan?

00:05:54 Interpreter

My brothers, parents are there, and sisters. They are in Salyan but I got married in Rukum.

00:06:03 Marty

OK. And just to go back a.

00:06:04 Marty

Little.

00:06:04 Marty

Bit when you were younger. Did you have a chance?

00:06:07 Marty

To go to school.

00:06:13 Interpreter

My parents might have wanted to send us to school, but I didn't go.

00:06:19 Marty

Was it a matter of money? You didn't have money or there was just other things you had work to do. You were busy with other household things.

00:06:35 Interpreter

My parents, like my father, might have had money also, but I don't know and like I used to play with other children and I would go to jungle to collect fathers with them. So that's why I didn't go.

00:06:50 Marty

It sounds like where you were growing up it it wasn't unusual for kids.

00:06:56 Marty

To not go to school.

00:07:05 Interpreter

Well, like the children, they used to go to school. Elder brothers were there. Elder sisters were there, but I don't know why I didn't go.

00:07:15 Marty

And when you got married, how old were you?

00:07:20 Marty

17 years. I guess your parents arranged this. Were you OK with it, and happy to be married?

00:07:35 Interpreter

It was not my parents who arranged the marriage. It was I myself, who found him.

00:07:42 Marty

And so you got married. You were 17. You then moved to your husband's house in Rukum.

00:07:50 Marty

How how many children have you had since then? How many do you have I should say?

00:07:58 Interpreter

Two sons and one daughter.

00:08:01 Marty

So you lost contact with your husband, but you stayed in his house in Rukum. Is that right?

00:08:10 Interpreter

Yeah, that's right.

00:08:13 Marty

And when did you start thinking about going to work outside of Nepal?

00:08:26 Interpreter

So, you know at home I used to do all sorts of like this stone related work. Like Gitty, the stone crossing and all that because I had to take care of my three children, the husband. I also tried to get him into contact and sometimes he would be in touch also, but then he would not send.

00:08:45 Interpreter

Money, money and around that time there was this one woman who had gone abroad. So with her I came to know about going out and I went to Kuwait and I really had a lot of difficult times.

00:09:02 Marty

So the woman who told her about this experience was she in the same village or nearby, or how did she hear about this?

00:09:17 Interpreter

So she is my husband's mother’s, sisters, daughter. So they are maternal cousins.

00:09:26 Marty

OK. Did they go together or was that woman already there or had already been there? And then came back?

00:09:40 Interpreter

So these women had been working in Kuwait for the last one year. I had contact with her and then she's still there. I'm the only one who came back.

00:09:51 Marty

OK. And what did she tell her about working in Kuwait? What? What was it like? Money conditions, all of that?

00:10:11 Interpreter

Yeah, she just told me that, you know, you will be able to do it. It is just household chores to be done. And then I said, OK, then get me in touch with the.

00:10:22 Interpreter

agent. She gave me the phone number I contacted, I came here, made my passport and I went.

00:10:29 Marty

Did it happen that quickly? It sounds very fast, like from the time she first talked to this woman about being in Kuwait to the time that she came to Kathmandu to make her passport. How much time was that?

00:10:48 Interpreter

So I had contact with this niece of mine for about like four or five times and then I came to Kathmandu, made passport doing all that.

00:11:00 Interpreter

It took like one month.

00:11:03 Marty

Well, it's very fast and I know that her friend in Kuwait.

00:11:09 Marty

Made it sound like it was quite doable and and a fairly good prospect, but were you at all worried about going and what did the people around you in the village like your in laws and other people in the family and friends? What did they say to you about the possibility of going?

00:11:36 Interpreter

Like I did not tell my children because I thought they would cry and I told my father that I will be back after two years and my father said you will not go.

00:11:49 Marty

So when you left to come here and make your passport, your children were with your father-in-law and mother-in-law in Rukum. Or were they in Salyan with you?

00:12:08 Interpreter

They were in Rukum only, but at the House of her my cousin, the mother of my cousin, my auntie.

00:12:19 Marty

It's in the agent we're talking about, right? Who helped you get the job? Just to confirm that the agent is based here in Kathmandu. And so you came here, you paid the agent to basically take you to Kuwait. And how much did you have to pay and?

00:12:38 Marty

How quickly did that happen? Like after you came to Kathmandu.

00:12:48 Interpreter

The agent is here in Kathmandu only I did not have to pay any money to the agent when I came from Rukum. That was the only expense of my own. The plane ticket to Kuwait was covered by the agent.

00:13:05 Marty

OK. And so The agent arranged the job for you. He arranged the position. He got to the job. And so there was no price to pay him for doing that work.

00:13:18 Interpreter

No. He, like the agent, did not take any money.

00:13:29 Interpreter

I did not have to pay him anything, but when I wanted to come back, I had to pay 3,20,000 Nepali rupees while I was there in Kuwait only I had to have have it deposited in his account.

00:13:47 Marty

So that was after she told him she wanted to come back. Then she had to pay that money. And then he arranged the plane ticket back.

00:14:00 Interpreter

Yeah, I don't know. They never told me anything.

00:14:15 Interpreter

I got sick and I wanted to come back and I told them that please, like, you know, get me back. And then they said, like, I have to pay 3 lakhs 50,000. They also said like when you come back we will see you.

00:14:30 Interpreter

We will see you. 1 lakh 20,000. I already had it as my salary there and then so 2 lakhs got topped up from here.

00:14:41 Interpreter

So 3 lakhs 20,000 only has been paid.

00:14:44 Marty

So when exactly did you leave Kathmandu to go to Kuwait?

00:14:49 Interpreter

November last November.

00:14:52 Marty

This past November, OK, quite recently. And so it was a direct plane flight from Kathmandu to Kuwait.

00:14:52 Interpreter

Yes.

00:15:06 Interpreter

So from Kathmandu, I was taken to Dubai. There I stayed for one month and then taken to Kuwait.

00:15:14 Marty

And when you were going, did you think that what you were doing was legal or did you think if you were doing something under the table, something in the black market?

00:15:31 Interpreter

Nothing was told to us. And then like even the name of the manpower company was not told to us, they just said like the work will be fine.

00:15:43 Marty

OK. So just to get some of the detail, try to get some of the details. The agent who you were dealing with is different than the manpower company. There are two different things.

00:16:00 Interpreter

They were altogether 6 people involved 2 here, 2 in Dubai, 2 incubate. There used to be one room which they used to refer as office. They had taken our mobile also and at times they would give it to us just to be able to talk to our family.

00:16:22 Marty

And when you say we because you keep saying we instead of I, how many people were you with? And did you know who they were? Were they all men or women, or were there some men? Were you all going to the same place?

00:16:41 Interpreter

So they were all together, 21 or 22 of us who were taken to Dubai and there we had to wait to be able to go to Kuwait to work.

00:16:51 Interpreter

And of the 21-22 also like we would not be sent to one place to work like we will be sent to different different places where they would say it's our office and I don't know like who all went where. As for me I stayed for three months I worked and I got sick.

00:17:12 Interpreter

So I told them that I want to return, but they did not want me to return. They said that they would.

00:17:19 Interpreter

Like if you give us 3 lakhs 50,000 Nepali Rupees then we will get your return. But I kept on telling them that my children at home will cry, will look for me and I have to go back.

00:17:32 Marty

So when you left here and you when you were going to Kuwait, you stopped in Dubai. What did you do in Dubai during that month? Were you working or training or just waiting? Did you get worried that you you might not actually be going to Kuwait? What did they tell you?

00:18:00 Interpreter

So first of all, like for one week we were not going anywhere. But then slowly like one or two of them start of the women, they started to get sent to Kuwait. Our mobiles were not with us and.

00:18:17 Interpreter

They wouldn't actually tell us where we were going. What kind of work it would be.

00:18:23 Interpreter

It took it took a month for me to go to Kuwait working. It was just like that. Nothing was told to us. 

00:18:29 Marty

And were they living and sleeping in the same room like it was one big room, or did they have separate rooms? Were they sleeping on the floor? Were they comfortable? It sounds like possibly not, if they're.

00:18:44 Marty

Not getting enough food and water.

00:18:56 Interpreter

It was like this, like there was one room for men and one room for women. When I saw that, I thought that we will not be provided with food and we will die just like that. But it was not like that in reality. We were given meals two times.

00:19:15 Marty

Two times a day.

00:19:16 Interpreter

Two times a day.

00:19:18 Marty

And then one day they said, OK, today you're going to Kuwait. How many of you went on that day? And men and women or just women?

00:19:36 Interpreter

So it was five of us. So women who went from Dubai, there were no men.

00:19:43 Marty

And so where? Where were you taken in Kuwait? Where did you, where is the place that you ended up working?

00:19:58 Interpreter

So in the beginning, on the day we reached Kuwait around evening and one Arabe he came to pick us up and get us and then I went there and it had just been two or three days that I was working on the House. It already had one Filipino helper but I did not know that that Filipino help was having fights with the house owner's wife and on the third day I kind of got to see that she had marks on her body. She was hit by the serving spoons. And then I also saw like.

00:20:37 Interpreter

And it being thrown and then I came and I said, like, what's happening, what's happening? And I was pushed aside, not allowed to see what was happening inside, saying like, you don't come here, there could have been a knife also. I'm not sure where The Filipino went.

00:20:57 Marty

So after that you didn't see the Filipino working there anymore?

00:21:10 Interpreter

Yeah, I did not see the the Filipino. So in total I worked there for six days and then I told the office that I don't want to work here like, Get Me Out of here. And then they took me to, they took me back to the office and they sent me to another house.

00:21:28 Marty

And did you want to leave the house because you also were abused by the family there, or were you just worried about being in that house?

00:21:41 Interpreter

You know, I felt that that I would also get killed and also I didn't feel that they were good people and I just didn't want to work there.

00:21:57 Marty

And how was the new house that you got sent?

00:22:00 Interpreter

So I was about to get the salary just like two or three days were left, but I got sick and then I was brought to the office.

00:22:15 Marty

And so did you call the office and say I'm sick. Please come and take me away. Or did they see that you are not that you were ill themselves and the owners of the House asked you to be taken.

00:22:35 Interpreter

I got sick and then so there's this person called Baba. So he asked whether I want to work or not. And then I said that I am sick. Either I have to be like returned to Nepal or take me to the office. And then I was taken to the office.

00:22:56 Marty

And then how long after being taken to the office after getting sick, how long before you came home? Then back to Nepal.

00:23:10 Interpreter

I was not sent back to Nepal immediately. I stayed in the office for two weeks and then so these people, they started to say either you returned to the House and start working or we will see. We will see in a like, you know, threatening way. And then then I told them that I am sick, I cannot work. And I was also taken to doctor by the people at the House, like where I was.

00:23:41 Interpreter

Like everything, nothing was shown in the examination. In the meantime. They, like my cousins, had started to contact this.

00:23:51 Interpreter

Agent like started to look for me and the agent had blocked my phone as well as theirs and they told me that if I pay 3 lakhs 50,000 Nepali Rupees then I will be sent home.

00:24:05 Interpreter

During that time, I came to know about the agent from Delhi with whom I stayed for two weeks and then again I got sent to the sent to another house to work.

00:24:17 Marty

So from the original agent in Kuwait, where she stayed, where you stayed for two weeks after getting sick, then you moved to another agent for two more weeks and that agent sent you to work at another house. Is that?

00:24:34 Interpreter

Yeah, that's right.

00:24:36 Marty

And were you still feeling sick all of this time? Did it change?

00:24:46 Interpreter

So in between I did get sick and my head was not working. My legs, they felt weak and I was. It was like hard of breathing also right. And my stomach also would hurt. And I actually told the told this new household where I was working, what I was facing.

00:25:06 Interpreter

And had already been a month, but they said like we have bought you and we cannot give you back and the agent out there were also asking for money, right? And they were saying that I have to give them money. Then I told them.

00:25:24 Interpreter

Like we should collect money to be paid to them at any cost. We have to like even if it is selling my land that's OK and bought.

00:25:35 Interpreter

In the new household when they came to when I told them why I cannot work and how sick I am. They kind of like held me captive for six days. I was not given food. No, nothing. I was closed in the room. My clothes were taken. My things were taken and I really suffered a lot.

00:26:01 Marty

Wow!, six days that you were kept locked up without being able to leave or or call.

00:26:16 Interpreter

So I was locked up for six days in the room and my mobile had also been taken and I was not given any food.

00:26:24 Marty

And then how did you finally get out and leave that house?

00:26:35 Interpreter

I got to contact like I was contacting Kuwait. Isn't isn't in Kuwait only. And then I told him like brother listen like I am so sick I cannot work. I will pay and I will pay. But get me returned and they said like they have I have to pay 3 lakhs 20,000 rupees, which I managed in a sense like from the people here in Nepal. They had it deposited and that's how I returned.

00:27:04 Marty

And then you came directly back to Nepal.

00:27:15 Interpreter

First, the office in Kuwait. I stayed there for five days and then I flew direct from Kuwait to Nepal.

00:27:22 Marty

And during those five days, did people try to convince you to stay there, or did they treat you well? Did they treat you badly?

00:27:38 Interpreter

So there were two of them there and the one from Delhi. That person was not very harsh.

00:27:47 Interpreter

But the one from the one who is a Bengali, he used to be very hard. He used to say like, go back to working or else like we can do anything to you. And then and then you're not going home. He used to say that. And the one from Delhi. He used to say that no, we should not be saying.

00:28:10 Interpreter

Like that, she's honest. She would have worked had she not been sickly, but now she is sick. So she can go back.

00:28:18 Marty

And then at one point the money was deposited in their bank account. So you they got you a ticket and then you came back.

00:28:25 Marty

Is that right?

00:28:29 Interpreter

Yeah. So the money got deposited in their account and three days after I got to fly back.

00:28:38 Marty

And how long ago was that now?

00:28:44 Interpreter

It's just been a week.

00:28:46 Marty

So you've paid the money. The 3 lakhs 50,000. Are you trying to get that money back or some of that money back? Are you angry at the agent or what's happening?

00:29:09 Interpreter

Yeah. So after coming back from there, I have tried to get the money back from the agent. My children are crying. They just want to know when I'm coming back to the village. Money lenders are after me. They are saying like, oh, you have come back. You have earned and you are staying in Kathmandu. Why are you staying?

00:29:29 Interpreter

I am trying to get my money back, but it's not. It's not going anywhere.

00:29:38 Marty

And then how do you feel now? Do you feel better since you came back to Nepal?

00:29:51 Interpreter

I'm not well, I still feel sickly, like my breathing. It's like it fluctuates and my legs also, they're not as weak. They're not as strong. And then my head also like I see the same person also like in for like it's a hallucination sort of thing.

00:30:10 Interpreter

And I don't know how I'm talking with you guys. Also at the moment, I'm not well.

00:30:16 Marty

OK, so we'll try to make this quick. So the money that you had to give the agent so 1 lakh 20,000 I think was from your own salary from the work that you did there and then the rest over 2 lakhs was raised here by people here. Was up, borrowed from money lenders that 2 lakhs?

00:30:45 Interpreter

So 1 lakh 20,000 Nepali rupees was my salary which actually had not been given to me. But the agency in Kuwait, they made sure that I got that money from the house owner like where I was working. The other two lakhs Nepali rupees how I arrange is like I had to my younger brother-in-law had to mortgage it from people to get the to get the money. Nobody was giving. So the land had to be mortgaged.

00:31:21 Marty

And So what do you plan to do now? When do you think you'll be able to go back to your village and see your kids? Do you need to go see about your health before you do that?

00:31:39 Interpreter

First, of course, like it will be meeting children, taking care of my health, and then after I get well and look, I'll look for the work so that I can pay back, cover my expenses. Otherwise I'll not be able to live.

00:31:55 Marty

Why do you think your Trip your time in Kuwait ended the way it ended. Like, why do you think you had such a bad experience in Kuwait?

00:32:10 Interpreter

Yeah, I don't know why that happened to me.

00:32:14 Marty

I'm wondering if she during this whole time she talked to the friend that she was first in touch with, who told her about this work. Like, did you talk to her? Did you get advice from her? Has she said anything about what happened to you?

00:32:36 Interpreter

Actually I had also asked her to help me and when she came to know about my situation, she had contacted the agent also but her number was also blocked, got blocked by the agent but.

00:32:49 Interpreter

She seems to have told the agent that I am her family member and if anything happens to me then it will not be good for her as well.

00:33:00 Interpreter

However, her house owner also ran away without giving her the money, and then the mobile also had been her mobile also had been taken by the house owner. So for a month or so she was contactless.

00:33:18 Marty

So I know this just happened and there's still a lot that you need to deal with and and think about and understand, but do you think you might try to go back again to work overseas? Maybe not Kuwait, but another place.

00:33:40 Interpreter

I don't think my children will allow me to go. They are very scared.

00:33:45 Marty

When you're back in the village and your health is OK and things are back to normal, the way they used to be, how will you make money? How? How will you earn for your children?

00:34:04 Interpreter

I don't know like how will I be able to take care of that because it will take me at least one or two months to get well. And like farming, also, it doesn't produce much. We don't have any other source of income. I don't know how I will be taking care of my expenses.

00:34:23 Marty

If someone in your family or in your village, someone you know asks you, should I go overseas to work to earn money? What would you say to them?

00:34:40 Interpreter

What will I say? Like I returned because I was sick, but if anybody wants to go, I will not say don't go. How can I say that? It's their own choice. But I will. I will indeed tell them that there might be problems like language issues.

00:34:57 Interpreter

Let them do what they want.

00:35:00 Marty

Just one last question, do you think you got sick because of the stress of being in this different place like, do you think it was a physical thing or like a mental stress thing, or just a combination of not feeling good overall?

00:35:25 Interpreter

I don't know why. I mean it happened, but at least for the first two months I was working quite well, even if they were screaming, we were thinking of our family. We're thinking of our debts and then we were working. But by the third month, I was really not feeling well.

00:35:44 Marty

Earlier today, I spoke to XX and he said that you were going or you had made a report to the police. So if you want to tell me something about this I'm interested to know what that is about, but if you can't talk about it or don't want to talk about it, that's also OK.

00:36:07 Interpreter

Like I filed the complaint, hoping that, you know, it might bring me back some of my money.

00:36:16 Marty

Against the agent?

00:36:19 Interpreter

And so I filed the complaint against the agent, hoping that it might bring me back some of my money.

00:36:26 Marty

And do the police think it's possible?

00:36:35 Interpreter

So yesterday, when police was calling them in their number, they were answering the phone. But today they said it's switched off.

00:36:45 Marty

The police phone?

00:36:47 Interpreter

The agents phone is switched off. Yeah. Yeah. So yesterday, police called them the agent and the phone call was being answered. But now the police are saying that it is switched off.

00:37:03 Marty

OK. Well, thank you very much. I know it's not easy to talk about these things and we kept you a long time, you know, not feeling well. So really, really thank you very much. I really appreciate it. But is there something you want to say before we finish?

00:37:19 Interpreter

Give one.

00:37:22 Interpreter

There's nothing really much to say. Whatever there was, I have already said it.

00:37:28 Marty

OK, good luck. I hope your health gets better. And if you're fortunate, you'll get at least some of your money back from the agent.

00:37:39 Interpreter

Thank you.

00:37:44 Marty

Thank you once again to Sushma for sharing her story when she was still feeling ill and anxious to return.

00:37:50 Marty

To her village.

00:37:52 Marty

Thank you also to Pourakhi Nepal which works with female returning migrant workers for introducing us to Sushma.

00:38:01 Marty

Let us know what you thought of this episode. We’re @Nepalnowpod on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

00:38:08 Marty

Next time, we will certainly be talking to Bharat Adhikari, who returned from Oman, started a small business, then quickly gave it up.

00:38:18 Marty

He was supposed to be featured in this episode, but we thought it was important to get Sushma's experience online as soon as possible. I'll talk to you next time.