Nepal Now: On the Move
We're talking with the people migrating from, to, and within this Himalayan country located between China and India. You'll hear from a wide range of Nepali men and women who have chosen to leave the country for better work or education opportunities. Their stories will help you understand what drives people — in Nepal and worldwide — to mortgage their property or borrow huge sums of money to go abroad, often leaving their loved ones behind.
Despite many predictions, migration from Nepal has not slowed in recent years, except briefly during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 1 million Nepalis leave every year to work at jobs outside the country. Tens of thousands go abroad to study. Far fewer return to Nepal to settle. The money ('remittances') that workers send home to their families accounts for 25% of the country's GDP, but migration impacts Nepal in many other ways. We'll be learning from migrants, experts and others about the many cultural, social, economic and political impacts of migration.
Your host is Marty Logan, a Canadian journalist who has lived in Nepal's capital Kathmandu off and on since 2005. Marty started the show in 2020 as Nepal Now.
Nepal Now: On the Move
Covid-19 devastated the lives of many migrant workers from Nepal
The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 21 hit Nepali migrant workers hard. Thousands working in India were blocked from crossing the border into Nepal. Others overseas were laid off and confined to living quarters with little or no food, no money, and no tickets home.
We recorded this episode in the midst of that dark period. While it describes the terrible conditions and uncertainty affecting migrants, it is at the same time a good primer on some of the core issues around migration and Nepal. With my guests Bijaya Rai Shrestha of the NGO AMKAS and academic Ramesh Sunam we touched on topics including:
- the ban on women migrating to work in Persian Gulf countries
- the impact of caste on decisions to migrate
- the ‘invisibility’ of Nepalis who migrate to work in India and
- the need for stronger policies from Nepal’s governments.
Unfortunately it seems like some of the optimism you’ll hear in this episode was unrealistic —little seems to have improved in the migration file in the past five years.
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Music by audionautix.com.
Thank you to PEI in Bakhundole and Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studios.
Nepal Now is produced and hosted by Marty Logan.
