Sindhuli’s headquarters, Sindhulimadi Bazaar, is quiet. The tea shops along the Bus Park Road are bustling. Some of the youth who left the village to seek a brighter future in the city are in a hurry, some are busy chatting. Here, Pujan Basnet is drinking tea alone in a corner.
Pujan is a resident of Kanyakhola, Tinpatan Rural Municipality-11, Sindhuli. This 22-year-old youth has graduated in Information and Technology (IT). He has the skills to create websites, create mobile apps, do graphic design and videography, but he does not have the income to match his skills and efforts.
Pujan tried to move forward with the idea of doing something in the district. He tried to do something locally with his friends. However, there was a lack of investment. Banks did not approve loans, and the family’s finances were weak. ‘You have the skills, you can start your own business, right?’ he said with a smile, ‘There is no investment, banks do not give loans without collateral. I will go abroad and earn money, and then come back and do business.’
Going abroad for employment became not a desire but a compulsion. Why did he not try to find employment in the country and 1 applied for an IT officer at the local level. He took the exam 15 times. His name came out in the written exam, but he failed the oral exam because he could not pay the amount. ‘Not once, but repeatedly, they asked for money. In one municipality, they asked for up to eight lakhs. Where will I get that much money?’ he said while taking a sip of tea, ‘That is why I am going abroad now.’ Pujan, disappointed, recounted the bitter experience of needing recommendations or bribes from those in power to get a jagir.
Although, Pujan has worked in an organization in the district according to his skills, but not getting remuneration according to his labor has made him depressed. Labor has to be done from morning to night. He does not even receive the stipulated monthly salary of Rs. 10,000 on time. This makes it difficult for him to even earn his personal living.
Most of Pujan’s friends have already gone abroad. Some are in Australia, some in America, some in the Gulf countries. Pujan has also completed the process of going abroad. He will be leaving for Italy in a few days. There are many young people like Pujan in the district who have skills, are eager to do something but have not got the opportunity. They are rushing to find opportunities within the country, but when they have to face corruption, recommendations and political manipulation, they are forced to give up and go abroad, he said.
This is not just the story of one youth, it is the common sorrow of millions of youth. Because of this, especially in the rural areas of the district, the youth who fill the well in the morning, go to the fields, brighten the village, and take care of their parents when they are sick are not seen. The streets look deserted. The youth who carry the bright dreams of the city are not found here. Some have gone to study, some are in search of employment, and some are found thinking about the uncertain journey of tomorrow.
Twenty-one-year-old Sabina Danuwar is also standing at the crossroads of a similar journey. She is currently studying in her second year of BBS, but she is still unsure whether to continue her studies or leave them incomplete. ‘The situation at home is pathetic. There is no job. It is difficult to meet daily expenses. Now I am thinking of quitting my studies and going abroad,’ said Sabina.
Some of Sabina’s friends have already gone to Australia, some to Dubai. They talk to her from time to time. Their words, ‘Even if you go abroad and suffer, the earnings are better than here,’ are forcing Sabina to choose the same path. ‘Job opportunities are limited in Sindhuli. Where there is an opportunity, recommendations are needed, bribes are needed. I have neither strong sources nor money,’ said Sabina.
Sabina, who has not found an opportunity to earn an income in her place, is being pressured by her family to get married. But she is determined to stand on her own feet and reach that decision. Sabina, who has been struggling hard while studying and earning, is now preparing to go abroad. Pujan and Sabina are just representative characters in this story. If we look at the crowd of students in the consultancy run in the district, it can be easily guessed that many youth of the district are eager to go abroad in search of employment.
Statistics from the District Administration Office Sindhuli show that 28,652 youth have obtained passports in a five-year period. This number of passports were obtained from the fiscal year 2077 to 2081 Magh 13. According to Bijay Dahal, coordinator of the Safe Migration Project, Sindhuli, which has been providing information, counseling, skill development, legal assistance, psychosocial counseling and financial literacy to people going abroad for employment, 10,000 youth have been going abroad from the district every year for the past two years.
Although the statistics on youth who have gone abroad for foreign employment and studies are collected by the District Administration Office and the Safe Migration Center, the relevant bodies do not have statistics on those who have returned. According to the Safe Migration Center, Sindhuli, 151 of those who have gone abroad for employment in the past 16 years have died there due to various reasons. In the past 11 years, 51 have returned sick or disabled while working. It has been found that some of those who have returned in this way have not been able to repay the loans they had taken while going abroad.
Youth are forced to emigrate due to the government’s failure to create employment in Nepal. According to Mukesh Ghimire, the general convention representative of the Nepali Congress, the government has not been able to provide proper opportunities even to those with skills. The lack of employment has worsened due to the limited productive sector and the failure to effectively implement policies to encourage industry, factories, trade and business and the private sector. The local government is not seen to be implementing special programs to create employment at the local level. ‘If the government had provided necessary facilitation and encouragement to the private sector, employment opportunities within the country would have increased. But since that does not happen, Nepali youth are forced to migrate abroad due to lack of employment,’ said youth leader Ghimire.
He believes that coordination between the government and the private sector is necessary to create sufficient employment within the country. He said that if productive industries can be established and employment can be created, the obligation of skilled youth to migrate abroad will be reduced. Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa, who recently arrived in Sindhulimadi in the evening after addressing a program organized in Tinpatan Rural Municipality-1 Belghari, interacted with the youth on timely issues. The youth spoke about the increasing number of youth leaving the country due to increasing unemployment and the problems faced in society.
General Secretary Thapa informed that the Congress will now run a ‘Mission Employment’ campaign for a year, focusing on the fact that youth are forced to go abroad due to unemployment. He said, ‘The Congress plans to hold a debate with all sectors on the areas and possibilities of employment. This will make it easier to identify the problem and find solutions. The Congress is running the Mission Employment campaign when there is no employment-focused debate in political discussions, parliament or other places.’
The Congress plans to conduct studies and research on the means and problems that can be used to create employment. The topics allocated for the dialogue include the meaning of employment in politics, the global scenario, productivity problems, skills problems, occupational safety, the future of labor and employment.
General Secretary Thapa said that there has been no study on why there are no jobs in Nepal, but they are not being obtained. Last Sunday, the Congress officially announced the launch of the ‘Mission Employment’ campaign. Will this campaign of the Congress be able to address the problems of youths like Pujan and Sabina, the representative characters of the above story, being forced to go abroad, unemployment and the problems seen in society? Many youth are waiting in search of answers.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्