By Shanker Man Singh
As soon as I wake up in the morning, I wish to see the mountains
May Nepal always be written with these hands…
While writing this, it seems a bit uncomfortable that the current youth generation does not have a situation like the song sung by singer Ramakrishna Dhakal in Nepal. As soon as we wake up in the morning, we are happy that the visa has arrived, and we feel proud to be able to leave the country.
Nepali people have become accustomed to the practice of feeling like they have conquered the world, considering it as heroism even if they get a PR or become foreign citizens. Remittance has become the biggest contributor to Nepal’s economy, so yes it is contributing but most importantly, it is not easy for expatriates to leave friends, family, and their homes, travel abroad, struggle, work hard, and achieve anything in life.
A cursory review of history has a long history of labor migration in Nepal. Nepalis have been living abroad for nearly 200 years after leaving their homes for employment. After the Nepal-British India War, the history of labor and migration begins in 1814-1816. Foreign employment can be defined as the process of working outside the country of birth. According to the Foreign Employment Act, “foreign employment” means the employment that the worker gets in foreign employment.
Foreign employment means working for a company in another country. International employment is working in many countries and often own country is one of them.
People go abroad for employment lack of employment opportunities, to earn more salary according to their hard work, to learn and experience a foreign working environment, to the standard of living and quality of life, to lack proper education, existing poverty, limited employment opportunities, declining agricultural productivity and past armed conflicts are some of the reasons for foreign employment.
Political instability and insecurity in the country are also major factors. The increasing migration of skilled, professionals and laborers from Nepal to foreign countries poses a great threat to the country’s development, leaving many questions unanswered. Can’t we use our own skills? Are we learning to make ourselves better? Since such practices hamper the development of the country, it is high time we find effective ways to combat the “brain drain”.
Some of the measures that can be taken to avoid this include: Plenty of employment opportunities Since every individual wants a secure and stable future, providing them with adequate employment opportunities can discourage the outflow of human capital.
People have so many career options, they cannot think of leaving their country. Smart earnings who don’t like low wages. They want their salary to match their job “profile” so that they can lead a happy, dignified life.
Also, people don’t just think about meeting their daily expenses. Since humans have an innate “fight or flight” response, the flight is inevitably possible if they are unable to fight in search of a safe life.
Therefore, it is important to protect their political, social, cultural and religious rights. In Nepal, sometimes the government stops young people from migrating abroad, but it is not practical and effective. The government, especially all the governments after 2062/63, have announced that they will provide employment, but they have not been able to provide employment. The previous government also announced that it would give priority to employment in the country. But they could not do it. Although the government has announced that it will give priority to job creation by discouraging foreign employment, it seems that nothing else will be done except to fill the pages of the government’s program. 500,000 people enter the labor market in Nepal every year.
Out of them, three-quarters are forced to go for foreign employment without getting a job in the country. The previous government had announced the end of compulsory foreign employment. But forced foreign employment has not yet ended. As the government can create jobs in the country, the workers are forced to go to foreign jobs for low wages.
The government has not been able to provide skill-based training to workers who want to do business in the country and who are going to work abroad. As a result, unskilled workers are forced to go for foreign employment.
Nepal’s villages are becoming more and more empty. It is sad to say that some villages are run by women. When there is a calamity in the village and when people die, a situation has arisen where men are not even found.
Not only the government but every Nepali knows that one can become a worker by selling labor abroad, but one can become an owner by working hard at home. However, there is still a belief that bad luck does not happen in Nepal.
According to the latest data from the Foreign Employment Department, 6 lakh Nepalese youths migrate abroad every year. As the youth go abroad, it is increasing day by day, not decreasing. There is no doubt that Nepali people will have to live a life of slavery by selling labor abroad for decades if they do not find an alternative to it at home.
It is a bitter reality that one cannot find a job in the country according to one’s skills and abilities, migrating abroad is not the last option.
Young people who have passed SEE have the mindset to start dreaming of foreign countries without even studying Plus Two.
The harsh reality is that parents are encouraging the young generation to go abroad, be it out of curiosity or compulsion. Therefore, after the dream of foreign employment has taken root in their hearts, the young generation is unable to stay in the villages and cities. Unless there is a change in the thinking of the government and the youth, prosperity is not possible, nor is it possible to stop migration abroad. For the country to leap economically and socially, it must be able to believe in labor first. Whether the work is small or big, labor should be respected and efforts should be made to increase production in the country.
The government should not delay in coming up with immediate, medium-term and long-term policies and programs. If one youth is going to study further, we should say, go but come back later.
Money does not grow on trees. Wherever you go, you have to work. If you go to gulf countries, it’s mostly for very painful labor and the climate there can’t be described without the sweat. No country will allow foreigners to do their native work unless they can.
There are many opportunities in Nepal. With young people going to work abroad, most educated people choose non-profit or government or private sector ‘jobs’, which means less competition for you. Go and start a company.
The poor market is big! A high unemployment rate means you can build a team around motivated young people who are eager to stay employed. Plus, you’ll gain their goodwill and loyalty to hopefully build a long-term sustainable company. No matter how chaotic the situation seems right now, things will get better. Those who are abroad are going to return in the future and do you know what they are doing?
Start a company or find a job, something you can do now and when they come back, you’ll be the leader. And last of all, because you owe something to this beautiful country that you were always proud of. You now have a choice: either make your own dreams come true or “you’ll be hired to make someone else’s dream come true.” Let’s make Nepal a country of opportunity for the youth. Make Nepal’s entrepreneurs successful by ensuring a permanent government that encourages commerce and development.
Tourism has a great scope in Nepal. It can help a lot if the youth of Nepal don’t have to face so much hardship. It doesn’t happen all at once. Nepal should invest heavily in its infrastructure, industrialize a bit, so it doesn’t import so much and ensure a steady flow of money to its central treasury.
We consider the fertile working age in Nepal from 20 to 50 years, and if we consider the fertile working age in Nepal from 15 to 64 years, then in 2021, 66.02 per cent were in the age group of 15-64 years and 5.91 per cent were above 65 years.
Every year, a large number of the country’s hardworking and talented youth migrate abroad, which is like a flood carrying away the fertile topsoil of the land. Undoubtedly, the main responsible for the terrible situation of youth migration are the bandhs, strikes and the lack of proper employment in the country for those who have obtained higher education. Other statistics that capture those who work in India (where a work permit is not required) or leave to work abroad through informal channels indicate that female migration may account for more than 12 per cent of the total labor force abroad. Remittances are a major contributor to growth in household income and national GDP. In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nepal has reached the third position among the countries receiving the most remittances. Youth is seen with great importance for the development and golden future of the country. The role of youth is important in bringing new changes in various fields such as political, economic, social, cultural, technological etc. in the country. Therefore, the state should have a special responsibility to make the youth enterprising and creative and to make them responsible citizens.
It seems that the state has failed to bring development and youth into leadership. The state must formulate a youth-friendly policy and implement it effectively.
It seems that the national youth policy is aimed at the youth. However, due to various weaknesses in it, it has not been able to touch the youth. Apart from some exceptions, it seems that the youth are going towards destruction instead of development. This is the reason why our education is impractical, lack of youth-oriented programs and a lack of participation of the young generation at the leadership level.
It is clear that through the development and use of information technology, Nepalese youth have succeeded in gaining fame at the national and international levels. This work is also a matter of pride for the youth. In this context, as the contribution of youth to political change is incomparable, in the same way, it should be used in the economic development of the country. Only then can the country get an opportunity to develop in a new way.
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