Kamalamai (Sindhuli), 11 March: Sindhulimadi Bazaar, the district headquarters of Sindhuli, is quiet. However, there is a lot of activity at the tea shops along the Bus Park Road. Some of the youth who left the village to seek a bright 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 skills in website development, mobile app development, graphic design and videography. However, he does not earn according to 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!” He said with a smile, “There is no investment. Banks do not give loans without collateral. I will go abroad, earn money, and then return and do business.”
Going abroad for employment was not his desire but a compulsion. Why didn’t he try to find employment in the country? He applied for an IT officer at the local level. He took the exam 15 times. His name was selected in the written exam, but he failed the oral exam because he couldn’t pay the required amount. “Not once, but repeatedly. In one municipality, up to eight lakh rupees were asked. Where will I get that much money?” he said while taking a sip of tea, “That’s why I’m going abroad now.” Pujan, disappointed, recounted the bitter experience of needing recommendations or bribes from those in power to get a jagir.
Although, Pujan is doing skilled work in an organization in the district. But not getting the remuneration according to the labor has made him feel depressed. He has to work from morning till night. He does not even get the stipulated monthly salary of Rs. 10,000 on time. This makes it difficult for him to even earn his own 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 is leaving for Italy in a few days. There are many young people like Pujan in the district who have skills, enthusiasm 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 manipulations, they are forced to give up and go abroad.
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 at a crossroads in her journey. She is currently in her second year of BBS, but she is still unsure whether to continue her studies or drop out. “The situation at home is miserable. There is no job. It is difficult to meet daily expenses. Now I am thinking of quitting my studies and going abroad,” Sabina said.
Some of Savina’s friends have already gone to Australia, some to Dubai. They talk to them from time to time. Their words, “Even if you go abroad and suffer, you can earn better than here,” are forcing Savina to choose the same path. “Job opportunities are limited in Sindhuli. Where there are opportunities, recommendations are needed, bribes are needed. I have neither strong resources nor money,” Savina said.
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 to study and earn, 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 youths have obtained passports in a five-year period. This number was 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 for foreign employment, 10,000 youths have been going abroad from the district every year for the past two years.
Although the District Administration Office and the Safe Migration Center keep a record of the youth who have gone abroad for employment and studies, the relevant agencies do not have the data 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 injured while working. It has been found that some of those who have returned have not been able to repay the loans they had taken while going abroad.
In Nepal, the government has failed to create employment opportunities, forcing youth to migrate abroad. According to Mukesh Ghimire, 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 has not happened, 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 employment can be created by establishing productive industries, the compulsion of skilled youth to emigrate 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 by the society.
General Secretary Thapa informed that the Congress will now run a ‘Mission Employment’ campaign for a year, focusing on the issue of youth being forced to migrate due to unemployment. He said, “The Congress plans to hold a debate with all sectors on the areas and possibilities of employment. This will facilitate the identification of the problem and finding solutions. The Congress is running the Mission Employment campaign at a time when employment-focused debates have not been held in political discussions, parliament or other places.”
The Congress plans to conduct studies and research on the means and problems of job creation on its own behalf. Topics earmarked for dialogue include the meaning of employment in politics, the global landscape, productivity issues, skills issues, occupational safety, and the future of labor and employment.
General Secretary Thapa said that there has been no study on why there are no jobs in Nepal despite the fact that they are not being found. Last Sunday, the Congress officially announced the launch of its ‘Mission Employment’ campaign. Will this campaign of the Congress be able to address the problems of youths like Pujan and Sabina, the representative characters in the story above, being forced to emigrate, unemployment, and the problems seen in society as a result? Many young people are waiting in search of an answer.
