Illegal Nepalese Dilemma

 Dilemma of illegal Nepalese in Korea

Many Nepalese come to Korea with the hope of earning money and securing their future, but the three year time period for their stay here as legal workers is just enough for them to pay back the debt by which they came to Korea and send some for their families to have few new items in their homes.  The first year is simply spent in getting used to the basics of life and work environment in a foreign land and some give up their dreams and return.  But those who manage to stay for three years; they get used to the culture and society and become accustomed to the way of life.  They pick up the language, and know in and out of their working environment.  When they are just about to live and work in Korea without much difficulty in terms of language, food and culture, time comes for them to go home. 

At the same time, the home country continues to go from bad to worse every year.  As they communicate to their family members, everyone suggests them that it is better for them to stay in a country like Korea illegally than coming back to Nepal where there is no hope of doing anything.  As the three year period comes to a close, they run away from their working places and start working as illegal workers.  Many companies do prefer the illegal workers than going through the hassles of hiring the legal ones; beside, the illegal ones already are good at work, language and adjustment where as the new ones will have to be trained all over again.  So, the illegal Nepalese workers have no problem of finding the employment.

There are about 3 thousand or more illegal Nepalese working in Korea, but the latest crackdown by the government has become so painful for these friends whose hopes lie in their being here so that they can continue to work and send money for their families in Nepal.  They wish to stay here for few more years so that they could save some for their future and at the same time wait for their nation to be a place where they could live and work without fear and uncertainty.

However, many Nepalese are caught by the immigration officials these days and some are already held in detention centers, waiting for their time of deportation.  They had plans, hopes and wishes, but all of them are now dashed, not because it is a bad thing to go home, but because, for Nepalese, home means, absolutely no job, insecurity, extortion by the Maoists and criminals and even kidnap and death.  The Maoists and criminals know that a worker from a country like Korea does have some money for them to extort.  As they wait in the detention centers, their minds become restless.  On the one hand, they hare happy to see their family members and loved ones that they have missed so much, but on the other hand, when they think of the over all situation in Nepal, they feel helpless and lost.

The political situation in Nepal is getting nowhere and there is a strong possibility of bloodshed and perhaps a total control by the Maoists.  Economically, there is absolutely no condition for any investment or entrepreneurship.  Except in the monsoon season, there is no electricity for more than 15 hours everyday, constant transport strikes and closers of normal life have completely paralyzed the nation.   Factories and businesses are being taken over by the workers who are being brainwashed by the extreme communistic ideology of Maoism; businessmen are running away from the nation for their lives.  Departmental stores and shopping centers have become like hunted houses because the workers demanded more than what the owners could pay them and government loathes them with heavy taxes.  Security wise, when one leaves home, one does not know when or whether he/she will be able to come back, and for those who do have wealth and property, life is very uncertain; the constant news of kidnapping and killing for ransom have taken away their sleep and hunger.  Parents wait anxiously for their children to return from school and breathe a sigh of relief when they see them safely home.

With this kind of a picture in mind, a Nepali feels safer in Korea even if it means living like a fugitive, but a thought of going home creates a panic.  Deep down in the heart, everyone wishes to go home but the present reality of Nepal sends a chilling sensation in the spine every time the thought of deportation comes to mind.