Harsh Reality of Nepal

Every day, about 1750 people leave the country in search of work elsewhere. Close to 50 % of Nepalese rely on financial help from relatives working abroad: am I presenting facts here? No, I am just stating the harsh reality of Nepal. Something to be proud of? Of course not. Who is at fault here? The government who could not provide better opportunities, be it education or employment or the youth who crave for a better lifestyle? A complicated decision, isn’t it?

Maybe I am moving too forward here. Let us step back a little. How many young people do we see every year with the phrase : I’m studying IELTS, I’m applying for abroad, or there is no other way than going abroad. Whether it is for higher studies or employment purposes, people are moving abroad, and how many people who go to foreign countries actually come back: very few.

Time and again, we see people preferring the lifestyle in the respective countries; it’s more convenient, its more facilitated, or simply because they’ve grown accustomed to it. You may want to blame the government for this. There are no proper facilities; the system is corrupted; that is the way things are in Nepal; the conditions of the roads are just getting worse; I know, I know, there are a lot of reasons to go on and on. But do you think the situation of the country is going to get any better with a large portion of the youth population staying in foreign countries? Obviously not.

I do not want to be judgmental here, people go simply because they need to earn for their family or because they want a better and more secure future for their children. Many Nepalese families are living off of remittance here; another harsh reality of Nepal. Grandparents rarely get to see their grandchildren because they are settled somewhere in the west; another harsh reality of Nepal. Parents are marrying off their daughters to green card holders and PR holders despite massive age difference; another harsh reality of Nepal. The truth sounds ugly when placed like that, does it not?

Do not tell me there are not enough opportunities in Nepal, because as they say in Nepali: ‘ garne manche le gariracha’. Whatever the situation is at present, however it is, it is still our country. The beauty, the landscapes, the lack of facilities, the unmaintained places; the good and the bad, it is still our country. And if we turn our back on our country, who will come then?

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Rajamati

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Most Asked Question

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