Kathmandu. Europe is an attractive destination for Nepali foreign employment seekers. Records show thousands of Nepali youths go to Europe for employment every year spending a large sum of money. They spend from a minimum of 700 thousand rupees to 1.2 million rupees to reach the destination of their dreams, where they hope to earn at least a 100 thousand rupees a month.

Are the Nepali youths offered jobs in Europe as they are promised by the manpower agents and companies in Nepal? A recently published report has given the answer in negative. European employment is not as rosy as it is prepared.

Dutch Trade Union Federation (FNV), a non-governmental organization in Belgium, in collaboration with Equidem Research Nepal and University of Lodz, Poland, has studied the case of foreign migrant workers from the south Asian countries to the European Community (EC) nations.

The report prepared following a case study of the Nepali youths going to Poland for employment depicts a harrowing tale of misery and shattered dreams. The youths are betrayed several times and their disappointment eventually makes them sell their labor at a cheap price. Labor migration expert Rameshwar Nepal, who had taken part in the study from Equidem Nepal, told DCNepal, “Nepalis have been swindled in the name of employment in Europe. The situation is really miserable!”

One of the objectives of the report was to find out why Nepalis are attracted to employment in Europe. Nepal underscored, “Nepalis are mostly attracted to Europe by the hope of getting the ID of the member nations of the European Community as that would make them eligible to call their family members to settle in Europe. Apart from that, lure of good income and a sense of pride of being in Europe also plays significant role.”

The government has directed the foreign employment service companies not to charge more than 80 thousand 400 rupees for Poland, but Nepali youths are fleeced 700 thousand rupees to 1.2 million rupees. There is no denying the fact that the recruitment agencies have put Nepali youths in a debt of hundreds of thousands of rupees.

The recruitment agencies are taking advantage of the situation of Nepal and Poland not having their embassies in each other’s countries. The report says that though Poland demands Nepalis as laborers, the agencies in Nepal recruit them as workers but send them in tourist visas not labor visas. Moreover, the recruited Nepalis do not have direct contact with the employer but  with the job centers, leading to perpetual cheating.

The report has concluded that both Nepal and European nations have been misled as regards foreign employment and has recommended making strong legal provisions. The report has also suggested for the proper management of foreign recruitment mechanism in Nepal.