Nepalis seeking jobs in Iraq stranded in Mumbai

Mumbai, August 10: Hundreds of Nepalis seeking jobs in Iraq are stranded midway after a hostage crisis prompted India to ban work and travel in that country, effectively closing down recruitment agencies in Mumbai and elsewhere.
The restrictions were imposed in July after seven truck drivers employed by a Kuwaiti transport firm, including three Indians, were taken hostage by Islamic militants demanding financial compensation for victims of air strikes in Falluja.

Hundreds of jobless Nepalis have been lured to Mumbai by Indian recruitment companies in the last few months, little knowing that the hostage crisis would scupper their hopes of getting lucrative employment in Iraq.

"I came to Bombay two months back and I was confident that I would get some work in Iraq," said 35-year-old Dinesh Chetri.

"Now I am worried. I don't know if I can get a job anywhere," said Chetri, who is staying in a ramshackle boarding house that costs him around $3 a day.

"I am stuck here. I cannot go back to Nepal because I have borrowed money to go to Iraq. Without a job how can I pay it back?" said another Nepali, who declined to give his name.

Many borrow what to them are huge amounts to pay recruiting agencies charging anything between $1,000 and $2,000 to provide a job. In some cases that amount may include air tickets and boarding expenses for a brief stay in Bombay while in transit.

At least 200,000 Nepalis are employed in the Middle East. Most of them work as truck drivers, guards, cooks or helpers in offices and homes and earn as much as $600 per month.

The pay is considered a hefty sum in Nepal, an impoverished Himalayan kingdom where frequent Maoist rebel attacks and lack of job opportunities threaten economic stability.

Nepal imposed a ban on work in Iraq after the US invasion last year, yet many of its nationals took jobs with companies in Gulf countries and are working in Iraq's construction business.

In recent months, dozens of foreigners have been seized in Iraq, many of them truck drivers working for companies delivering supplies to US forces. Some have been released, but others have been killed.

Nepal's information minister, Mohammad Mohsin, told Reuters he was unaware of the situation but would look into the plight of those stranded in Mumbai. "We have taken it seriously," he said.

Chetri, the sole provider for a large family that includes his wife, two children, sisters and old parents, says he is now hoping he can land a guard's job in Kuwait.

"I have to earn some money. I am willing to do a lot of hard work," he said.

From: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=34861#compstory