On December 11, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” said that around 200 Nepali youths could be working in Russian forces fighting against Ukraine. Mr. Prachanda shared the information, albeit without disclosing the source, at a meeting of his Maoist party.
He did not reveal what exactly his government has been doing to track down those Nepalis in Russian forces and rescue them. Nevertheless, at least one person fighting for Russian forces is someone who once was a member of the so-called “people’s liberation army” that Mr. Prachanda led between 1996 and 2006 when his Maoist party waged a war against the Nepali state.
In a Facebook post on December 14, Diamond C. Myagdeli shared that he is among thousands of those who once fought the Maoist war but were left to fend for themselves and look for jobs in different parts of the world. He also shared, along with an image of him in camouflage fatigues carrying a gun, that he joined Russian forces voluntarily despite knowing the high risks involved.
Though some social media posts back in May suggested that Nepalis were fighting for Russia, the Prachanda government was in complete denial. Only after an uncanny silence did the government on December 4 admit that six Nepali nationals had died while fighting Ukraine over some time.
And that Nepalis are working as mercenaries in a far-flung country like Russia has once again exposed the grim reality of the high unemployment rate in the country, which is forcing youths to take unprecedented risks.
Researchers on employment and outmigration say that though Nepalis going abroad for employment is not a new phenomenon, the trend has intensified in recent years.
Dr. Ganesh Gurung, an expert on labour migration, says it sounds like a paradox that the number of people below the poverty line has drastically come down in Nepal, but the foreign employment rate has spiked.
“Remittance sent by those working abroad has lifted people out of poverty, but in the meantime, the job creation rate has been too slow,” said Dr. Gurung. “Nepal lacks avenues and policies to absorb its workforce, fuelling outmigration. Youths risking their lives to fight on the frontlines for an alien country is also a result of a lack of jobs at home.”
High unemployment rate
The employment crisis appears to have hit the tipping point. Hyperbolic it may sound, but the saying “labour is the major export of Nepal” is a common refrain.
As per the 2021 census, Nepal’s working-age population in the 15-64 age bracket is 65%, which puts Nepal in an advantageous position to reap demographic dividends. But for a lack of employment, better income, or dignity at work, a large number of the working-age population, especially the youth, have been seeking overseas migration. According to the International Labour Organisation, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15–29 in Nepal is 19.2%, compared to 2.7% for the entire population.
“The common psychology among Nepalis, especially the youth, is that their future in the country is bleak,” says Dr. Gurung. “There is peer pressure and social pressure as well. If a neighbour goes abroad and earns better, why not them? If a neighbouring friend chooses a better college in the U.S. or Australia, why not them?”
Government data show as many as 7,45,000 Nepalis left the country as of mid-July this year to work in foreign countries. Experts also point out the social divide in Nepalis’ overseas migration, with those from poor backgrounds, a majority, seeking jobs in the Gulf and Malaysia, and others in the United States, Australia, and European countries.
Sanjay Sharma, one of the authors of the recently published research paper State of Migration in Nepal, says it’s natural for anyone to look for better opportunities for their own wellbeing.
“Nepalis have historically been going to foreign lands to earn money and even fighting wars on behalf of others,” says Mr. Sharma. As far as youths joining Russian forces are concerned, according to Mr. Sharma, this is not the first time Nepalis have chosen risky jobs.
“Nepali youths did go to work in Afghanistan or Iraq despite knowing that the risks involved were very high,” said Mr. Sharma. “That a lack of jobs at home is forcing more and more youths to go abroad is undoubtedly true.”
From Russia, with pain
Ever since the deaths of Nepalis serving in Russian forces were reported, the families of several others have come forward, demanding that the government make efforts to bring them home. The government, however, is at its wit’s end — it does not have exact data on the number of Nepalis in Russia, let alone those fighting the war. Nor does it have a plan to rescue them.
In a country like Nepal, where jobs have become scarcer, it was an opportunity for some to make a quick buck when Moscow started recruiting foreigners. Nepali police on December 5 arrested a group of 10 people in charge of smuggling young Nepalis to join the Russian armed forces.
Experts say that for some youths, when push comes to shove, they are left with no option but to put themselves on the line of fire in return for some decent money.
For Nepalis, it may not have been a lucrative proposition in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Those in Russia, however, could have been tempted to join the military formations after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May to ease the process of acquiring citizenship for foreigners who worked under contract for one year.
“And many must have been under the impression that Putin’s forces would win the war in no time, but the war has ground on,” said Mr. Sharma.
While Mr. Myagdeli admits to having no regrets over fighting as a “Putin’s soldier,” many others are now pleading with the government, through their family members in Nepal, for rescue.
Young Nepalis have mostly been flying to Moscow on student visas, and those who were in the Gulf have reached Russia on tourist visas, lured by good money. “A lack of information or misinformation also may have prompted many to join Russian forces,” says Mr. Sharma.
Spectacular failure
Despite repeated promises, Nepal’s revolving-door governments have failed to address one of the most pressing issues in the country—unemployment. As remittance has been the mainstay of the country’s tottering economy, successive governments have made unsuccessful efforts, unsuccessfully though, to streamline foreign employment. Ministers take pride in finding new labour destinations rather than making policies to create jobs at home.
“The rate at which young Nepalis are leaving the country makes anyone wonder if villages will be empty soon, with only senior citizens left behind,” said Dr. Gurung. “There is no denying that Nepal’s political class has failed the youth.”
On average, more than 2,000 young Nepalis leave the country daily for foreign employment.
The foreign employment trend in recent years has laid bare a stark truth—those who swelter in the heat of the Gulf or Malaysia send remittances far more than those who go to the U.S., Australia, or any other European country. Nearly 2 million Nepalis work in the Gulf and Southeast Asia, sending a large share of the total remittances to the country.
According to the World Bank, remittances accounted for nearly a quarter of the gross domestic product last year. “Those working in the Gulf or Malaysia ultimately return after the completion of their job tenure,” says Mr. Sharma, the researcher. “But the problem is that there are neither avenues to invest the money they save by working as migrant labourers nor policies to absorb them once they are back.”
With no work at home, according to Mr. Sharma, these people then invest the money they had saved to seek jobs in some European countries like Romania or Portugal, and the perpetual migration machine continues.
“So the whole structure has failed,” he said.
(Sanjeev Satgainya is an independent journalist based in Kathmandu)
