Going Abroad For Work IS Patriotic

A lot of people talk about the Nepali youth leaving for overseas employment as if they have committed a crime. "If only they would do here what they are not ashamed of doing there," they say while sipping their lattes at Java-- I beg to differ. With the weak and incompetent political system, a corrupt bureaucracy that impedes economic activity and high unemployment rate, there is nothing that these youth can accomplish staying in Nepal. Wanting to go abroad to work, with the knowledge of poor working conditions, sometimes even deadly conditions, should not be ridiculed. In fact, in today's unstable and weak economy (brought about mostly by bad banking policies and a busted real estate bubble) it is these workers who have kept the economy afloat. I have posted the increase in remittance and how it has been the life-blood of the Nepali economy before. The money that they bring back and use for consumption or construction adds to the domestic demand, which helps sustain various local businesses. So, yes, they are patriotic!

eKantipur.com reports that the "worker departure has reached an all time high" with most of the increase coming from an uptick in demand for workers from the Middle East. So, as more and more Nepalese workers head out to other parts of the world to earn an honest living, we should not look at them with disdain. If such feelings start to manifest,  be it at Java, your NGO/INGO office, or in the comfort of Facebook/Twitter, just think of their patriotic action of helping the Nepalese economy and do them a favor-- do your part-- act, politically or socially, to make their life overseas better and safer!