English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

The Remake of a StateData from DoFE (2008) have shown that the number of people going outfor foreign employment increased from 183,929 in 2004-05 to 193,803 in2006-07. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, on average,17,500 people go to work abroad as labour forces every month. Thisdoes not however include migration to India, non-registered migration,student migration and other non-labour migration. In the month of April-May, even in these formally registered labour migrations, the numberreaches to 26,704 per month. Similar increase is also shown by data ofLabour and Foreign Employment Promotion Board. Brusle (2008) notesthat even after the country entering into the peace process in 2006, fromJuly 2007 to January 2008, there was a 25 per cent increase in the numberof Nepalese coming to Qatar. Nepalese, when they numbered 266,000 inFebruary 2008, were about to become the largest expatriate communityin Qatar. These figures show that despite the rhetoric of peace and with itshope for prosperity, migration of able-bodied people from Nepal cannotbe stopped completely.Besides, the trend of migration for other purposes is growing. According tothe Ministry of Education, an estimated 20,000 students leave the countryannually for education. Similarly, the Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) peopleare becoming very visible in the Nepalese world of migrants. They arelooked up to have both financial and human potentials. Estimates showthat there are 6-7 million Nepalese who are scattered around differentcountries of the world (Gautam 2006). Among them, an estimated twomillion Nepalese in 45 different countries has come under a commonumbrella of Non–Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) since 2005. Manymore remain to be registered. They have 38 national chapters all over theworld. As their objective shows, they are getting together and workingproactively to get involved in the welfare of Nepal.Some outcomes are already visible. We have seen the active role of theNRN during the crisis period of Nepal. During intense conflict, whenboth national and international media were full of horror stories aboutthe dangers of travelling to Nepal, the NRN have come together toNepal from all parts of the world and carried out three series of globalNRN conferences on how they could play a role in the wellbeing of thiscountry. They wanted to give message in their individual country thatNepal, despite conflict, was not as bad as it was portrayed in the mediaand international travel advisories.173