We, Nepal’s iGeneration — Immigrants
Many of our lives and stories in Nepal revolves around immigration. Families have been moving for generations from colder mountains to warmer Terai plains, from rural villages to luring Kathmandu valley. Be it harsher climatic reasons or just the search for a better life, generations after generations we have been on the move.
The trend today for many of us is to find refuge in more developed countries. As early as after finishing high school, we pack our bags to foreign manpower companies or if lucky to foreign universities. Australia, Canada, India, Japan, South Korea, The Middle East, Malaysia, the US, and the UK are popular destinations. There most of us try to create a better life, but few do return back to Nepal.
Those of us returning, some fail at finding fortune abroad while some hope to be like the “Alchemist” accepting that the true treasure is within and at the place where it all began. We wish to create a life here with our families. We realize at some point, that our heart is calling us home. With the hope of having enough, we pack our bags again and pray to achieve what was dreamed of for years. To create a better life in the place we were born.
“It almost feels like coming back to Nepal is more of an internal struggle than going out.”
And here I am back in Nepal after a decade. Leaving was easy. Like my father, I was driven by hope and dreams. Nothing seemed impossible. Returning feels different. It creates fear of losing. Losing everything you worked on. Disappointing your family and leaving the certainty. The certainty of so-called “good” life. Giving up all we worked for and starting from square one. Most are doubtful of the decision to return now, and rightly so, especially during the Covid pandemic and the current economic instability.
We, who return have a common dilemma. We face the dilemma about our new reality - of us and our country. When I left, Nepal had just abandoned the monarchy system after a decade-long civil war, the future was uncertain but there was hope. Now that I am back, peace has arrived but the country hasn’t changed much. The constitution was established but the divide between “haves” and “have nots” is still deep. No matter who is taking the political leadership the direction of the state seems still not shaped.
Being apart from your family, home and your culture isn’t easy. But once you follow your heart and return to the place of birth, life does not automatically get easier. The expectation of you as a returnee is big. Foreign returnees are usually the main source of financial support to their families. There are various visible and invisible expectations and responsibilities of the returnee from family and friends. The environment in Nepal is unstable, many unexpected things come up and saving tend to finish faster than hoped.
“We have to be careful though to find a balance between teaching others and finding our own path in Nepal.”
You can find many of us sitting in bars and village crossroads drinking “raxy”and loudly discussing how Nepal has to prosper. We have to be careful though to find a balance between teaching others and finding our own path in Nepal. If we are not careful, than many of us might end up going back to foreign lands to toil hard for years again. Being in the same cycle of foreign work dependency.
For a decade, foreign workers have helped shape the economy of Nepal. Many disasters like the Earthquake of 2015 or political instabilities have come but “remittance” has been a lifesaver. Most in the country agree that not the politicians, bureaucrats, or technocrats but the foreign workers and their remittance have helped Nepal today. They are the ones who sacrifice their youth, miss the growing up of their children, important family unions, and Dashain, not returning home for years at a stretch. Once back, careful thought, determination, and plan of what next to do is needed. If not we risk ending up being back to square one.