First batch Nepalis to return by Sunday

KATHMANDU, Feb 26: If everything turns out as planned, the first group of Nepali migrant workers stranded in Libya, where over 1,000 people were reportedly killed over the past week alone in ongoing unrest, is expected to arrive in Kathmandu by Sunday. Most of the remaining workers will also be back home within the next week, say government officials.



According to officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), of the 562 Nepali workers who reached Alexandria, the second largest city of Egypt, from Sallum on Friday, at least 40 were expected to board an Air Arabia plane by 12 p.m. local time (around 3:45 a.m. Saturday Nepal time). [break]



They spent more than 24 hours in Sallum without adequate food and water. "After a few hours in transit in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), they will land in Kathmandu by Sunday," a MoFA official told Republica.



However, Som Lal Bataju, president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), who reached Alexandria to arrange flights for the Nepali workers, claimed that the first group will arrive in Nepal no later than Saturday. "There will hopefully be no problems in transit," Bataju told Republica over the phone. "We are trying to send back more workers, up to 60 to be precise, in the first group."



According to Bataju, air tickets are being booked for 500 more Nepali workers as well, who reached Alexandria via Sallum from Darnah, a port city in eastern Libya. "Although almost all the Darnah-based workers have reached Alexandria safely, many more stranded elsewhere in Libya are yet to get through," Bataju said. "We have asked them to make their way carefully to the Egypt border."



According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), 291 Nepali migrant workers are in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Similarly, 800 workers are in Ghat, 197 in Benghazi and 28 in Surt. According to Shyam Lal Tabadar, Nepal´s ambassador in Egypt, these workers have also sought immediate repatriation. They are all safe so far.



As violent clashes continue in Libya, a group of around 70 Nepali workers has left Benghazi for Sallum, according to Dhan Bahadur Oli, deputy chief of protocol at MoFA. They will also reach Alexandria, some 250 km from Sallum. While employer companies and manpower agencies are expected to arrange air tickets, the embassy will bear the cost of local transport and food. On Thursday, MoFA allocated $ 3,000 to the embassy for this purpose.



Although the Darnah-based workers were to return to Cairo via Sallum, they headed for Alexandria instead. "We were advised to reach Alexandria as it is nearer from Sallum," said Tirtha Aryal, first secretary at the embassy in Cairo who reached Sallum to receive the Nepali workers. "So, we dropped our earlier plan to go to Cairo."



Nepali workers to return via Beijing



Around 800 Nepali workers stranded in Ghat in south-western Libya will return to Nepal via Beijing, the capital of China, informed MoFA.



According to Deputy Chief of Protocol Oli, the Chinese construction company that employed the Nepali workers in Ghat has already arranged two aircraft for them. "Nepali migrant workers will be airlifted to Beijing from Ghat," Oli said, adding, "They will return to Kathmandu from Beijing."



While the Ghat-based workers heave sighs of relief, the fate of Nepali workers in Tripoli, from where reports of clashes were coming till Friday evening, remains uncertain. Worse, more than 20 workers hiding in their camp in Tripoli do not have their passports to proceed for their visas.



"Passports of 20 workers have been kept by their employers at their head office. No one has dared to retrieve the passports as it is almost impossible to venture out in the streets of Tripoli," Oli Told Republica.

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