Dixya Poudel

As stated in the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal, published by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the number of Nepalis seeking approval for foreign employment has reduced by 60.3 per cent in the past ten months. Before the onset of pandemic, about 1500 to 2000 Nepalis left for foreign employment in a day. In contrast, now the prospect of foreign employment has dwindled starkly.
In Nepal, it has been an-age old trend among the youth to seek work abroad. The allure of financial stability and a promise of better future are the reasons behind the popularity of foreign employment. Most Nepali youth seek employment abroad where they face strenuous labour for financial payoffs. Particularly the underprivileged youth work in India and the Middle East countries amid harsh work environment in exchange for paltry sums.
But even these small dividends are better off than the economic payoffs in the Nepali employment sector. It could explain why the youth flee the country in droves to compromised labour conditions.
However, due to the pandemic, Nepali workers are instead looking for ways to find employment at home. It shows that necessity is the base to all inventions. And in the event of crisis, people tend to either panic or adapt. Those who learn to adjust to adversities survive and prosper. The naturalist Charles Darwin attributed natural selection and the survival of the fittest to his theory of evolution. Thus even nature favours those species that are more attuned to adapt to new environmental changes.
It applies to the lives of mankind as well. When people are thrown off their comfort zone, the response is that of fight or flight. Needless to say those who are willing to put up a fight and overcome their struggles will ensure survival and triumph. It especially applies to the up and coming youth embarking on a path to their education and career. The economy has suffered but it has also encouraged able youth to invent new ways to earn a livelihood within the nation.
People tend to leave the security of their homeland for a prosperous future for their families. It could elucidate why they continue to fill out DV lottery for the United States even if the chances of winning are limited. Before the pandemic, the manpower in Nepali villages had trickled down to women, children, infirm and the elderly since the able members were employed in the gulf countries. Fortunate ones earned the coveted DV lottery or a work visa in the developed countries.
However, the pandemic has diminished the economic sector, not just in the nation but throughout the world. For years, remittance has been a major economic factor in underdeveloped nations. Thus Nepal which is heavily dependent on remittance could suffer an economic loss due to the fall in foreign employment.
However, it is not all doom and gloom. As the Nepali manpower navigates the terrain of employment in an uncertain era, work from home has never been so relevant, accessible and beneficial. Many have thus started to be self-employed and run a business to earn a livelihood even while the pandemic continues to rage. Now the Nepali youth are faced with a promising albeit uncharted future where they are determined to work in their own native land.