Nepali migrant workers leave behind family and community to endure unimaginable hardships abroad. The statistics overshadow their sacrifices, revealing the profound human cost of labour migration.
Oh, my dear Muna! Don’t say such things, my blooming moon!
Why have you forgotten that I shall return soon?
I will stay in Lhasa for just twenty days and twenty days on the road.
The bird will fly back again one morning – dear!
It will be a grand day of reunion!
A man either achieves his goal or dies trying
So don’t let your tears hinder my path.
Smile with your pomegranate-seed-like teeth.
If you smile, I can even command Indra’s throne.
Dear! Smile at our farewell.
The Nepali episodic love poem Muna Madan by the legendary poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota tells the story of newly married Muna and Madan as Madan leaves his family to seek riches in Lhasa. In one verse, Madan reassures Muna of his return, urging her to remain strong and not to cry at his departure. The fictional Madan represents the reality of many Nepalis’ dreams of earning a fortune abroad and leaving home with promises of return. But not all of them make it back.
Nepal relies heavily on remittances, yet inadequate worker protections, lack of domestic employment, and weak enforcement of labour rights continue to endanger thousands.
Raj Kumar Pariyar, a 31-year-old father of two from Jaimini Municipality, was one such dreamer. He left Nepal with the help of loans to work in Saudi Arabia. But on 12th February 2024, a workplace accident claimed his life, leaving his family drowning in grief and debt.
Raj Kumar’s case is not an isolated one. A lack of employment opportunities and political instability compel thousands of Nepali men and women to risk their lives for work abroad. They seek jobs overseas in the hope of repaying debts and improving their families’ lives. However, the harsh conditions in destination countries often shatter these hopes.
A growing crisis
According to the Foreign Employment Board, 3,887 Nepali workers registered with the board lost their lives abroad between 2021–22 and 2023–24. There were 1,479 deaths in 2021–22, 1,030 in 2022–23, and 1,346 in 2023–24.
In 2023–24 alone, 199 workers died from heart attacks, 192 committed suicides, 157 died of natural causes, and 157 lost their lives in road accidents. Additionally, 92 died from other causes, and 46 in workplace accidents.
As the number of Nepali migrant workers rises annually, so does the number of fatalities. Around 700,000 Nepalis seek foreign employment each year. In the past year alone, 741,000 Nepalis—661,000 men and 80,000 women— went abroad for work, marking an uptick in outmigration. Government data indicate that approximately 1,000 Nepali workers die abroad each year—an average of four per day. Many of those who survive face exploitation, health problems, and fatal hazards.
Between 2021 and 2024, nearly 4,000 Nepali workers lost their lives abroad due to workplace accidents, heart attacks, suicides, and other causes.
Foreign employment experts blame the high death toll on the high proportion of unskilled workers. In 2023–24, 145,000 unskilled and 532,000 generally skilled workers left Nepal for foreign employment, while only 60,000 semi-skilled and 732 highly skilled individuals went abroad.
These figures raise urgent concerns regarding the health and safety of Nepali migrant workers. Their wellbeing is at the centre of a grave and escalating crisis. The extreme heat, hazardous working conditions, and mental health struggles make them highly vulnerable to accidents, heart attacks, and suicide.
A system in need of reform
Remittance sustains Nepal’s economy, with nearly every lower- or middle-class household having at least one or two family members working abroad. While remittances have improved many families’ living standards, the unresolved issues around worker safety and security remain deeply troubling. Expanding domestic employment opportunities and ensuring political stability could substantially reduce outmigration and, in turn, lower the number of deaths.
Over the years, the government has attempted to address these concerns through initiatives such as the Safer Migration Project, a bilateral programme between the Government of Nepal and the Swiss Confederation. Yet the problems persist. Many workers still go abroad without any training. In addition, agents and employers often exploit those who are unaware of their rights. The situation is especially dire for undocumented workers. When they die, their families are left without support and legal recourse.
The human cost calls for change
When a worker dies, so does a family’s future. Sushila Pariyar, the widow of Raj Kumar Pariyar, must now support her family alone: children growing up without a father and elderly parents burying the son who left with dreams of a better life. Although workers registered with the Foreign Employment Board may be eligible for financial compensation, no amount of money can replace the loss or mend the systemic inequality. The lives and sacrifices of migrant workers should be enough to spur essential economic reforms. But migration continues to exact a heavy price—one paid with human lives.
This crisis demands a paradigm shift, not just policy tweaks. There must be stricter enforcement of laws protecting migrant workers. Orientation, awareness-raising, and capacity-building initiatives are equally important, as are stronger safeguards to ensure workers’ rights and wellbeing.
Silence must not follow the exodus of Nepali workers to the Gulf and beyond. Their stories and struggles must be heard—and their sacrifices acknowledged. Only then can we begin to realise their dreams, instead of returning them in coffins.
