Compelled to leave by Madhuri Mahato

COMPELLED TO LEAVE: Savir Mian Dhovi, 24, of Bhauratar, Parsa, had left for Malaysia a year ago to work in a bottle factory. When the world started shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his company had to close and they let him go. Dhovi was stuck in Malaysia for five months when he could finally get a ticket back when Nepal opened the airport the second time.

He considered himself fortunate to have returned but says that the Nepalis in Malaysia are stuck in limbo. “Their condition is deplorable,” says Dhovi, “I paid what I earned, but many cannot do that.” Back in Parsa, his family is happy to have him back, but they are struggling to make ends meet. Dhovi has been going out every day to look for work but hasn’t had success yet. “I wander around the villages searching for work,” says Dhovi, “I don’t want to leave Nepal to go look for work, but I have to, I can’t find work here, and my family will starve, I will go back again if I can.”

Text and Photos: Madhuri Mahato @mmhisimmy

Copy Edit: Nisha Rai @nishastoryteller

Edit: Mallika Aryal @mikaness

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