Kathmandu, Feb. 25
The rescue of Nepali
citizens who have been involved in online scamming
centres operating in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and other east Asian countries is
affected by lack of financial resources.
It also has delayed the rescue operation
and repatriation activities.
"Officials from the Embassy of Nepal
in Bangkok need to travel to other countries like Cambodia and stay there. If
we make any correspondence instead of visiting the respective country to
complete the rescue and repatriation, the entire process is delayed," Prakash
Adhikari, Chief of South East Asia and the Pacific Division at the MoFA said at
a programme organised at the Ministry on Wednesday.
Since the mission doesn't get additional
budget to conduct such activities and has to manage with meagre resources
available, it sometimes requests the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) and
local non-government organsiations (NGOs) to facilitate in the process.
NRN's support is sought while rescuing
Nepalis from the online scamming centres in Cambodia and Laos while local NGOs
helped in similar operation in Myanmar, said Adhikari. The mission, that also
has the responsibility of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is understaffed.
The process of repatriation is also delayed
if Nepalis weren't sent to Nepal immediately. If the repatriation is delayed
even by a day, they had to undergo an anti-human trafficking screening which
generally takes about a month.
"If we could hold an immediate
dialogue with the Thai authorities and repatriate our citizens on the same day
via connecting flights, they need not to wait for the screening," said
Adhikari. This screening is also conducted to check if the victim is genuine
and hadn't acted as an agent to the scam centres.
Adhikari informed that on an average it
takes 2.5 months to 3 months to bring back a Nepali national after rescuing
from the scam centre. This period could be longer in case of Cambodia since
Nepal doesn't have its mission there and needs to rely on Nepali community or
NRNA.
According to Adhikari, as per the rule,
support can't be mobilised from the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund if the
workers hadn't obtained labour permit from the government.
However, since it is the duty of the
country to rescue its official in trouble abroad, the MoFA is in dialogue with
the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security
to manage resources. Discussions now are focused on forming a joint mechanism
to create a fund and facilitate the rescue and repatriation activities.
"We are also studying the effective
mechanism implemented by other countries," said Adhikari.
Lok Bahadur Poudel
Chhetri, Spokesperson of the MoFA, said that although the concerned agencies
are coordinating for such operations, it is yet to be effective.
Likewise, Pushpa Raj Bhattarai, Chief of
Labour Migration and Nepali Diaspora Coordination Division, said that hundreds
of Nepalis are employed by the scam centres. "It is difficult to locate
them and reach out to our people as they are in conflict-prone areas and the
operators use satellite phone," he said.
The number of Nepalis rescued by the
Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok has been significantly going up in the past three
years. In 2023/24, the Embassy rescued and repatriated 68 Nepalis from the scam
centres. The number went up to 156 in 2024/25 while in the past seven and a
half months of the current year, 168 individuals were sent back to Nepal. The
crisis came to the surface in 2022.
About 248 Nepalis are waiting rescue in
Cambodia.
Many individuals are required to pay
substantial fines during the return process from Cambodia and, in some cases,
serve long prison sentences in accordance with Cambodian immigration laws.
Bhattarai said that most of the Nepalis
recruited by the scam centres were educated with most of them completing the
bachelor's level and speaking in English.
For example, one of the four Nepalis
rescued earlier this month had completed undergraduate studies in Thailand and
had been working as a hotel receptionist, but reported travelling to Myanmar
after being lured by the prospect of higher earnings.
"Another individual from Dang said
that he had previously worked as a computer operator at a government office in
Dang for several years," the Embassy had informed in a statement.
The Embassy and the MoFA have repeatedly
urged Nepalis not to fall for offers of lucrative employment in Myamnar,
Cambodia and the Golden Triangle region of Laos under the pretext of travelling
to Thailand.
"The worrisome matter is, educated
youth who know that it is risky to travel to the countries that haven't signed
labour agreement with Nepal, even with individual labour permit," said
Bhattarai.
He suggested that Nepali going abroad for
job and education purposes should inform the respective mission upon their
arrival and inform their family and friends back home.
Likewise, they should file a complaint at
the police in Nepal after reaching here. But according to the MoFA, a very
small number of rescued individuals has filed such cases.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 February 2026.
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