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Nepal 'addicted' to the trade in its own people

Last year, Nepali migrant workers' bodies are returned daily to Nepali airports, while remittances provide over a third of Nepal's GDP, the World Bank reports.
Chronic unemployment and limited land have driven around 2.5 million Nepalis to seek work abroad, leaving rural communities in Nepal's mountain valleys empty.
Advocates and NGOs say that, under a 2007 law meant to regulate 'manpowers', licensed and rogue recruitment agencies often flout rules and charge vastly inflated fees.
Families face both loss and disenfranchisement as a bereaved son recounted his father’s coffin returned from abroad, while the Supreme Court ruled but the electoral commission has not organised postal voting for Nepalis abroad in the March 5 election.
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security says it aims to safeguard migrant workers' interests but admits that "our only shortcoming is proper implementation".

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Nepal ‘addicted’ to migrant worker trade as officials accused of exploiting citizens

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