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Here in the United States, most discussion about Afghanistan relates to the war or to terrorism; sometimes human rights and women's rights are brought up, but human trafficking is rarely a concern. This is sad, because every year many workers from neighboring countries are trafficked into the war-torn nation.
From this corner of the world, Afghanistan seems like a hopeless place – especially if you are are looking for work and a chance to make money. But for some Nepalese men there is hope in that country.
Unable to find gainful employment in their own country, they are willing to try any place for an opportunity. They are lured to Afghanistan by the chance to make big bucks working for international agencies that need security guards and laborers.
According to Heidi Kingston's report at National Post, many Nepalese men pay large sums of money to human traffickers in order to find a job in Afghanistan. She narrates the story of Ram Thapa (name changed) who borrowed money from loan sharks after a woman promised him a good-paying job in Afghanistan. But Thapa was cheated; now he has no job and his debt is piling up. He is stuck in Afghanistan, with no money to pay for a return ticket.
There are many Ram Thapas in Afghanistan, and the number is rising every month. Political and economic turmoil in Nepal is churning out victims like Thapa at a record pace, but the Nepalese government is not addressing the problem.
Instead of investing in Nepal's economic growth and stability, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and the Cabinet are busy playing political games with the opposition parties. They have time to amend the Constitution with a few days’ notice to accommodate a request from Vice President Paramananda Jha, but are paralyzed when it comes to power cuts for 11 hours a day in the country. To make matters worse, the Maoists and their thugs are running amok, threatening foreign investors and the business community while law enforcement refuses to help.
Nepal is sliding further downhill, and every day more and more Ram Thapa's are falling victim to unscrupulous human-trafficking agents. Nepal's economy does not deserve all the blame.
The United States and its allies are fighting against the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan. There is an Afghan government led by President Hamid Karzai, but in all honesty, the government is limited to Kabul and surrounding areas. The Taliban is regrouping and getting stronger, as the rising number of U.S. and allied forces causalities shows.
It is safe to say that the United States and its allies are the ones really in charge in Afghanistan. Therefore it is their responsibility to make sure that workers like Ram Thapa are not victimized.
Any company or agency – local or multinational – that works in Afghanistan and hires foreign workers should be forced to sign a "no human trafficking, fair pay" contract. Also, they should be encouraged to hire people directly instead of relying on middle men, to cut the chances of exploitation.
More media attention and reporting will hopefully bring this sensitive and serious issue of the trafficking of Nepalese workers to Afghanistan into the international spotlight, and encourage preventative action from both the Nepalese government and authorities in Afghanistan.
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(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor to News Front Weekly, in Kathmandu, and Nepal Abroad, in Washington D.C. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)
