Our government recently had to evacuate a lot of migrant workers from Libya, a country that was opened up as a labor destination last year, after rising pro-democracy protests there and ruthless crackdown by the Muhammar Gadaffi regime put their lives at risk. Meanwhile, the government is already gearing up to rescue workers from Bahrain if the unrest there turns more violent. Pulling back workers from these two Arab countries may not really create a gaping hole in our remittance figures but what if for one or the other reason we have to, say, withdraw our approximately 500,000 workers from Saudi Arabia or from Malaysia that provides employment to another 400,000 Nepalis?
How one sees migration really depends on which side of the fence one belongs to. Those against it argue that it fosters inequality, promotes meaningless consumption and leaves the migrant-sending countries without able-bodied young men and women, a pre-requisite to development. On the other hand, those who advocate for it opine that capital and knowledge transfer by migrants help in development take-off. There are no doubt merits in both the arguments. However, the issue here is not whether migration is good or bad; it is rather about whether or not we have struck the right balance.
Remittance through the formal channels presently is equivalent to about 23 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. If we add money remitted through the non-formal channels, we can well begin to understand how it has buoyed our economy in recent times. But since we do not have any control on the politics or policies of our labor-receiving countries, the threat of the economy going asunder will always loom over our heads like the sword of Damocles. Thankfully, things did not spiral out of control as a result of global recession though remittance flows slowed down. But who knows what is waiting round the corner. It is therefore high time to start working on creating a vibrant domestic economy. Politics has dominated the landscape of Nepal for too long. Let’s now give economics the rightful place it deserves in our national discourse.
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