I. Introduction
Migration is a major social reality of the 21st
century. However, this era has experienced unprecedented movements of people
from rural to urban and developing to developed countries. The word “migration’ is
defined broadly as permanent or semi-permanent change of residence. The United Nations defines “migrant” as an
individual who has resided in a foreign country for more than one year
irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary.
It
is a population movement, encompassing any kind of movement of people, whatever
its length, composition and causes; it includes migration of refugees,
displaced persons, uprooted people, and economic migrants.
This paper is limited in focusing on Nepalese
migrants in India with five case studies, specially highlighting briefly on Missiological
strategies, and how INF/W has been partnering with the Nepali speaking churches
in India and with the local organisation. And it would also try to give some of
the frameworks about situation of Nepali migrants in India.
II. A Ground Situation of Nepalese Migrants in
India
I do not intend to say that migrants have to go back to
home. My aim is to look for the opportunities and strategies on how we could
partner with other organizations and existing Nepali churches to help the
migrants in India. Nevertheless, before I address the issues, I would like to start
with a question on “why do Nepalese
migrate to India?” The question seems to be very general but the answer
is always the same: it is all about survival. Everyone wants to have their own identity
and people look for new avenues and opportunities where they can find
easy-going life. Dennis answers the question like this: “People migrate for many different reasons. These
reasons are: economic, social, political or environmental.” The reasons for Nepalese migrants are not different
from what Dennis says.
Due to the open-border between India and Nepal, there
is no record available on how many Nepalese move to India every day. Mostly
migrants from Mid-west and Far-West move to North West of India, especially in the
off-season in Nepal. Most of Nepalese are involve in construction sites in particular
to the North West, whereas others work in companies, factories, security jobs, and
hotels. Moreover Chinese restaurants in India do not run without Nepalese.
There are mainly two kinds of migration that are in continuing
in regard to India.
1. Seasonal migration (Specially in
North West of India, Goah)
2. Settler migration: These groups of
people stay for longer than a season and return home at a favorable time.
In fact, there are other groups of people who have
settled in India and do not want to come back home anymore to Nepal.
III. Issues of Nepali Migrants in India
This section presents five case studies which
describes different issues of Nepali migrants in India.
CASE-I
…Meet Narendra BK. He left for Nepal with the sum of
13,000 rupees. He took a general ticket from New Delhi railway station and got on
the train. The train arrived at Lucknow around 4am in the morning. Narendra was
supposed to take a rickshaw for the taxi-stand. Unfortunately, everything
turned upside down. He was cheated by the rickshaw puller who also offered to
Narendra some eatables which were poisonous. Narendra became unconscious for
more than 12 hours. Finally, local police found him lying on the road side on
the following day. They contacted the Narendra’s relatives in Delhi. Narendra lost all his bags, money
and even his jacket that he was wearing.
Two things can be observed here: a) money
transaction from India to Nepal, b) A sense of awareness. Had
Narendra used a banking transaction, he would have saved 13,000 rupees. Though
we know that India has given an access to banking through the NEFT policy, few of
the migrants benefit since many are not aware of it and find this process complicated.
CASE-II
I am from Achham. My husband
used to work in Mumbai. I got married in 2000 and came to Mumbai along with my
husband. His parents were also in Mumbai. After a few months, my husband became
ill. We had no clue of his sickness. His sickness became much worse day by day.
His health became more complicated. We took him to the hospital for checkups.
After the check-up, we realised that he had contracted HIV. In 2008, He died due
to the sickness. Things had changed a lot. Later on, I was sexually abused by own
brother-in-law. He took an advantage of my widowhood. Even my family members
didn't even bother when someone harassed and abused me. I ran
away from my home and lived alone with my kids. I am also affected by HIV and
so is my 2 year old son. Some people showed me the way to this rehabilitation
centre. I do not want to go back to Nepal. How can I go there and tell them
that I am ill? This is not possible.
This
is another problem of migrants’ women in India. Some have returned to Nepal and some have not. Those
who return have to live in isolation, and others have been living in ruined
condition. How can we contribute then?
CASE-III
My name is Akhil. I finished 12th standard in
Nawalparasi. I came to Delhi in March of 2009. I thought of joining the Nepal
Army but didn't because of the political crisis. My friend came to India
earlier than me and got a job in the Indian Army. He told me that I would have
to work for one of the officers for about a year and then the officer could
easily help me in getting recruited into the army. I came to Delhi and started
to work for one of the officers. It’s almost a year now but the officer has not
given me any hope for army recruitment. It seems that he is not interested in
my life. I worked for him for nearly 11 months, without a single penny, hoping
that he will give me the job. But he says that he cannot do anything unless I
work for him for another year. All my hope is gone. I lost one year. I think I will
have to go back to my country. I will join a college and resume my study.
There
are hundreds like Akhil who come to India, hoping to foster their career.
However it does not turn out as fruitful as they expect. Akhil represents the young
generation who have a lot of enthusiasm, will power, and energy. They represent
the brain-tank of the Nation.
The Patel Nagar
police has arrested Surender Singh, 35, a resident of Mohabbawala, for raping a
schoolgirl at Chaula village in Patel Nagar a few days ago. The accused had
picked up the girl while she was returning from school and took her to a nearby
forest and committed the crime. The girl had lost consciousness for some time
but later returned to her village. She narrated the incident to her parents.
The police were informed and prepared a sketch of the accused. The police
zeroed in on Surender after villagers told them that he frequented the forest.
However, Surender stopped coming to the forest with his cattle after the
incident. This confirmed the police suspicion about his involvement in the
crime. He was arrested and the girl and her teacher identified him. Surender,
however, denied that he committed the crime.
Few months ago, I was
in Delhi and wanted to register/inform the Embassy about a case where a minor,
a school-going Nepali girl was raped by Surender
Singh. The girl’s mother was
threatened by the culprit and police authorities were reluctant to process on
the case further. I thought that the Embassy of Nepal would be a right option
to provide the assistance. However I called the Embassy, in return I was told
to call them up again. Even after telling the whole episode to the person at the
desk, I was not connected to a concerned person. Finally, I was told to submit
the case in the Embassy along with victim’s citizenship card. What is the role of the Nepal
Embassy in New Delhi if they do not address the need and plea of their
citizens? This is a very much poignant case.
Thinlee was born in 1967 in a village called
Kiangsing, Sindhupalchok. He was brought up close to the border with Tibet. At
the age of 15, he left to sell garments in the streets of Bombay and
Karnataka. He came back home after four years and was married to Zangmo. He
started work there but all his work became unprofitable. In 1988, he decided to
go to Bombay for the garment business. After few months, he came back and
bought 50 cows. However, a disease killed most of them and he managed to sell
10 of them. In 2003, Thinlee and Zangmo decided to leave Nepal again due to the
fear of the Maoist and government, as both asked villagers to support and join
into their forces. They started their journey to Zangskar of Himanchal Pradesh.
Both of them worked there for a road contractor. This does not seem to be
profitable for them as it often happens to migrants they were not paid. They
heard that working conditions in Ladhakh were much better. They worked in
stock, construction site building walls and canals but there also they were not
paid enough. From there they went to Skalzangling and worked as masons. This is
where Zangmo gave birth to her sixth child and only son: Tashi. From
Skalzagling, they moved to Shey where they found a stone
breaking work (very hard job). From there, they moved to Kargil in 2005. In
2006, they moved to Chilling as some of his relatives were already working
there. There, he joined as a driller. (The officer did not tell them that the
job was so difficult and that many people had faced death due to an accident.
Because of the deaths, the drilling job was almost stopped). Thinlee and his
family worked on the construction site for nearly two years. The Costs of living
is higher for migrants on the roadside. They do not have any provision for
ration cards as other Indians do. Most of their incomes is spent in buying food
and fuel like heating-wood and kerosene. Danger was obvious to anyone visiting
there. Death is not unusual for them as people keep dying at the construction
site. In 2007, Thinlee began to drilling along with the team. A whole section
of mountain collapsed, killing one of the drillers – Shanta, Thinlee’s friend. That morning, Shanta had told
Thinlee he wanted to quit this job and go back to Delhi for a safer job, even at
a lower pay. Stone can fall at any time while drilling. As the time passed by,
Thinlee too died in one of the blast accidents in Chilling.
From the Thinlee’s life, Jonathan has extracted five main
factors.
1. The situation in Nepal (Political and
Economical): Even today, this is not different. Uncertainty of government and the
low standard of Nepali politics has downgraded our economy.
2. The precariousness of
work: This is obvious with the seasonal and
semi-literate migrants unless they are qualified and educated. Most of them do
not get salary on time. There is no agreement as such between the employer and
employee. Even if there is an agreement, it is always in favour to the
employer.
3. Little amount of bargaining capacity: Migrants do not have many
choices. If you do not work, someone else will take your place. There is no
space left for a migrant that they would bargain in the salary. Contractors
take advantages of migrants’ vulnerability and they have to work for low wages.
4. High costs of living in India: Due to the rise of expenses in
the Himalayan region, a poor worker cannot afford his/her daily needs.
Moreover, a whole family depends on one’s earnings,
particularly in the migrants’ set up.
5. The danger of the task: This is especially true in the North
West of India, where Nepalese have to work in construction sites, risking their
lives. However, they do not have any insurance policy as such.
IV. How to render help?
The five different case studies give us a clear
picture that the problems of Nepalese migrants are not addressed as much.
Nepali media hardly addresses any needs. In 2010, German bakery was blasted in
India and a few of the victims were Nepalese. Nepal Embassy was reluctant to
render the help. A Nepali widow in Dehradun is crying for the justice. However,
Nepali Embassy does not even bother to listen when someone tries to inform
them. This is ironical!
There are four areas where Migrants need help.
1. Awareness to the migrants at the exit points
2. Advocating their cases in India,
3. Developing migrants’ skills, and
4. Networking with Nepali churches in India
I have observed these four points as the most
important factors that one can render to migrants in India. Nepalese migrating
to India has never been their aspiration; rather it is a force due to various
reasons which I have already elaborated. Nevertheless, Nepalese need awareness
about the health, trafficking, money management, transacting the remittances,
providing the advocacy and networking with the churches in India which could be
a great assistance to them. At the same time, some migrants innocently fall entrapped
into different situations. Such people will need legal help and advice in
Diaspora. The local churches can play an important role in witnessing to the
truth and standing for justice. Migrants can build up their scope if they can
further enhance their skills.
V. Missiological Pattern; An opportunity for the Nepalese churches
Dispersion of peoples and their movement is within God’s plan, and it is also considered as “God’s global plan for worldwide
missions.” History gives us ample examples of how people moved
from one place to another and God was engaged with people, regardless of the
place and boundary. It is very much significant to note it down that God’s sovereign will for the people and the church has to
realize the flow of God’s heart in this
moving generation where there is not a string that has been laid down. Jonathon
Lewis talks about the two forces.
1. Attractive Force (Come to the Blessing: Centripetal Force) 2. An Expansive
Force (Go to the Nations- Centrifugal Force). Attractive force symbolizes the
OT where Temple and Tabernacle were the places where people were attracted to
meet with God. The Bible records where several other foreigners were also
attracted to Israel because of the evidence of God’s blessing. A second force in operation was an
expansive force which means to send messages beyond the border of Israel. I
think this is right to ponder about. These two forces are also evident even in
present today when we think that Nepalese can be reached in Nepal only. In
truth, there is a huge and unscaled number of Nepali migrants who leave for
India daily. Would not this be our concern? There is one thing very obvious in
God’s strategy that He will use His
people to spread the message.
Nepalese have lived in India for a long period;
therefore it contains the mixed group of Nepalese, both from Indian Nepalese
and Nepali Nepalese. On the other side, Nepali speaking churches are gradually
increasing in India where Nepalese community inhabits more. The church should
walk where people go.
VI. India Migrant Initiative
During late 1990s,
one of the INF members, Anne Herr started integral Mission work in the NW
corner of India where many ethnic Nepalese are settled, through HimServe. Now
HimServe has been handed over to Indian nationals. In 2005, Another INF member
Alois Von Flüe did pilot a survey in North West Indian and Delhi. Later Alois
initiated the integral mission work alongside of the churches in Delhi and the
NW of India. After much field work and bond relationship with the local
churches in Delhi and NW of India, and
since 2008 the INF/W has been started working with the
Nepali speaking churches. However, formally it is begun since 2010.
IMI has completed its
second year of work in partnership with the Nepali churches in India (New
Delhi, Kotdwar, Dehradun and Shimla). The project mainly focuses on Nepali
speaking churches to be effectively serving Nepali migrants and settlers in
different capacities such as health awareness activities, partner capacity
building and income generation trainings (Computer, Non Formal Education,
Tailoring, English speaking, Cooking, and Driving). It is a fact that Nepali migrants live in a
sad coherence between their jobs and the family’s lives. One of the reasons of migrants’ vulnerability is an instability of Nepali politics
which in fact, has caused the rise of the migrants in India. And, also those
leaving for the cities in Nepal in search of betterment have become frustrated
by lack of jobs in Nepal due to the political climate. Therefore, It appears to
be a high time for the Nepali speaking churches to understand the reality on
how they could set up a network with the home church in Nepal to bring the
transformation for the migrants. INF/W
has been partnering with the local churches in enhancing the migrants in
different capacities.
VII.
Objectives
IMI has set mainly
five objectives for the project:
Ø For partners to have
a VISION for helping migrants from Nepal.
Ø For partners to be IDENTIFYING
NEEDS of Nepali migrants and developing effective methods of addressing
these needs in order to reduce their vulnerability and increase the
effectiveness of migration as a livelihood strategy.
Ø For partners to be
able to PRIORITISE those migrants needing help.
Ø For partners to be IMPLEMENTING
PROGRAMMES that address migrants’ needs in appropriate and effective ways.
Ø For which to be LINKING
AND NETWORKING with others in Nepal and in the area from which seasonal
migrants originate.
VIII.
Summary
In conclusion, I do not want to blame the Nepal
government for their lukewarm approach toward Nepalese migrants in India. This
was not my motive here in the paper. However, I would like to emphasise the
role of the Nepali speaking churches in India, who could stand for the justice,
in rendering the helps in different capacities at the first hand, and also foster
the networks in reaching to them with the gospel of God. What IMI is doing in
India, is just a small step for the upliftment of the Nepalese migrants. INF/W
does not put its banner in the field and we believe that the Church is the
right choice to go to the front line and let the church do the work with the
people and for the people. IMI’s program is focussed toward the people and relationships. These are the
areas we tend to neglect mostly in development sectors. The “down to the earth” approach seems to be
practical among the Nepalese migrants.
The United Nations,
http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/about-migration/lang/en (accessed on 12 July,
2012)
Glossary on Migration: International Migration Law,
(Geneva: International Organization of Migration, 2004),41.
http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publications/Footsteps+71-80/Footsteps+78/What+is+migration.htm
(accessed on 14 July, 20120)
