KUWAIT: Even as the Nepali government is yet to lift the ban on Nepalese women being employed(domestic helpers) in Kuwait and the Gulf countries in general, its new embassy in Kuwait is busy preparing for an imminent government decision to lift the ban. In the words of an embassy official, 'coming soon.' Vhattarai Pushpa, Second Secretary of Nepal to Kuwait admitted that the ban will be lifted as soon as possible, so as to monitor citizens' entry and exit from the country. Nepal bans household works in the Gulf including Kuwait in the early 1990's for security reasons. It hasn't lift to this date. Vhattaria said even with the current ban, many of their women are entering the country illegally through various ways/means.

The problem with the current set up is that, we do not have any control/records of their entry. This makes it difficult to monitor their movements closely. If the ban is lifted, monitoring should be easier. We are mandated by our government to monitor and protect our countrymen regardless of whether they enter here illegally through individual recruiters or agencies," he said. He noted that coordination between local recruitment agencies and its counterparts in Nepal are necessary to monitor their citize
ns' entry into Gulf countries. The official said that manpower recruitment agencies in Nepal should be affiliated to local agencies here so that workers can be monitored, adding that they would no longer tolerate individual recruitments.

The problem arises from the manpower recruitment agencies, especially with individual recruiters. If they do not have any partner agencies in Kuwait, how can we solve workers' problems here," he queried. According to Vhattarai, many recruited from Nepal were being misguided by the recruitment agencies, especially by individual recruiters who hire illiterate, untrained domestic helpers. "Many are not properly oriented on real jobs, conditions, traditions and Kuwaiti culture. They hardly speak English. If
they start working, and if employers do not like their jobs, they'll be in a bad situation, confused and many are lost," he added.

Vhattarai stated that recruiting Nepalese women should be done by resorting to legal channels, and a mechanism should be in place (which they currently do right now). This is to improve the quality of service rendered on both sides, "Surely the problems will be minimized if the system is in place; we are doing it right now since the embassy began functioning in April here," he said. Vhattarai also called upon the Kuwaiti government to help them reduce the number of agencies so that agencies that violate th
e law can be streamlined.

It will be easier and there will be less headache, if it happens," he reiterated. "I think there are about 400 recruitment agencies right now, if we could reduce them to at least 20, then, it will be easier to deal/handle the situation. These agencies should employ at least one or two Nepalese women, so that our citizens concerns are addressed properly," he pointed out.

In case the ban is lifted, the Nepal government may compel agencies to train domestic helpers says Vhattarai. "If there's a system in place, employers would know they are hiring competent people. If hired housemaids do not conform with their requirements, they can easily return them to agencies," he said.

Vhattarai admitted to encountering many problems that domestic helpers face, including cases of mistreatment, unpaid salaries and sexual abuse. The role of recruitment agencies during such instances is as important as the embassy, he added. "If problems arise, we can easily turn them over (maids) to local recruitment agencies. There are runaways who do not even know where they live, (worked for). Some do not know the names of their employers. Whom should we turn to if that happens?," he asked.

He lamented that many of his countrymen entered Kuwait through non-existent agencies, and individual recruiters. When they entered Kuwait he said, nobody knows where they were or even employers' location. "How could we reach them if they need help? We are clueless about their names and personalities. At the end of the day, it will only be the sole responsibility of our state to help and protect our citizens. We are trying our best to set up a mechanism to help our citizens," he reiterated.

Vhattarai proposes their workers be thoroughly trained before sending them to their employers. They will also require that agencies provide them with insurance policies, proper orientation and documentation. Their names/databases contain the names of Nepalese workers that will be submitted in their embassy that is located in south Surra, "We also demand that recruitment agencies provide us with addresses.

We asked them to be responsible for their legal and moral obligation for workers they hired," he concluded. There are about 100 runaway housemaids lodged at their embassy. Most of them are victims of 'individual recruiters' who disappear moments after the workers leave Nepal. The Nepalese community in Kuwait are around 50,000 in Kuwait, of which, 30,000 are women. - Kuwait times