National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Victims of Fraud

Ignorance of visa regulations of the West makes Nepalese increasingly vulnerable to international rackets

By KESHAB POUDEL

Jagnath Acharya, 28, paid US$ 3,000 under an assurance that he would get a visa to go to the United States. After paying the equivalent to NRS.300,000 and waiting a month, Acharya found that he was cheated by an international gang of frauds based in South Africa.

Acharya, a graduate, is not alone in having been cheated by international frauds. Many other youths are trapped in the false dream of going to western countries, including the United States, for a better life. Many students trapped in false advertisements published by various agencies claiming to guarantee study in the US also find themselves in an awkward position.

Passport-seekers : Vulnerable to frauds

As state authorities lack time and money to investigate the legitimacy of such agencies, many Nepalese continue to become easy prey. When people realize that they have been cheated, it is too late. Literate people are falling prey to international frauds on false promises of a secure future in the same way rural girls have been exploited by local frauds who sell them to brothels in India showing dreams of a better life in the city.

Some Nepalese seem to be interested to using wrong practices to go foreign countries, mostly in the West. With the upsurge of Maoist violence, many Nepalese have slipped into the United States and other western countries.

History of Immigration

For centuries, Nepal remained isolated from the rest of the world. Some educated Nepalese attended colleges in India. A large section of the population was in total isolation. After their participation in the First and Second World Wars under the British flag, Nepalese soldiers returned home.

Although the dawn of democracy in 1950 opened Nepal to the wider world, there were only a handful of people who really wanted to migrate to other parts of the globe. Rampant poverty compelled them to remain in isolation. Unlike population of other countries of the region, Nepalese remain isolated. During the thirty-year Panchayat system, people faced difficulty even to obtain a passport, since there were many restrictions.

With the restoration of democracy in 1990, people got freedom not only in their own country but also to pursue it abroad. Globalization ushered a new era of trans-migration in different parts of the country.

In all embassies in Kathmandu, the number of Nepalese visa applicants has gone up drastically. Before 1990, sending children abroad was the prerogative of certain elite. Today, the quest to go abroad is common for middle class and lower middle class families as well.

"We will not issue the visa under the guarantee of any agency, as every visa applicant has to pass through our own procedures," said counselor of the US Embassy addressing a monthly press meet. "In the last few years, the US visa section in Kathmandu has seen the biggest increase in the number of visa applicants."

Despite a quadrupling of visa application fees, people continue to flock to Nabil Bank to apply for visa. Because of this heavy flow, even genuine visa-seekers have to face a difficult time.

It is not only the problem of the US Embassy. There is a similar rush in the German and British Embassies. A large number young people are rushing to the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand missions to seek the visa. A larger number of people are also seen queuing to get visas at the Chinese Embassy.