How a Nepali tourist is treated at international Airports?

Those were the days when some of the friendly countries in Asia and even in Europe greeted the Nepalese tourists very pleasingly. In fact, Thailand and West Germany, were the two countries which allowed the Nepalese citizens to enter their country without having visa. The procedure in those countries had been that they used to grant visa to the incoming Nepali tourists right at the entry point. This means that Bangkok and Frankfurt were two entry points for us.

Understandably, these countries in those days considered Nepali citizens to be the "simplest and totally harmless" creature on mother earth. This was the image then of the Nepalese citizens abroad. It was not a surprise therefore that the Nepalese people, say tourists, enjoyed unconditional sympathy and respect from various countries in the globe. Undoubtedly, behind all these" grand concessions" were Nepal's glorious past. The GURKHA soldiers and their valiant performances at the world famous battle fields coupled with the inherent simplicity and the honesty exhibited at different intervals of world history by the Nepalese were sufficient to convince the Westerners and the far flung Asian nations that who else could be the best "breed" in the world other than the Nepalese.

However, excessive lust for money coupled with high ambitions slowly started making homes in Nepali minds. Beginning the 70s, some intelligent but dangerous brain suddenly discovered that Thailand was the best destination for buying cheap clothes and electronic goods which if imported to Nepal would fetch good profits. In effect, this was a fact. Many a clever ruffians in the guise of businessmen managed several Nepali unemployed youths' entrance into Thailand and used them as "mercenary carriers" and brought cheaper goods. The poor unemployed youths got nothing in lieu except that they had a free travel to Bangkok.

The sudden surge in the tourist arrivals from Nepal alerted the Thai immigration officials who started monitoring the incoming tourists from Nepal. What was revealed that the clever businessmen exploited the Nepali carriers to the extent that they were not even given hotel rooms but instead were told to enjoy and spend their Bangkok duration in the parks. Naturally, as human beings this lot "damaged" the beauty of the parks through the excreta. Rest could be guessed.

In fact it was this time that the Nepalese people came closer to the STD or otherwise the Sexually Transmitted Diseases which was then considered common in Thailand for obvious reasons. The world famous "Live Show" added fuel to the fire which attracted more and more Nepali tourists to Bangkok. This followed the grand entrance of "smuggling" of dangerous sedatives. Nepal soon became the land for "hard stuffs". The arrival of the "Hippies" during mid-sixties in essence had cleared the entrance of "black substances" in Nepal. Slowly and slowly things started deteriorating. In the process, high places leaders, bureaucrats, ministers and some corrupt businessmen made it a business and amassed astronomical amount of wealth by importing hard drugs. It was this time tentatively that the Nepalese youths got the tastes of such psychotropic substances.

Bangkok became fully alert and clamped visa restrictions. Today, Nepalese citizens, I suppose, should be the most "unwelcome" persons in Bangkok for all these stated reasons. That was the end of the Thai patience.

We created problems for Germany as well. It was in practice that a Nepali tourist could easily enter Germany and the German immigration officials used to grant visa right at the entry point which was then Frankfurt. The process continued for long. However, the German police became alert when it suspected some "irresponsible" behaviors from the incoming Nepali tourists. We started smuggling of hard drugs and even "girl-trafficking". Undoubtedly, our leaders supported the corrupt Nepali businessmen in promoting such illegal business. In the process, during the early 1990, we "exported" some Nepali nationals to Germany under the guise of Bhutanese refugees. That was simply horrible indeed.

Finally, the German government got the point and at the moment I again suppose we the Nepalese were the most "unwanted" lot in Germany. Thus the German Himalayan patience came to an end.

My personal experience has been that even if a Nepali visits Germany at their official invitation, the immigration officials at the entry point does the needful to ascertain whether or not the visa has been issued by their own embassy. The time they consume while scrutinizing your passport is simply mind-boggling. However, it is their duty. It was in 1994 and freshly last year in October, I had to experience this trauma at the Frankfurt airport. Indeed I was German government guest but yet….. Myself being a journalist could understand their problem.

So this is our prestige in Germany and in Bangkok.

The present day position of the Nepalese has been that practically no country on earth, save India, wishes to greet us for obvious reasons. Our "prestige" is known to all now. However, we now have acquired a new technique. We now pay money to get visa. We now wish to influence the visa officials through our "'corrupt"' ministers or for that matter the leaders.

In my own profession, I have seen some friends criticizing visa officials simply because he or she did not grant visa to his or her preferred Nepali citizen.

The fact is that who were we to talk irresponsible things against the visa officials of a particular country? We are simply media men. Our concern should not be who was granted visa and who was not. Let them decide on their own. Let them do their job as per the instructions of their respective governments. We must not too exceed our functions.

Let me hope that Red passports are not misused. Let me hope that passports do not make a "grand escapade" from Foreign Ministry's iron lockers. Let me hope that our ministers do not influence Ambassadors for granting visa to their "preferred ones".

Finally, I myself feel ashamed in writing such degrading words against my own countrymen. However, the fact is that some one has to write in order to correct the blunders which have made us all a laughing stock in the comity of civilized nations. That's all.

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