Nepalis apply to work overseas in record numbers despite risk of abuse

Thousands of would-be migrant labourers from Nepal are applying to work in the Gulf states every week, despite revelations of brutal working conditions and abuse of workers' rights in countries such as Qatar.

Nepal's department of foreign employment throngs with crowds queuing for permission to migrate. "We process 1,200 to 1,500 applications a day," said Chiranjibi Adhikari, the acting director of the department.

"So many want to go abroad for work. Even if they have a job here, they think they'll get more money abroad. Migration is not good. Even unskilled workers go outside, which leaves a shortage here, and if skilled workers go, Nepal will suffer. So jobs must be created here."

But there is little sign of that. The number of migrants leaving Nepal annually has almost doubled in the last five years to 400,000. And despite the stories of suffering faced by migrants, many are returning to jobs they have held for years - a sign of the lack of opportunities in Nepal and the fact that for many Nepalese, migration works.

One would-be first-timer is Safaisul Rayn. "I'm very happy," he said, as he prepared to leave the country for a job as a labourer in Qatar. "I can only earn 7,000 rupees (HK$540) a month here , and in Qatar I'll get 20,000 to 25,000."

Still, he is aware of the hardship that awaits him. "I have never been to school. We are too poor," he said. "I am only 16, but my agent has arranged it so my passport states I am 18."