As many as 19 Nepalis who had gone to Malaysia for employment have been stranded in the city of Keylong after the company fired them for speaking out against the abuses they had to face.

Hira Lal Raut of Rautahat, who reached Malaysia 4 months ago in search of a job, was abused and beaten up by the owner of Hong Tze Chicken Suppliers for not being able to lift sacks weighing 50 kgs. Raut informed that the workers had endured such torture before as well and decided to unitedly speak against such heinous acts. 28 people were fired after they raised their voices against the company manager.

Nepali Embassy officials in Malaysia met the workers and requested them to come to terms with the owner of the company or file a police complaint.

“We have been mistreated many times but we don’t have any video or evidence,” said Raut.

Although half a dozen people have returned to work after meeting officials from the Nepali Embassy, more than one and a half dozen Nepalis are still adamant that they won’t tolerate the abuse and have requested repatriation.

According to the migrant workers, their documents including passports have been seized by the company. An agent of the manpower company that sent them to Malaysia for employment has provided them with a room and advised them to not leave the room as they don’t have their documents.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Secretariat has said that the government has started an initiative to rescue the 19 Nepalis who are stranded in Malaysia.

Rarely a week goes by without reports on the tragic situation and/or death of Nepali workers as they toil in foreign lands in adverse conditions. Nepali migrant workers’ health and safety issues as well as cases of fraud, abuse and exploitation continue to occur in large numbers.