KATHMANDU: A staggering 40 thousand Nepali youth, mostly educated, have migrated to more than 60 countries that are not approved by the Government of Nepal for migrant workers, a government record has revealed. Government officials fear this will put them at a higher risk of exploitation from unscrupulous agents.

Even as the youths are educated, and are aware that travelling on fake documents is risky, they take a chance to newer destinations with new hopes. According to the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, a substantial number of Nepali youths are working in 171 countries as migrant workers.

Officials say chances of exploitation is higher in countries sans the government’s approval. “There have been cases of gullible youths being exploited by their agents. The government is committed to prevent this,” says Mahesh Prasad Dahal, Secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

While a total 6,12,000 workers migrated to government-authorized countries in 2017/18, a staggering 40 thousand youths flew to new destinations sans government approval such as Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Angola, Tanzania, Cuba, Chile, Hungary, Burundi, Tunisia, Estonia, Albania, Greece, Rwanda, West Indies, Zambia, Laos, Vietnam, Nigeria, East Timor, among others in the same year, reveals a record at the ministry. People traveling to such countries face trouble in lack of valid documents, Dahal said.

This came to the fore last November when nine girls stranded in Tajikistan were rescued and brought to Nepal. According to Dahal, several youths working in government-approved countries prefer to ‘move out’ to new destinations with the hope of making ‘handsome salary and perks’.

The ministry, however, appears to be ignorant and least bothered about how Nepali youths make it to these countries despite being informed about the issue. However, the girls rescued from Tajikistan told the Nepal Police that some ‘agents’ took them to Tajikistan via India. The girls were supposed to land in UAE.

The government has approved 110 countries for migrant workers. According to the ministry data, a total of 1,50,000 youths flew to Gulf countries in the last six months.

Meanwhile, illegal migration to Malaysia and the Gulf countries has been on a rise following the government’s ban on Nepalese women to work as house maids in these countries. Yet, women continue to migrate to banned countries via India and are subject to several forms of exploitation.