Abu Dhabi: Although many expatriates from Nepal were relieved to hear that their family members have survived the massive earthquake, they however were distressed about the bleak future that their families face due to the collapse of houses, and the loss of crops and cattle in rural areas.
“Apart from destruction of houses, many rural families including mine have suddenly left without any source of income due to loss of crops and cattle,” said Mister Babu, 29, a taxi driver in Abu Dhabi. His house in a village in Gorkha district, around 140 kilometres away from Kathmandu, has been destroyed. “We lost all of our cows and buffaloes.”
Most of the people in his village depend on cows and buffaloes for their livelihood, which are an integral part of rural life.
Dhiraj Sunar, 25, a merchant agent from Butwal district, which is around 250 kilometres from Kathmandu, also said loss of cattle and crops have become a double jeopardy to the villagers. “Milk from cows and buffaloes give the villagers daily income,” he said.
A.K Navin, 30, a housekeeper from Nawalparasi district that is around 140 kilometres away from Kathmandu said rebuilding houses without a regular source of income will be a Herculean task for rural families. “Only a few rural families have income from remittances of people working abroad like us,” he said.
K.C Gopal, 28, a security guard from Bhaktapur, around 40 kilometres away from Kathmandu, said most of the families have been sleeping outdoors since Saturday night, fearing aftershocks.
Meanwhile many expatriates have gone back to Nepal to assist their families in rebuilding their houses.
Dhananjay Jha, the Nepalese Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News on Monday that some employers asked their Nepalese employees to produce a letter from the embassy to support their leave application on the ground of destruction of their houses.
“We cannot identify the individual houses, but we issued letters confirming the devastated areas of the country,” he said.
He said offers to help were pouring in at the embassy. The envoy appealed to the donors to send cash directly to the Nepalese Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. Those who are unable to do so, can deposit the cash at the embassy, which will issue a receipt for the same, he said.
Jha said the number of Nepalese expatriates in the UAE affected by the disaster cannot be estimated.
The Nepalese organisations have also stepped up their relief efforts.
“We have been sending appeals to organisations and individuals and receiving very positive response from everyone,” Bikas Adhikari, General Secretary of Non-Resident Nepalese Association (NRNA), said.
