KATHMANDU:- The rescue of Nepali citizens who have been involved in online scamming centres operating in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and other east Asian countries is affected by lack of financial resources. 

It also has delayed the rescue operation and repatriation activities.

“Officials from the Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok need to travel to other countries like Cambodia and stay there. If we make any correspondence instead of visiting the respective country to complete the rescue and repatriation, the entire process is delayed,” Prakash Adhikari, Chief of South East Asia and the Pacific Division at the MoFA said at a programme organised at the Ministry on Wednesday.

Since the mission doesn’t get additional budget to conduct such activities and has to manage with meagre resources available, it sometimes requests the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) and local non-government organsiations (NGOs) to facilitate the process.

NRN’s support is sought while rescuing Nepalis from the online scamming centres in Cambodia and Laos while local NGOs helped in similar operation in Myanmar, said Adhikari. The mission, that also has the responsibility of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is understaffed.

The process of repatriation is also delayed if Nepalis weren’t sent to Nepal immediately. If the repatriation is delayed even by a day, they had to undergo an anti-human trafficking screening which generally takes about a month.

“If we can hold an immediate dialogue with the Thai authorities and repatriate our citizens on the same day via connecting flights, they need not wait for the screening,” said Adhikari. This screening is also conducted to check if the victim is genuine and hasn’t acted as an agent to the scam centres.

Adhikari informed that on an average it takes 2.5 to 3 months to bring back a Nepali national after rescuing from the scam centre.

This period could be longer in case of Cambodia since Nepal doesn’t have its mission there and needs to rely on Nepali community or NRNA.

According to Adhikari, as per the rule, support can’t be mobilised from the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund if the workers hadn’t obtained labour permit from the government.

However, since it is the duty of the country to rescue its citizens in trouble abroad, the MoFA is in dialogue with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security to manage resources.

Discussions now are focused on forming a joint mechanism to create a fund and facilitate the rescue and repatriation activities.  “We are also studying the effective mechanism implement  ed by other countries,” said Adhikari.

Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri, Spokesperson of the MoFA, said that although the concerned agencies are coordinating for such operations, it is yet to be effective.

Likewise, Pushpa Raj Bhattarai, Chief of Labour Migration and Nepali Diaspora Coordination Division, said that hundreds of Nepalis are employed by the scam centres. “It is difficult to locate them and reach out to our people as they are in conflict-prone areas and the operators use satellite phone,” he said. The number of Nepalis rescued by the Embassy of Nepal in Bangkok has been significantly going up in the past three years.

In 2023/24, the Embassy rescued and repatriated 68 Nepalis from the scam centres. The number went up to 156 in 2024/25 while in the past seven and a half months of the current year, 168 individuals were brought back to Nepal. The crisis came to the surface in 2022.

About 248 Nepalis are waiting for rescue in Cambodia. Many individuals are required to pay substantial fines during the return process from Cambodia and, in some cases, serve long prison sentences in accordance with Cambodian immigration laws.

Bhattarai said that most of the Nepalis recruited by the scam centres were educated with most of them completing the bachelor’s level and speaking in English.

For example, one of the four Nepalis rescued earlier this month had completed undergraduate studies in Thailand and had been working as a hotel receptionist, but reported travelling to Myanmar after being lured by the prospect of higher earnings.

“Another individual from Dang said that he had previously worked as a computer operator at a government office in Dang for several years,” the Embassy had informed in a statement.

The Embassy and the MoFA have repeatedly urged Nepalis not to fall for offers of lucrative employment in Myamnar, Cambodia and the Golden Triangle region of Laos under the pretext of travelling to Thailand.

“The worrisome matter is, educated youth who know that it is risky travel to the countries that haven’t signed labour agreement with Nepal, even with individual labour permit,” said Bhattarai.