Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma

1968—2020
Years
of
Age
52
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma

1968—2020
Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma traveled to Qatar 20 years ago and worked until his death at a construction company. During all his years in Qatar, he always encouraged his children to study hard and try to get a job in Nepal. - He forbade the children to travel abroad and work, says the widow Nir Maya BK. When the pandemic struck, he became frightened. - His co-workers told me that they think he took his life because he was afraid of dying a painful death. We are now all like orphans. The whole family, says Nir Maya BK.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
cardsofqatar.com

He forbade the children to travel abroad

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma traveled to Qatar 20 years ago and worked until his death at a construction company. During all his years in Qatar, he always encouraged his children to study hard and try to get a job in Nepal. - He forbade the children to travel abroad and work, says the widow Nir Maya BK. When the pandemic struck, he became frightened. - His co-workers told me that they think he took his life because he was afraid of dying a painful death. We are now all like orphans. The whole family, says Nir Maya BK.

Told to the journalistic platform Blankspot

Bine Bahadur Bishwokarma traveled to Qatar as a migrant worker in 2000. He was 52 years old when he died in 2020.

“My husband worked for the same construction company the whole time. The work was hard, the pay not enough, and still, he managed to send money every month like clockwork,” says the widow, Nir Maya BK.

The money sent home wasn’t quite enough, so Nir Maya BK started working as a maid at the local hospital in Pokhara, a beautiful city in the middle region of Nepal.

“Our children are grown, but we couldn’t afford to let them to continue school so they are all unemployed today,” she says of the four sons and two daughters.

When the Corona Pandemic hit, the family’s financial situation became grim.

“Many Nepali migrant workers tried to get out of [Qatar] and travel back home,” she says. “My husband too. He sounded absolutely terrified when I spoke to him on the phone and he told me his boss had caught it. He was scared he would catch the virus and suffocate and never get to see me again.”

Not long after that phone conversation, he left the living quarters. The coworkers found him just before lunch.

“They think he killed himself because he was scared of catching Corona and dying a horrible death,” Nir Maya BK says.

During all the years in Qatar, Bine Bahadur Bishwokarma always encouraged their children to study hard and get a job, home in Nepal. He testified to the hardships for migrant workers in Qatar over and over again.

“He forbade the children to follow in his footsteps, and as long as he was there, we didn’t have any financial problems,” the widow says. ”But then he died in a country far away, and now we have nothing. We are all orphans.”

The family has received $5,753 from the Foreign Employment Board and $10,800 from the insurance policy. His employer also paid $1,080. The bonus has still not been paid out.

“When we contacted his employer and asked about the bonus, they told us to turn to the embassy, but they said the company didn’t answer their calls so I don’t know what to do,” the widow says. “My husband always said that once he did get his bonus, he would never go back again. All I want is for my children to be able to marry and that I can afford food and rent when I get too old to work.”

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