This is interesting. Hope to get some feed back from sajhaites from that region!

Link- http://www.nepalnews.com/ntimes/issue230/nation.htm

Nepalis go underground in Britain
Divided and exploited, desperate Nepalis work illegally in Britain?s migration netherworld
PRANAV BUDATHOKI in LONDON

From years of poverty in Butwal to a pitiable livelihood in East London. From a respected teaching job in Pulchok Engineering Campus to a tatty shelf-stacking job in Reading. From a threadbare existence in Nepal to England and beyond. Many Nepalis in the UK have done well for themselves as doctors, bankers and managers. But there is a whole population of forgotten Nepalis in Britain?s migrant netherworld.

Bikram Ale came to England six years ago and has been working in a London hotel as a barman ever since. Badri Bastakoti got a Chevening Scholarship for postgraduate studies and is now working in a bakery shop in Reading City. A former assistant dean at Pulchok Engineering College now stacks grocery store shelves. These are some of the more decent jobs Nepali illegal migrant workers can get in Britain these days.

Students come to England, get enrolled in phoney colleges that sell documents and certificates and go to work full time. Hundreds of others clean hospital lavatories and the truly wretched ones who come in via the package service of human traffickers and end up applying for asylum, disappear into the underground economy.

At any given time 600,000 illegal migrant workers are estimated to be working in the UK, most have fled desperate economic conditions back home, some have run away from political persecution. But it is getting harder and harder to tell the difference. Across Europe, the phenomenon has hardened attitudes towards foreign workers with headlines like ?Europe under Siege? in Britain?s tabloids. Middle England is convinced asylum seekers and illegal workers are taking away their jobs and benefits.

For a country struggling to keep its young employed, and paying pensions for the growing ranks of the elderly, illegal labour is becoming a political hot potato. Cheap migrant workers play a vital part in the British economy, doing work locals wouldn?t do and for much less. At 2.50 pounds an hour, the underground economy adds an estimated five percent to Britain?s GDP, according to a BBC estimate. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown even bases his growth forecasts on the current, unprecedented rates of migrant labour.

?The black economy involving illegal migrant workers is no longer in the periphery, it is in the mainstream of our economy,? says Harriet Sergeant of the Centre for Policy Studies. They number in the millions and fill the chronic shortage of manpower in the agricultural, manufacturing and catering sectors. The British state provides them with nothing, and they work for a pittance, often below the national average of 4.50 pounds per hour. They help keep the wages down, while paying VAT like everyone else.

The migrant labour force has become the lifeblood of hotels and hospitals throughout Britain. In Peterborough, illegal farmhands working below minimum wage for Indian gangmasters dig for onions. Some 30 Chinese illegal workers smuggled into Britain by snakehead gangs from Fujian were caught in a tidal bore in Morecambe Bay while picking cockles last February, 20 drowned. The restaurant business is swarming with illegal workers, most of them are South Asians and Chinese. There are some 8,000 plus Indian restaurants, half of them located in London. But crackdowns in the cities are pushing many illegal workers to rural areas.

As elsewhere, Nepalis flock to where there is already a concentration of fellow Nepalis, leading to a build-up of little Nepals up and down the country. They intermingle only with fellow Nepalis or other South Asians. The educated young work as waiters in Indian and Bangladeshi eateries. Those with poor English skills throng restaurant kitchens. And the rest (like newly married women who come to England as spouses of ?students?) end up cleaning hospital facilities.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading City alone employs over 100 Nepalis, mostly women, as cleaners. ?The number could be anywhere up to 150 people. And that is just one little hospital in the south of England,? says Krishna Dhakal, a registered ?full-time student? in a computer training institute who works 70 hours a week as a cleaner in the hospital.

Due to the lack of legal protection and official recognition, the newly arrived illegal Nepalis have no option but to seek integration into their own close-knit community. ?The space to manoeuvre in British society is nonexistent when you are a Nepali, especially when you expect to start a new life in England based on who you know rather than what you know?, says Subindra Bogati, a documentary film maker and international relations scholar.

For a greenhorn like Krishna Dhakal, there is little else to do than follow ?what everyone does?, register for a course in a shady college like University Tutorial College in Reading City that charges 500 pounds a year and sells enrolment papers, get the visa extended as a student and keep working in a hospital without going to college in the hope of striking it rich some day.

The idea of ethnic integration that Tony Blair?s liberal left government tries so hard to apply couldn?t be more remote in this underground migrant community. A Pakistani sticks with Pakistanis, a Bengali will not have anything to do with the rest, the Indians do not venture anywhere else other than their restaurants and their ramshackle houses. The Nepalis are busy eking out a living but still have time to backbite and categorise themselves just as they do back home even though they are all in the same boat, being exploited by gangmasters.

Reading City?s 500 plus Nepalis have set up two separate communities segregated along ethnic lines. As with other South Asians, ethnic division seems to become more pronounced when abroad. Bahuns, Chhetris and Newars celebrated Dasain with the Reading Nepali Society UK and the rest (mainly Rais and Gurungs) bond together in the Tamaudhi Reading Nepali Society.

Marko Bojcun, professor and expert in east-west migration patterns in Western Europe says, ?When you don?t know what your rights as a migrant worker are, you get tossed and kicked around, exploited and oppressed.?

Kamal Bastola, a Jhapa resident guts ducks for Peter Ricketts, an infamous gangmaster in Norfolk. He works 16 hour shifts, bent double. He paid Rs 600,000 to a human trafficker in Maharajganj to get smuggled into the UK via Saudi Arabia and Algeria. The final stretch was a horrendous ordeal in which he had to travel as a stowaway in a freight train across France.

Immigrant hotspots like Reading and Norfolk are under constant surveillance by the Home Office. But with only 193 full-time immigration enforcement officers, the ministry is overstretched to crush the network of traffickers and illegal farmhand employers. The government is all too aware of the ground situation, but seems to be able to do little more than get the media to accompany them on occasional immigration raids.

Meanwhile in farms, factories, hotels and hospitals across Britain, South Asians refuse to talk to each other, let alone integrate into British society. Indians continue to dig dikes and work in hideous factories for less than 2.50 pounds an hour. Pakistanis are actively setting up corner shops and grocery stores in their own ghettos. Bengalis are busy importing brides. And Nepalis stick to their own divided ethnicities, while working at Indian restaurants.

Not underground

Pranav Budathoki in ?Nepalis go underground in Britain? (#230) has levelled serious charges against me by trying to entangle my status with illegal migrant workers. This is absolutely baseless. First of all, I am a genuine research student doing PhD at the University of Reading which I embarked upon the completion of my masters degree after being awarded the Chevening Scholarship. At present, I am working on the livelihood diversification issues in the post rural electrification stage and I am due to submit my dissertation at the end of 2005. I have no intention of sticking on in Britain upon the completion of my PhD. I am completely dedicated and commited to my country where I have spent a lot of time doing research in rural areas. To the best of my knowledge, no Nepali student from this university has ever stayed back in the UK. By regulation, all international students are allowed to work not more than 20 hours during term time. Indeed, I had a summer job during weekends at a local department store, but I don?t know anything about any bakery that Budathoki talks about. In November, I was elected chair of student representative committee of the higher degree research students in my department. The critical fact is that I am not underground but openly overground.

Before charging someone and generalising the scenario, Budathoki should have cross-checked his facts otherwise it is a case of character assassination. There must be ethical issues that prevent journalists from invading people?s privacy and defaming them. The report has caused me tremendous physical, emotional and psychological anguish. My colleagues and I regard the Nepali Times highly. We have unwavering faith in its content, but I would request you to prevent misleading and distorted news items like these from being printed in future.

Badri P Bastakoti,
University of Reading, UK

Even Nepali Times susceptible to yellow journalism as exposed above?

It is admirable that Nepali Times published the rebuttle in their Letter to Editor section. But questions are:
- What are they doing to prevent this from happening again?
- How can they ensure that their correspondents are doing due dilligence before publishing their work?
- What action have they or will they take against Pranav Budhathoki, the author of the said article, for committing this journalistic fallacy?

I would hate to see the day when Nepali Times loses its credibility and stoops to the level where, like Kathmandu Post, it often makes mistakes with impunity.

- Riten

oh shit....will it be difficult to get a job in UK after graduation....

AARKALE BASI KHAYO BHANDAIMA AAFNO PET KINA DUKHAUNU.
Here it seems journalist mus t be proud of his investigative journalism, but he is failed to understand how hard someone is working to fulfil their dream. There may be some rotten one, that is everywhere hoina ta. If he thinks nepali samaj was perfect than those folks never have left nepal. How about his stay in UK while doing investigative journalism may be he was crashing one of those ppls apt. and enjoying free lodging and fooding. .

hey swaati...applause to u....neve rthought that way....hahahha..

My few words-
Riten, Lets not just rush into a conclusion that Pranav Budhathoki was wrong. The questions u raised in the thread about -"What are they doing to prevent this from happening again?
- How can they ensure that their correspondents are doing due dilligence before publishing their work? "
Lerts not go so far.
Mr. Bastakoti has just defended himself. Everyone does. That doesn't mean he is 100% correct in what he is saying.And We dont know whats the real true as well.
And Swati - LOL ... "If he thinks nepali samaj was perfect than those folks never have left nepal."- NO samaj is perfect.
"How about his stay in UK while doing investigative journalism may be he was crashing one of those ppls apt. and enjoying free lodging and fooding"... thats a bit Nepalese filthy kura katai...Com'on ! Grow up!

BASELESS AND GOSSIP ARTICLE
---------------------------------------

What a hell, Mr. Budathoki, trying to express from this article. There are many decent Nepalse in UK doing different professional jobs, such as nurse,doctor,professor, restauranteur and others. Full time student in UK allowed to work legally 20 hrs/week and full time in vacation in any type of temporary jobs. UK is second most expensive country to live and for International student need to pay 7 times higher fees in Undergraduate and 3 time higher in Graduate, than British or EEA students. Studying in university associated could be 50% cheeper tuition fees for International student.

From this year, British Government allowed to work a year after graduation for some engineering and science degree international student in England and 2 years in scotland to any graduate.

- http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/
- http://www.scotlandistheplace.com


Of course there are small number of illigal nepalese and also nepales refugee.
Look our country situation where no sign of peace and hardship for job and employment.
We need more foreign employment. So, what's wrong with that Nepalse earning in foreign land. Why this guy(Mr. Budathoki) have problem for that whatsoever nepales living in UK.
Soon, nepalse community will growing approx 1000/year as British government allowed to stay give permanent residence visa to all(after 1997 retired) ex-British Gurkha.

Without working live is so difficult here even for British people, though government support to all citizen from differnet benefit(housing, health, education, unemployment etc).

Publishing such article about Nepalese won't help anyone. Just making noisy in media won't benefit to our country.

My sympathy goes to Riten(aka Badri P Bastakoti) on this shame game started by so-called journalist Mr. Pranav Budathoki. As a International student studying here, myself not thinking to stay here for a long(life), but thinking to return homeland one day to contribute some things for national building.

Jay Desh..........Nepal...............

Neparu.......

Please read as .........................

Studying in university associated could be 50% cheeper tuition fees for International student = Studying in university associated college could be 50% cheeper tuition fees for International student


Without working live is so difficult here even for British people, though government support to all citizen from differnet benefit(housing, health, education, unemployment etc) = Without working life is so difficult here even for British people, though government support to all citizen from differnet benefit(housing, health, education, unemployment etc).

पहिलो कुरा RITEN जीको नामै टाँसेर किन भन्या नि?
पत्रकारले JPT लेख्छ बा!
यहाँ जापानबाट एउटा पत्रकारले नेपाली पोस्टलाई रिपर्ट पठाएछ।
उसले के लेख्या थियो भने:
जापानमा पढेलेख्या नेपाली १,२ जना भन्दा छैन। र लिगल नेपाली भन्या जापानी श्रिमती हुने मात्र हो।
मलाई त झननननन रीस उठेर ... ... ...
वहाँले नेपाली बिध्यार्थी समाज जापानको कसैलाई पनि नभेटिकन लेख्या हुनुपर्छ के।

यहाँपनि बुढाथोकिले कस्को बसेर गफ सुने अनि वास्ताकोटी जीको नाम हाल्दिए। यस्ता हुन्छन् पत्रकार!
That's why the gernalism in Nepal was rated 160th among 167 countires.

कस्को बसेर -> कस्कोमा बसेर

I have been here in England for a year....but have not met any Nepalese where i'm currently staying (i.e. Leicester).....NePaRu...do u know where most of the Nepalese are in this country....i know about Aldershot and Plumpstead.....beside this places where can i find Nepalese.....

Luckily i'm an Engineering student who is gonna graduate this coming july 2005....so hoping to find a job here in England according to the new shceme that was just release for the international students.

Hey....What u mean by university associated ....never heard about it before....i'm currently studying in University of Leicester....and i'm supposed to pay 10500 pound a year...but due to my scholarship of 2500 pound i have to pay 8000 pound and it is still very expensive.....ya i agree it very hard to live a life here without getting a job....me also doing a part-time job in a restuarant to earn some pocket money...

Anyone..Everyone....please give me advice on how to get a job after my graduation....by hook or by crook....no mater what..i have to get a job here in UK to build up my career. hehehehehhee.....