Nepal 'addicted' to the trade in its own peopleLast journey: the body of Nepali migrant worker Rudra Bahadur Kami is loaded onto a lorry at Kathmandu airport. Like many others, they went heavily into debt to pay the employment agencies that got them their jobs there, she said. But critics say would-be migrant workers are being made to pay 30 to 40 times the official service charge. While local authorities said less than 40 died, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) insisted several thousand migrant workers -- many from Nepal -- perished in deplorable conditions in the extreme heat, often from heart attacks. It does not talk about the rights of migrant workers and the obligation of government to ensure those rights."

Source: Bangkok Post February 16, 2026 06:55 UTC