The Saudi-led blockade of Qatar has fanned fear about the future among Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf region because of a lack of information.
The Saudi-led blockade of Qatar has isolated the country and fanned fear about the future among Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf region because of a lack of information.nnRam Hari Neupane, a salesperson at a supermarket in Doha described the city as being normal, but said his compatriots were worried about what would happen. “Our managers haven’t told us anything yet. All the information we are getting is from social media. This has caused fear as to what will happen if the situation worsens,” he said.nnFor those planning trips to Qatar, the ban on flights has had an immediate impact on purchase of cheap air tickets. Even though there has been no direct effect on migrant workers in Doha yet, experts say there could be longterm impact.nn”It all depends how the Qatari government responds. With the decline of oil prices, the number of Nepali migrants to the GCC was slowly decreasing but Qatar was the only country constantly accepting migrants as in previous years because of its construction boom,” said Ganesh Gurung, an expert on migrant issues.nnCurrently, more than 600,000 Nepalis migrant workers are in Qatar. Saudi Arabia now attracts more migrant workers, but it is also directly involved in the current crisis. Another 500,000 Nepalis work in Bahrain, UAE, Oman and Kuwait.nnSource: Karma Dolma Gurung, nepalitimes.com