A Nepalese social worker recounts his efforts to help those affected by the lockdown and spread positivity

English transcript | نسخة عربية

Nationality: Nepalese
Occupation: Restaurant Supervisor
Date of interview: 12 August 2020
Language of interview: English

Ram was born in a remote area near Kathmandu, Nepal, close to the Himalayas, in 1979. Growing up, the closest school was an hour and a half away by foot, which Ram traversed everyday. He moved to Kathmandu after 10th grade to finish his higher education, and pursue a bachelors degree in English to fulfill his dream of becoming a teacher, but it wasn’t meant to be. He had to flee the country because of Maoist terrorist activity, his journey leading him to Kuwait in 2004. He then worked between Kuwait and Iraq at an American base camp for four years, where he notes that everyone, regardless of their position, was treated with respect.

Ram’s dedication over the years got him steady promotions, and eventually to a management position at a major F&B company in Kuwait. He is an active social worker, volunteering with an informal volunteer organization that supports Nepali migrant workers in Kuwait by orienting them on the rules, regulations, labor law, and cultural practices of the country, and helping with legalities and paperwork. It’s a cause he hopes to continue working towards until he dies.

Unfortunately, Ram was let go soon after the pandemic hit Kuwait. Undeterred, he focused his attention on social work to help those who had been adversely affected by the lockdown— working with his volunteer team to conduct Facebook live sessions on a weekly basis, connecting with workers and listening to the challenges they were facing, and holding interviews with mental health experts and government bodies. They also interviewed individual workers over Zoom, including those who had been diagnosed with COVID19. Since several Nepali residents who’d worked in salons, restaurants, hotels etc. lost their jobs without notice and had no money to even buy food, Ram’s team joined forces with other local community organizations and charities to distribute food to over 500 people in Kuwait, using embassy vehicles to reach those in areas under strict lockdown, like Mahboula.

Ram’s organization also appealed to their government and local charities to sponsor airfare, and organized webinars with colleagues from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines to understand what their governments were doing to financially support migrant workers and to enable their safe return to their home countries. This was to note best practices so they too could help migrant workers return to Nepal. During the Amnesty period in late April, he was involved in helping undocumented workers—”not illegal,” he says, “as no one in the world is illegal,”—with travel documents so they could register for amnesty. It was during this time that he contracted symptoms of COVID19: fever, respiratory problems, and body pain, but was allowed by the doctor to quarantine in his room, where he lived alone.

Through his conversations and experiences helping those in need, Ram has encountered some truly heartbreaking stories. He recounts one of a worker he visited in Adan Hospital, who was pushed out a fourth-floor window by an unidentified man while on the job. The fall broke his backbone and paralyzed half his body, leaving him unconscious for two months. He was given good treatment and care by the doctors, but was not visited by his employers, which Ram feels is very painful as “companies are our second home.” He also wonders how his family will be able to support him if and when he returns home, permanently disabled.

How is Ram able to stay optimistic amid such difficult circumstances? “Always, you have to think positive. I'm always telling my fellow workers and [...] whoever I meet, if you can do something good for people just do it, but don't do bad for people. If I can support somebody, that's fine. But [if you can’t], don't destroy them.”

“From this pandemic, we have learned so many things. In life, [there are] always ups and down[s]. We have to think always positive because to get the early morning, always have to be evening. Once we have the evening and night, it will come new morning. Same thing in life.”

In the clip above, Ram shares the advice he offers to members of his community, on how to maintain hope during the pandemic.

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