I have worked and lived a sixth of my life outside of Nepal. And if I wanted to do so again, I could (technically) live outside Nepal. So many of my well-wishers (or so they would me to think of them) always seem to be intrigued of me living and working in Nepal. Some of them think (and are not hesitant to even say out publicly) I am stupid in still staying in while I still had the opportunity to go outside. Readmore>>

http://torilaure.com/?p=96

This has be one of the most meaningful discussions I have ever read on Sajha. Kudos to symlyn for starting the threads and all the best to you all who are sacrificing their so called American Life to help Nepal be successful in future. I am not sure when I will be brave/smart enough to join you guys but hope someday I will be back for good also.

सरी साथीहरु, मैले अलि इमोसनमा आएर लेखेको हो।

के भा'थ्यो भने एकपटक म नेपालबाट फर्केर आएर मेरा केहि साथीहरुलाई महाबिर पुनको म्याग्दिको हाइस्कुलको बारेमा सुनाउदै थिएँ, एकजनाले बुझ्नु न सुझ्न प्याच्च 'त्यो मुला, ह्याँ जागिर नपाएर गा त हो' भनेर भन्यो। मलाई खुब नरमाईलो लाग्यो। कसलाई इज्जत गर्ने, कसलाई राम्रो भन्ने, को ठुलो भन्ने सोचाई हामी मा अझै नआएको हो कि? अनि महाशय आफै चाहिं के गर्ने रहेछन नि? उनी वेबपेज बनाउने रहेछन यौटा कम्पनीमा, इस्टकोस्टमा। मैले कामको कदर नगरेको जसो देखिन्छ, तर उदाहरणमात्र दिएको हो।

बुढो भएर एकदिन जब हामी फर्केर हेर्छौं आफ्नो जीवनलाई, थाहा छैन कसरी मुल्यांकन गरिन्छ होला। जातभातको कुरो लिएर झगडा गरेको, त साला मधेशी निस्किहाल भनेको, चोरेको, ठगेको, अरुलाई मान्छे नगनेको, मै ठुलो भनेको, अरुलाई मार्नुपर्छ काट्नुपर्छ भनेको, यस्तो कुरो सम्झदा मनलाई शान्ति हुन्छ कि कमसेकम मैले गर्दा यति केटाकेटि हरुको जीवन राम्रो भयो भनेको?

यहीँ भनम न, म कहिलेकाही महँगो होटेलमा गएर चालीस पचास डलर को डिनर खान्छु। भोलिपल्ट आखीर ऊहि हो, केहि बाकि रहदैँन,बरु थुक्क त्यति पैसा बरु नेपालको हाइस्कुललाई दिएको भए, मेरो अलुम्नाईलाई दिएको भए, कमसेकम यसयलसि को कोचिङ् चलाउथेकि भन्ने सोच्छु।

त्यसैले, कति यस्तो रिग्रेट पाल्ने, कति अरुलाई केहि गरेनन भनेर गाली गर्ने? कति नेताहरुलाई गाली गर्ने, किन आफै चुनाब नलड्ने? आदि कुरा हरु मैले सोचेको धेरै भयो।

Anyway, thanks Ashu for your encouragement. With god's blessing, it will happen soon.

पिरेजिलाइ मेरो पनि शुभकामना।राम्रो सोच राख्न्न्नु भएको छ।हामि पनि चाडै फर्किन पाइयोस आफ्नो प्यरो नेपाल र केहि गर्न सकियोस देशको लागि।
महाबिर पुनलाइ त्यसो भन्ने मान्छे चाहि महाबिर सरलाइ नजिकबाट नचिन्ने वा भनौ राम्रो कुराको कदर गर्न नचाहने मान्छे हुनु पर्छ।महबिर सर् जति बेला हाम्रो स्कूलमा हुनुहुन्थो तेति बेला पनि तलब पचाएर मात्रै बस्नु हुन्न थियो।वहाले बङूर पालन गरेर बिज्ञान प्रयोगसालालाइ सहयोग गर्नु हुन्थ्यो।मैले के भन्नु पर्छ र वहाँको बारेमा,वहाँ आफैले सिद्ध गरि सक्नु भएको छ वहाँको महानता।
उपेन्द्र महतोको पैसा र वहालाइ एउटै तराजुमा राखेर जोख्न्न त मिल्दैन किनभने त्यो महाबिर सरको अपमान गरेझै हुन्छ। यदि जोखियो भने महाबिर सरको देश प्रतिको योगदानको अगाडि उपेन्द्र महतो धेरै हलुका देखिनु हुन्छ।

मेरो शुभकामना पिरेजिलाइ,तपाइ पनि वहाँकै बाटोमा हिड्न सक्नुहोस

I am going back to Nepal not because nepal needs me but because I need Nepal - my motherland.

When? -----> Good question!!!!! :P

LooTe

Loote you're not going back right now which means you don't need Nepal, your motherland, right now. You don't need it enough to go back yet. I'm sure you have other priorities which is keeping you here.

मेरो बिचारमा उपेन्द्र महतो पनि धेरै उदार मान्छे हो, धेरै ठाउँमा सहयोग गर्नु भा'छ वहाँले। देशको लागि गरौँ भन्ने भावना भएको मान्छे हो। तर त्यो मेरो मोबाइलमा बदनाम भाको चाहिँ पक्का हो, त्यसले गर्दा बदनाम भयो।

एउटा सिराहाको साधारण मधेसिको छोराले त्यति गरेकोलाई चानचुने मान्दिन। हाम्ले मानेपनि नमाने पनि मधेशिलाई नेपालमा राइज हुन कति गार्हो छ, त्यस्तो बेला बिदेश गएर त्यत्रो पैसा कमाएर नेपालमा गएको छन। प्लस पशुपति मा किरियापुत्री घर वा देबघाटमा बृद्धश्रम आदि बनाउने भन्यो भने सधै सहयोग गर्ने। मान्छे वहाँ ठिकै हो, त्यत्रो अस्थिरत हुदा पनि नेपालमा इन्भेस्टर लैजाने, आफै पैसा लगानी गर्ने गरेर गुण लगाएको चाहि मान्नुपर्छ।तर त्यो राजाको ज्वाइ संग मिलेर मोबाइल बिजनेस गरेको चाहि ठुलो दाग हो पछिसम्म पनि।

तर महाबिर सर चाहिं डेफिनिटलि बेदाग मान्छे हो, शायद वहाँले एकदिन ठुलै पुरस्कार पनि पाउनु हुन्छ जस्तो लाग्छ, नोबेल वा म्यागासेस जस्तै। हेरौं।

really nice thread after a long time. Like many of you I find life here in US empty. for some reason all that glitter and the gloss that is so appealing ,attractive about USA -that pple all over the world come here- I still do not understand. its been 3 years since i came here , and i always thought i would get tuned to the lifestyle here, but that is yet to happen. i miss my family, my friends,my relatives, my neighbour, the little shop in the corner where i would always buy some goodies on the way to school, food, the muddy road, the insane traffic,pple,dirt, the noise, smell, even the barking of stray dogs!! ,the smile from an old lady with whom i have never spoken to, but who always lovingly looks at me with some sort of admiration,or maybe just little care .i don' tknow .but i miss it all.......

well the list can go on , just wanted to share my feelings is it just me or are there pple feeling the same..or am i being too sentimental, or sensitive some might say...but for me what is joy, sorrow,happiness,grief,success,failure without family to share it with..............,without the feeling of belongingness ......to say with pride that - its mine-this is my country- will I ever be accepted here? will I always remain a second class citizen regardless of my career, amount of money I make , or the car I drive?

sometimesi wish I could be like pple who look so happy and content to be here, they seem to enjoy it to the fullest or is it just the outside..are they as happy as they look from inside too?.
confused!!!!
I don't know................share ur thoughts pple............waiting....

Very interesting article symlyn. I guess several points are raised in that article and the discussion that follows it here . My comments are mostly on the questions raised in this thread. I think going back to Nepal is a personal choice and to each his own. Some people have a higher calling in life and if that calling is Nepal, then go for it. If your calling is to be here in the US (or Europe or Australia or wherever else you may be) and conquer new horizons then so be it. We can argue all we want about what people should and should not do but the fact remains that you live only once and where you chose to live your life is your own business and no one else's.

I will not judge those who go back any differently from those who chose to stay. There seems to be this notion of goodness and virtue in going back to Nepal and by implication a sense of betrayal and deceit in staying back in the West. Migration is as old as the human species and it is futile to look at it from a moral angle in my opinion. Most of our forefathers have migrated in the course of history and moved their homes and hearts along with them. Africa would explode if we really took this going-back-is-good theory to its logical conclusion. You live where it makes sense for you to live and that will always be different for each person.

Loote - Hey, let us know when you are going ok? You are not getting off the hook without a going-away party :) LOL! Just kidding. Hope all's well.

My Experience is little bit different in Nepal. It is an excellent idea to go back and work in Nepal. This is not to discourage anyone just sharing honest experience.

In early twenties I passed "LokSewa" twice and both case I didn’t join the Bureaucracy. My decision to appear in "Loksewa" was just to prove myself that I am capable. Instead I joined an Organization which offered me a 5 yrs contract (it was a Nepali Academic ORG with 10% more salary that that of the govt.). In that org. I was instrumental in establishing a National laboratory(I was tasked). Once the laboratory was established, there was a political appointment to the head of the lab. I became second person. I continued working, after 5 yrs there was another political appointment and I became third person in lab.
In my late twenties I was instrumental in Nepal working hard here and there and was involved as a founder member of two professional organizations. These two organizations could not do that well but functioning to date to some extent. These two were not money making org. we had to generate money to operate them. I was the first to generate (commercially) the operating money for one of these organizations. But when it was time to make a visit to Japan they called the meeting without informing me and one of them went to Japan.

In the mean time I was also involved as an active founder member of one NGO which was able to make money in its first year without us investing a rupee, as it was non profit NGO we were supposed to invest this money in other activities. We did that, second yr it generated more money, then the real play started. After second yr. president of the NGO who was almost 10 yrs older than me started to play foul. I thought who cares, so second yr I started another branch of that NGO and this time they agreed to make me the head, but this guy tried everything possible (indirectly) to make me fail. But that didn’t happen, I was successful as usual. All these I did in my late 20. Unfortunately because of unavoidable personal circumstances, I left Nepal for about 5 yrs after handing over the second org also to the same guys.
At present, the laboratory is only national laboratory of its kind with international recognition. Both NGOs have become money making machine; their collective property is about 200 million rupees. Both of these NGO are now converted to Public Company (I do not know how they manage to do that) and my friends are enjoying the money.

When I visit Nepal I always visit those places. PPl working their respect me very much. Workers in NGO (now so called NGO) tell me how much money that organization is making and request me to return and join the organization. What they don’t know is other founder members have already made me legally week in that regard.

I wanted to share this just to make ppl aware of real life hard fact what usually happens in Nepal. Please do not take this for anything else.

well said captain!

indeed is a matter of personal choice. i don't want to give an impression of 'a man with principles' or 'a dog with principles' rather :P, but i guess, being the first citizen to a very poor and struggling nation as is nepal, we - our generation- hold some responsibilities to contribute to the betterment of nepal. of course, one does not need to be on the soil itself to be able to make that contribution.

but again, responsibilities as such cannot be forcefully attributed to a citizen, it should come from inside.

as for in my case, i am determined to go back to nepal after i finish my current responsibilites. i am not saying it to prove anything to anyone or to pass a message to anybody, but deep inside, i feel that it's more challenging to prove oneself in nepal than in US. US is a land of opportunities, so anyone can prosper if he comes up with hard work while doing something in nepal is not only challenging but very satiating as well if it works. i would like to experiment my luck where the probability of success is less :P

just my thoughts.

LooTe

Loote - I agree with the thrust of what you have said. You raise two important points about responsibility and challenge that I want to addresses. But before doing so, I want to wish you the very best of luck no matter what you decide to do and when you decide to go back.There is a good chance I may end up doing something similar.

This is not directed at you specifically, but at the larger audience as food for thought. These points don't always reflect my own opinion on the subject - although sometimes they do - and are raised more with the intent of providing an alternative point of view.

(1) Responsibility: What responsibility do we have towards the country we were born in? Where does that responsibility start and end? For the guy from Humla who wore torn pants and broken slippers to school, passed his SLC, suffered hardships finishing his ISc in Kathmandu and got a scholarship to study in America, and then helped the rest of his family, relatives and village-folks come to the US, hasn't he impacted the lives of many more Nepalese than some of us might be able to when we go back? He worked difficult, often demeaning jobs in the US to send money to his brothers and sisters in Nepal so that they could pay their school fees and have a decent meal. He signed letters of affidavit for his fellow village-people based on the income he made from these odd jobs or the job he got when he finally graduated from college. Will he be doing a greater service by going back to Nepal or by continuing to be a helping hand to those who want to better the lives of their children by coming to the US? Why can't America be his new country? Why does the country you were born into have to be the country you should be loyal to? People migrate from the Pahad to the Madesh or Kathmandu in Nepal - why should the situation of the people migrating to the US from the Nepal be looked at any differently?

(2) Challenges: There are challenges everywhere. I think the challenges in America are no less from the challenges in Nepal. Coming to a foreign country, learning the culture and ways of the land, breaking barriers of culture and assimilation, setting your mark - that's as much a challenge in its own ways as trying to make things better in Nepal. Also, what challenges someone is different from person to person. If you have the ability to impact the lives of billions of people by being part of the American economy, why limit your impact to a small part of the world, and I know this might sound harsh and cruel to some, even if that part of the world happens to be your country of birth?

Again, this is not pointed at you personally, Loote, and I hope you will not feel otherwise. My point, once again, is directed at the larger audience and I feel staying back and doing what you need to do should not be placed on a lower moral plane than going back and having an impact, even though I personally maybe be going back but for neither of the above two reasons.

yah captain. there is always two sides of the coin. head is not always the winner. head works for me though :P but i equally respect tail. :-)

i leave your food for thought for others to take on. i would like to see what's their take on this. will come back later with another plate of food for thought :P

have a good night ya'll!

LooTe

oh how much i miss my NEPAL. well said loote.