In the middle of the night, the coffin arrives in Khatmandu. Bimal’s brothers are waiting at the airport. They have traveled extensively to retrieve their dead brother.
In the family van, they take him to the holy river Kali Gandaki.
CEREMONY: Brothers and friends carry the coffin out of the sacred river Kali Gandaki. A solemn ceremony is held here before Bimal’s corpse is burned on the river bank. Photo: Anil Katwal
His wife Rama Kumari Shrestha, family and friends wait to bid a final farewell before Bimal’s body is carried to the river.
SØNDERKNUST: Wife Rama puts jewelry and bracelets in the coffin Photo: Anil Katwal
The last time daughter Bahwana saw her father was five years ago. She was home then, a short trip from Qatar.
He was 12 at the time.
Now he must participate in the rituals before his father’s body is burned by the sacred river.
SAY GOODBYE: Daughter Bahwana last saw her father she was 12 years old. Now, five years later, she says one last goodbye. Photo: Anil Katwal
No one can quite figure out what happened.
– I was so happy that he was finally coming home after all these years, says the widow Rama.
He spoke to Bimal the day before he came home.
– We had a nice video call that day. She showed me everything she had bought for us, she says.
FROM JOY TO SORROW: Rama couldn’t wait for her husband to come home. She was devastated when she received news of her death. Photo: A.Katwal
Doubt about the cause of death
The family was told by Qatari authorities that Bimal took his own life, hours after the conversation with Rama.
– He had some free time and bought tickets. The bag was full. Then he would not have hanged himself, says Bimal’s younger brother Dhan Prasad Shrestha.
POLICE BROTHER: Dan Prasad Shrestha (middle) would like the family to obtain documentation confirming Bimal’s death. Photo: A.Katwal
The little brother is a policeman and asks for documentation confirming that Bimal took his own life.
– Maybe someone else did it to him. Maybe he didn’t commit suicide. I have not seen any photos that testify that he hanged himself. I’ve never seen the body. I don’t know if anyone has seen it, or if there are any photos, he says resignedly.
FAMILY PHOTOS IN NEPAL: Since her daughter was two years old, Bimal has been working in Qatar. She was only at home for short periods. Photo: private
If Bimal’s death could be linked to his job in Qatar, the family would be entitled to 14 years’ salary.
Request autopsies of dead migrant workers
Like Bimal, millions of Nepalese have fled the country to earn enough money to support their families.
– Unemployment and poverty push people into extremely difficult situations. The human cost is that we receive three deaths every day, Nirajan Thapaliya tells TV 2.
Thapaliya leads Amnesty International’s work in Nepal.
The organization fights for migrant workers and their rights.
This is how Thapaliya describes the conditions experienced by many migrant workers.
– If we talk again about the working conditions in Qatar and other Gulf countries, it’s awful, he says.
In Nepal they have TV 2 met several migrant workers who tell how they experienced the death of workmates.
DISABLED: Birendra became disabled after working as an electrician in Qatar. He now he is struggling to make ends meet at home in Nepal. Photo: Simen Askjer / TV 2
– His room is next to mine. I didn’t see it there. She came home from work, cooked, ate and slept. The next morning he was dead, Birendra tells us.
He himself became disabled after working as an electrician in Qatar.
Deaths among migrant workers are often recorded as natural deaths, so companies in Qatar do not have to pay compensation.
CEREMONY: Those who return home in coffins are cremated in a solemn ceremony. Photo: Bent Skjærstad / TV 2
Amnesty International and other organizations are calling for more to be done to find out the cause of the workers’ deaths.
– What we have asked the Qatari authorities is that they investigate the death of migrant workers. People die from dangerous working conditions. If you say they die of natural causes, such as cardiac arrest, it is more likely that you will not have to pay the family the compensation that you, as an employer, should have paid, says Amnesty leader Nirajan Thapaliya.
He has to take care of himself
At the holy river, the family say their last goodbyes to Bimal.
THE SACRED RIVER: Bimal’s coffin is lowered Photo: A.Katwal
Since his death would have been due to suicide, the survivors get nothing.
– If he wanted to crush my hope like this, why did he give me hope and said he would go home? Rama says in despair.
STANDING ON BARE GROUND: With unemployment skyrocketing, it will be difficult for Rama to support himself and his daughter in Nepal. Photo: A.Katwal
The main breadwinner of the family is gone.
Now Rama and his daughter have to fend for themselves.
