DOHA: Migrants who have worked for nearly a year without pay on a Qatar skyscraper are facing ‘severe food shortages’ and cannot leave or seek other employment, Amnesty International said today.

Qatar has come under mounting criticism from rights groups, particularly after being chosen to host the 2022 World Cup, which has spotlighted the conditions of migrant workers in the gas-rich monarchy’s booming construction industry.

Amnesty urged Qatari authorities to address the plight of 80 migrant workers, mostly from Nepal, who are working for the Lee Trading and Contracting company, saying they are ‘working in conditions that may amount to forced labour’. “They have not been paid for nearly a year and can’t even buy food to sustain themselves on a day-to-day basis. They also can’t afford to send money back home to their families or to pay off debts,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

The group includes around 60 Nepali workers as well as others from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nigeria, China and Bangladesh.

They have been working on floors 38 and 39 of Doha’s Al-Bidda Tower, known as ‘Qatar’s Home of Football’ because a number of sports organisations have offices there, Amnesty said.

Amnesty said it had seen documentation showing LTC owes the workers around 1.5 million riyals ($412,000) for the work, which was completed in October.

“‘Do the work and we’ll pay you tomorrow’, they said,” Amnesty quoted a Nepali labourer as saying. “We kept doing the work and they kept changing the date and we never got paid.”

The rights group said the workers had filed cases against LTC in Doha’s Labour Court but were asked to pay fees of 600 riyals ($165) each for their cases to proceed.

The workers told Amnesty the court rejected their petitions for the fees to be waived, and Amnesty said under Qatari law they should have been exempted from the start.

Amnesty said the workers are facing severe food shortages after the company stopped giving them a 250-riyal ($69) monthly food allowance in October, and that last month several of the men complained of hunger.

Neither government spokesmen nor LTC representatives could be reached for comment on Amnesty’s findings.

But Amnesty quoted an LTC representative as saying that the food allowance had stopped because, ‘at the end of the day, I’m not making any money out of this company’.

Amnesty also cited a company representative as saying the firm was unable to pay for residency permits for the workers, leaving them vulnerable to arrest. Because of Qatar’s restrictive sponsorship system, the workers are unable to seek employment at another company.

AI reports

• 60 Nepali workers and others from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nigeria, China and Bangladesh have been working on floors 38 and 39 of Doha’s Al-Bidda Tower

• The labourers, who are working for the Lee Trading and Contracting company, are working in conditions that may amount to forced labour

• LTC owes the workers around 1.5 million riyals ($412,000) for the work

• They are facing severe food shortages after the company stopped giving them a 250-riyal ($69) monthly food allowance in October

• They can’t even buy food to sustain themselves on a day-to-day basis

KATHMANDU: Nepali students recently presented Nepali cultural, religious and natural heritages at an 44-nation participated international festival.

Nepali students studying at the Ajou University participated in the festival in the leadership of Suraj Kaduwal KC, originally from Jhapa. The festival was organized by the university.

In their special stall, these students presented pictures, artifacts, and symbols that presented some special attributes of Nepali life.

Pictures and print outs posted at the stall relayed the message that Lord Buddha was born in Nepal and that Nepal is home to world’s tallest peak- Mt. Everest.

Visitors interested in culture and arts had thronged the stall for knowing more about Nepal’s culture and life styles.

Renu Thapa, Prasansa Panta, and Sujata Bantawa danced to folk tunes in traditional Nepali attires.

Nepali students Bhojendra Tulachan, Prasansa Panta, Renu Thapa, Ganesh Paudel, Gopal Bohara, Subash Marasaini, Tikaram Aryal, Anni Vaiba, Sujata Bantawa, Sushil Bijukche, Nawraj Basnet , among others informed all the visitors about Nepal and assisted in making the event more informative.

While thanking his team for their rigurous work throughout, KC said that their objective to tell the world about Nepali culture and heritages succeded.

Around 40 Nepalese student are presently enrolled at the University. This was the first time that Nepalese students made a noteable presence in University’s program.

KATHMANDU: Malaysia, one of the most frequented destinations by Nepalese job seekers, seems to be gaining a worst reputation. Reports have claimed that so far six thousand and two hundred Nepalese have gone missing in Malaysia.

Migrant Nepali Coordination Committee (MNCC), an organization which has been closely monitoring the dissappearance of Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia reported that these Nepalese went missing in Malaysia where they had reached for employment.

“Of these one thousand and 2 hundred are totally disappeared. Neither they are in touch with their relatives back at home nor anyone in Malaysia knows about them,” President of the MNCC, Mahendra Pandey said.

MNCC has been continously searching the records of migrant workers in Malaysia by visiting them and their relatives in Nepal.

The report further suggested that around five thousand Nepalese have married with foriegn woman and settled down in Malaysia.

And of these 2 thousand Nepalese are already married back at home and to avoid their families to know about these they have severed contact with their family, Pandey said.

90 percent of these Nepalese have married Indonesian girls, a report in Nagarik Dainik on Tuesday reported. Remaining 10 percent have married with Phillipino and other local women.

Most of them are hiding in Malaysia and some of them have resettled in the country of their spouse, the report said.

BIJAY THAPA /Virginia: Nepalese woman recently had an amazing teen celebration amid a program organized by the Nepalese embassy here in Washington.

The program was organized as part of the embassy long kept tradition to invite Nepalese daughters and sisters in the DC area to the Teej reception and organize cultural programs that would make them feel at home.

Participants in the program said that they were glad that the embassy organized the event and made them feel at home with their parents and guardians. They said the event mirrored the care that the embassy provided to its citizenry in the United states.

Spouse of Nepalese ambassador to the USA, Mrs. Kalpana Sharma had coordinated the event sponsored by the embassy.

KATHMANDU: A Nepali restaurant in London has been selected the winner of the Tiffin Club Awards 2013. The prestigious award is provided every year to the best South Asian restaurant in the United Kingdom.

The ‘Holy Cow’ restaurant in Battersea, London, was honored with the award.

Tiffin Cup Award, held at the lower house of the parliament in UK, ‘Holy Cow’ emerged as the winner by garnering the majority of votes from the customers, said restaurant proprietor and  Non Resident Nepali Association, UK Chairman Kul Acharya.

‘Holy Cow’ has seven outlets in London. The Battersea-based restaurant was opened in 2006.

The winner of the award is selected based on the recommendations of the British parliamentarians of the region, voting of the customers and also on the quality of service provided by the restaurant . (with inputs from agencies)

KATHMANDU: Nepali born Australian businessman Shesh Ghale has announced his candidacy for the Non Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA)’s Chairman in the upcoming International Conference of the NRNA.

Ghale announced his candidacy for Chairman of the NRNA organizing a news conference here Thursday.

On the occasion Ghale said that he would prioritize safe migration of Nepalis, registration of NRNA and especial efforts for knowledge and capital investment of NRNs in Nepal.

Incumbent General Secretary Tenzi Sherpa and members Hitman Tamang and Ram Pratap Thapa have already announced their candidacies for the same post.

Shrestha received the ‘President’s Educational Award’ for attaining excellence in grade 8 at Lanier Middle School of Virginia state of USA.

The honor is given to the extraordinary students in school-level based on their educational standard, character and extracurricular activities.

Honoring him, the US President handed him a letter of honor and letter of congratulations with his signature, wishing a bright future for Shrestha. Born at Om Bahal in Kathmandu, he had also won the same honor in 2011.

PARBAT: Miss U.K. Nepal 2012, Durga Gurung, has provided various educational materials to the students at a school in her hometown.

Gurung, who hails from Bhoksingh VDC, distributed the educational materials to 250 students at the Mahendrodaya Secondary School on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, she said she provided the educational materials to the needy students out of the thinking that she should contribute something to her birthplace. She also said that she would continue providing such assistance in future.

Gurung has also donated more than 100 books to the school library and different sports equipment.

USA: A Nepali Music School named as Premee Kala Kendra has been established in Fairfax City of Virginia near Washington DC of the USA.

Famous Nepali singer Prem Raja Mahat and Mira Rana took initiatives to establish the music school.

Nepali Ambassador to the USA Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma inaugurated the music school amidst a function.

On the occasion, Dr Sharma said that establishment of the music school has added new dimension to Nepali diaspora and DC metropolitan area.

He said many would be benefited by this school as the number of Nepalis in the USA was rising day by day.

Likewise, Mahat said that all genres of music including drama, music, dance and others would be included in the school.

KATHMANDU: Veteran sociologist Dr Ganesh Gurung has been honored in the UK last week. Different organizations honored Dr Gurung for his contribution to Nepal’s economy, especially in the field of labor migration, and raising the voices of migrant workers.

On the occasion, Dr Gurung’s spouse Durga and daughter Dr Minani were also honored.

The organizations honoring the former member of the National Planning Commission Dr Gurung were Tamudhi UK, Tamudhi South East London Plumstade and others.

Receiving the felicitation, Dr Gurung expressed his happiness for getting chance to meet his former colleagues.

During the program, Nepali community in the UK also organized an interaction with Dr Gurung.

On the occasion, Dr Gurung said that Mt. Everest, Lord Buddha and Gurkha veterans have helped spread information on Nepal.

During the interaction program, Chairman of Tamu Samaj UK Shiva Sharan Gurung, founder chairman Chitra Gurung, associate professor Narayan Gurung were also present.