Government of Nepal closed its air space for commercial flights on 22 March 2020 on a very short notice as a precautionary measure to curb the ongoing pandemic. As a result, thousands of Nepalese got stranded in foreign countries without any options to return to their homeland. The restrictions has entered third month and still there has been no concrete solution by the Nepal Government to solve this issue which has caused extreme uncertainty and stress on the stranded citizens. Many among the stranded are facing multiple issues including medical emergencies, bereavement, expiry of visas, financial strain to even maintain the daily needs, loss of livelihood, loss of shelter, pregnant women waiting to reach home, elderly citizens with limited medicines etc to name a few.

Though the Government repeatedly urged the stranded citizens to keep patience and be safe where they are and assured that it has spoken to the respective Governments to “take care” of Nepali citizens, however this has not made any difference in the mental and physical suffering of the stranded people and the level of stress has increased at unmanageable level. Few among them could not manage and committed suicide and there are reports of extreme neglect of Nepali citizens by respective governments. Nepal government must act as quickly as possible in order to minimize further damage and loss of lives.

Up to now, Nepal Government has repeatedly ignored the distress calls of rescue from its citizens suffering on foreign land. Probably, Nepal is the only country in the world which has banned entry of Nepali citizens in their own country. This is simply not acceptable. 

We urge Nepal government to respect the fundamental human rights of its citizens and the constitution of Nepal and allow the stranded citizens to return to their homeland safely. In addition, we demand that Nepal Government respects the order of Supreme Court dated 16 April 2020 to bring all the distressed citizens who are stranded abroad in a timely and safe manner.

With above explanations, we urge Nepal Government to: -

·         Immediately allow selected commercial flight to safely operate in Nepal for Nepali citizens without any further delay. We are urging to start commercial flights as Nepal Government has very limited resources to rescue Nepali citizens scattered across the globe. We believe this is the best possible solution given the capacity and resources of Nepal Government to handle the repatriation of this scale.  

·         Allow chartered flights from those countries where commercial flight options are not feasible. 

·         Arrange safe paid quarantine for arrivals in government facilities, hotels, resorts etc and timely medical tests.  

·         Make special arrangements for those citizens who cannot afford the repatriation flight tickets, quarantine costs and medical tests.

·         Refrain from giving any derogatory statements / remarks that increases the stress of the stranded citizens abroad.