BN Joshi's Shramatan launched

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 3: BN Joshi's  book, ‘Shramatan’ a Nepalese Worker’s Memoir, was released on Saturday. 

Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwapakash Sharma released the book in Kathmandu. 

The book is all about the stories of migrant Nepali workers, their ordeals and sufferings in the foreign land. 

Sharma said that the book presents an actual picture of the disappeared workers who lost their lives after suffering a lot in international labour markets. 

Sharma also congratulated the author for writing the book.

He remembered several previous incidents and said international employment has both pros and cons. “Nepali people have learned to live in the time of crisis from the sufferings which they experienced while working in the international labour market ,” he said.  

Sharma said migration is a natural process but nobody should be compelled for that. 

According to him, the government counts the remittance that the labourers earn in the foreign land while the authorities count the bodies of the workers. “Some workers are disappearing and the government should  initiate a process to find out their whereabouts,” he added. 

Sharma said the government should improve migrant workers’ policy so that they could get safe jobs abroad.  

Similarly, rights activist Saru Joshi said that the book has exposed the reality of the workers in foreign land. “Though the writer said it’s the story of labourers some 15 to 20 years ago, it is still relevant,” she said, adding that comparing the situation of the country and the government’s attitude, the book looks extraordinarily relevant. She also said the descriptive style was unparalleled. 

Writer Joshi said that he has picked some character from among the  labourers some 25 years back. “They are from previous time, however, the incidents mentioned in the book are still relevant,” he said. 

He recalled that he himself had suffered like the workers did while preparing the book, and he expected some meaningful reforms  for the labourers from the government.   

Shramatan book written in Nepali language has been translated into English by Arun Budhathoki. Nirala Publications in New Delhi, India, has published both versions of the book. The Nepali version costs Rs.300 and English  Rs.700.