Covid-19 sees labour exodus from India, but Nepali running club helps avert humanitarian crisis
- Hundreds of thousands of workers left jobless in India return to Nepal, only to be shunned for fear of the coronavirus until Karnali running club comes to their aid
- ‘People could have starved,’ says Unicef employee. ‘Running groups in times of crisis become support networks for community’
Nepal is one of the world’s largest exporters of labour but the Covid-19 pandemic left hundreds of thousands of Nepalis working in India jobless, and a mass exodus started in March and continued through the summer. The sheer number overwhelmed Nepal’s infrastructure and resources, but a running academy in the mountains of western Nepal mobilised their resources and networks and helped avert a humanitarian crisis.
Soon after the pandemic was announced, Nepali authorities closed the borders to prevent the importation of Covid-19. There are 2.5 million Nepalese workers in India alone and 500,000 workers returned, according to corporate risk magazine Brink: Edge of Risk.
Thousands became trapped at border crossings, forced to spend the money they had earned for their families to sustain themselves.
Having finally entered Nepal, they found themselves pariahs – many bus drivers would not take them, fearing they were contagious. Many had no choice but to walk, for days and even weeks, with little money to buy food. Passing through villages, they were turned away from shops and houses. Lockdown measures also prevented them from crossing administrative boundaries and entering towns and villages.
“People could have starved before reaching home. There was a lot of panic,” said Dutchman Jimi Oostrum, a Unicef employee living in Nepal since 2007. He is also a dedicated runner and very active in the Nepali running community.
