Tuesday, July 18, 2006

All 4,000 Nepalis in Lebanon safe

All Nepalis working in various parts of Lebanon are so far safe even as heavy bombardments by Israel on Lebanese territory entered the fifth day Sunday, according to the Nepalese Embassy in Egypt, which looks after Lebanon affairs also. An estimated 4,000 Nepalis are working in Lebanon.
Bhrigu Dhungana, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy, said Sunday that no one was reported dead or injured in the clash between Israeli forces and Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.
"We are constantly watching and assessing the situation there," Dhungana said, adding that most Nepalis, comprising a significant number of women, work as domestic helpers. "No news of attack is reported to have taken place in areas where there is the concentration of Nepalis."
Dhungana said the Nepalese mission was in constant touch with the Honorary Nepalese Consul General for Lebanon, J Issa El-Khoury, and many Nepali workers there. Though the exact number of Nepalis in Lebanon is not known as many Nepalis go to the Middle East, including Iraq, for jobs through clandestine channels, Dhungana said, there must be at least 4,000 Nepalis in Lebanon alone.
In the wake of the cold-blooded murder of 12 Nepali workers in Iraq by Iraqi insurgents in 2004, hundreds of Iraq-bound Nepalis had re-routed to Lebanon. Some 30 Iraq-bound Nepalis stranded in Jordan had entered Lebanon daily for several weeks then, according to Krishna Bhandari, a Nepali working in a Lebanese accounting firm.
Worried about the safety of their nationals currently in Lebanon, many countries have dispatched ships and aircraft to evacuate them. Israel has imposed terrestrial, aerial and naval blockade of Lebanon. Dozens of civilians, including women and children had been killed in a fire as they were about to cross to Syria on Saturday.
Dhungana said he was not aware of any contingency evacuation of Nepalis in case of emergency. "As the violence has escalated the number of locals attempting to flee has grown, but with the Israelis targeting border areas and nearby roads, this has become increasingly difficult," said a BBC report.
The clashes erupted after Lebanon's Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers last week.

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