19 trafficked Nepali workers rescued from Sri Lanka

The Nepalese government said as many as ninteen Nepali trafficked women have been repatriated from Sri Lanka with the joint efforts of the Nepalese and Sri Lankan authorities, The Himalayan Times reported.

A total of 19 Nepali trafficked girls were hiding 55 km west from the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and one of them, however, managed to flee, he added. “Our embassy in Colombo, in coordination with the Sri Lankan authorities, is trying to find if more trafficked Nepali girls are hiding there so that they can be repatriated,” said the MoFA spokesperson.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had directed the foreign secretary to immediately rescue Nepalis stranded abroad, including in Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.

“Hundreds of Nepalis in Saudi Arabia and around 45 Nepali women in Sri Lanka have reportedly been left in a lurch,” the PM’s Secretariat quoted Dahal as telling the secretary, “Please check the situation and arrange relief, employment and deportation to Nepal immediately.”He also directed the ministry to coordinate with the Nepali missions in the respective nations and the governments there for the rescue.