Migration Revisited: A Report from Ground Zero
A man came to Qatar about 20 years ago, he left Nepal, his hometown, his wife, and children to escape from poverty and improve the livelihood of his family. He came to Qatar as a migrant worker, knowing that a life a migrant worker is very tough, difficult and lonely as he would be able to see family only once every two or three years. However, he was determined to make his children’s future different from his own, by providing them education, which was not feasible for him. He, himself, had an incessant desire for education. Though started a bit late in his adolescent, he stood first in all his classes in his village school. In order to catch up, he even skipped few grades at a time and still stood top among his class. However, his family couldn’t afford his 7th-grade education in a nearby city, so he was forced to marry at the tender age of 19 and had to bear the burden of raising his family. One can only wonder what would have happened if he were able to receive a decent education?
A man came to Qatar, about 2 days ago, he also left Nepal, but not to escape from poverty this time, but to participate in Qatar-Nepal Visual Arts collaboration organized by two Qatar Foundation Universities-- Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUQ) and University College London (UCLQ) in coordination with NRNA-NCC Qatar. His name is Mekh Limbu, an accomplished interdisciplinary artist of Nepal. He also holds a prestigious lecturer position at Tribhuwan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. (For more info: www.mekhlimbu.com)
Mekh is a son of a migrant worker, who left Nepal some 20 years ago. The level sacrifice his father made for him and his family is truly out-of-this-world--an inspirational narrative that many others can relate --, there is no regret or not even a single word of complaint from him; when he saw his son in Qatar, he said with pride and dignity: “all I have done for my family is worth it.” All you can see now is his jubilant smile, eternal satisfaction, and happiness for his artist son. Dina and I just felt fortunate and blessed to witness the proudest father on this entire planet….
PS: Dina Bangdel is one of the principal organizers of Qatar-Nepal Visual Arts Collaboration. I am just a proud husband...
Doha. Jan 14, 2017. From L to R: Mekh, his uncle, his father, me, and Dina. #mekhlimbu #artforsocialchange - Dr. Bibhakar Shakya
(From: Dr. Bibhakar Shakya's Facebook जस्ताको तस्तै)
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