I was very thrilled to hear Ms Sapana Shree sing one of my favorites, “Heereko Timilai Akha Le Hoina, Maya Le Ho” at a concert in the US – she was part of the Nabin Bhattarai entourage. I would’ve probably not gotten that chance in Nepal. Be as it may, her absence is a loss for Sapana Shree fans in Nepal or rather Kathmandu. But the debate is more than that. The reason Ms Shree’s name has come for debate is because she’s considered special. May be she isn’t. May be she is just one among thousands of Nepalese that trek abroad everyday (at the rate of 500 according to news reports) for better opportunities. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, Nepal’s economy has been sustained through the Maoists-insurgency decade by the remittances of these foreign bound workers. Again, reports say, 1 in every 11 households has a family member working abroad. I guess that includes Nepalese working on a seasonal basis in India. The whole economy of Kathmandu seems to revolve around remittances. Despite lamentations about so-called “Lahure Culture” in Nepal (see, http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=81512), it is strongly embedded in the country since historical time – the brave Bal Bhadra, the hero of Nalapani died serving the British Raj (http://www.himalmag.com/2006/march/analysis_5.html). Thousands of Nepalese have and continue to shed blood and sweat for the British Queen (Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia), the Indian state (Sri Lanka, Kashmir), Chinese tycoons and Gulf sheiks. In fact, poor countries, both in terms of human capital and resources, like Nepal can only be sustained by sending their able-bodied population to greener pastures abroad. There is also a huge political dimension to this foreign migration but that’s another story. But Ms Shree is not just anybody is Nepal. She is a well-known singer – even I know her. Many people probably put her on a pedestal and look up to her as a role model. Role models define the norms. When people like her or Ms. Karishma Manadhar or Mr Saroj Khanal or Mr Ram Raja or others that define the norms quit their career and leave Nepal for something that Nepalese consider “beneath their level” then it becomes socially acceptable. It is one thing for uneducated, jobless villager to go to work at a construction site in Malaysia or an oil rig in the Gulf. But it is a different matter when professionals, artists, teachers, police and army officers, and community leaders go abroad to do odd jobs. What’s the impact on those remaining behind? What’s the impact on those growing up? What the impact on the country? The point being that Nepal urgently needs positive roles models who are living and breathing in Nepal. Only then will the country gain self-confidence, a basic ingredient to make any progress. The sad part of foreign work is that the dark sides are not highlighted to the folks back home. The myth remains in Nepal that working in foreign land is bliss. I have met professionals who had reputed jobs in Nepal but quit to come to the US to work illegally. Now they’re stuck. They can’t do what they were trained for because they don’t have legal papers. They can’t tell the reality of living in the underground economy to folks back home. I would recommend a Swiss-Turkish movie, “The Journey of Hope” to those who haven’t seen it – I am sure lot of people can relate to that story. Going back to Ms Shree. I am sure she is doing fine. My understanding is that artists can get their permanent residency quite easily in the US – they are under special category. I guess that’s another reason why we are seeing so many Nepalese artists migrating to the US.