New Directions for NRNA

Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari

Advisor, NRNA, ICC

Brief History of the Nepali Diaspora

Although, informally, the idea about the Non-resident Nepal (NRN) as a Diaspora Nepali group has been floated by several individuals since the nineties, until 2003, no formal NRN organization existed to cater to the global Diaspora demands. In many countries, where the Nepali people had settled or were working temporarily, national and local associations have been in existence for many years. For example, in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, where the Nepali people have lived, generally since the sixties, hundreds of Nepali associations had been established to serve the local Nepali population, and to cater to their cultural, social and emotional needs. But no single organization was available to connect these various disparate groups scattered across the globe.

NRNA was conceived by a group of forward thinking NRN leaders in a meeting in London in 2003. NRN leaders from Russia, UK, USA, Canada, Europe and Africa met to brainstorm on the possibility of starting a global NRN association. They formed an ad-hoc committee, organized background papers and draft by-laws, which as followed up by a global convention in Kathmandu later that year to give life to the idea of a global NRN organization.

FNCCI was the key partner at that time to support this idea, and provided logistic support for the first secretariat of NRNA in Kathmandu. The Kathmandu global convention in 2003 provided the exposure and a platform to officially launch the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

The London meeting was eventful in the sense that the leaders of NRN movement who gathered there decided to form a global association of the Nepali Diaspora. It was named Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) and it was formalized by writing the by-laws of the association and establishing a permanent secretariat in Kathmandu, co-located at the premises of the Federation of Nepali Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

Since then, four global conferences have been held in Nepal every two years, consolidating the idea of the organization, popularizing the association among the grass root NRNA’s and gaining gradual legitimacy in the eyes of the Government of Nepal, Nepali organizations, international organizations and the global Nepali community at large.

Diaspora leaders gathered in London in 2003 to start a new international NRN organization

Initial Thrust of NRNA

The initial impetus of the NRNA was provided by the convergence of various interests in the Nepali community. Perhaps, the foremost was a business interest of the members of the Diaspora to invest in Nepal and obtain export, import, tariff, repatriation and other trade related benefits from eh Government of Nepal.  Similarly, the interest for possible technical cooperation and exchange was also paramount, especially in the midst of the Nepali professionals living in foreign countries. The possibility of obtaining dual citizenship with Nepal, and enjoying easy travel facilities to visit Nepal were also high in the eyes of many Nepali Diaspora members. Equally important for the entire expatriate Nepalis was the need for emotional attachment to the motherland, networking among the Diaspora Nepali community and an altruistic sense of supporting Nepal’s effort for a rapid economic development. Thus, NRNA was born as a confluence of so many different interests and wishes of the Diaspora Nepali community.

In the formative years the NRNA focused on getting a NRN bill passed by the Government of Nepal, getting a simplified visa regime for the foreign citizens of Nepali origin while visiting Nepal, and getting business-friendly policies to support the investment of expatriate Nepalis in Nepal. Eventually realizing the dream of getting a dual citizenship in Nepal has remained a long term and cherished goal of the NRNA. Equally important objective of the association has been to support in the economic development of Nepal by charitable projects, through job creating investments, and by lobbying in international capitals on behalf of Nepal. For the professional and academic groups in North American, Europe, and Oceania particularly, offering knowledge and technical expertise through NRNA has remained an important goal. The NRNA as a whole has always remained sensitive to the need of the Nepali workers abroad and has vocally called for making the lives better for the Nepali workers in the middle east, Malaysia and other countries,

Evolving Objectives of NRNA

NRNA has become a truly global organization with more than 3 million unofficial members, and with almost 60 national units, called National Coordination Council.  It encompasses some 10 percent of the Nepali population in Nepal. Although some 85 percent of the Diaspora community is made up of relatively temporary Nepali workers in the Gulf, North Africa, Southeast and East Asia, many among them are also living there for a long term and are involved in long term businesses and other enterprises. The more permanent groups of the Diaspora in North America, Western Europe, Oceania and East Asia are also rapidly growing, and are taking increased interest in the NRNA affairs.

NRNA now has some well shared and well articulated common objectives. These include:

1.     Promoting Diaspora investment in Nepal

2.     Promoting the Exchange of Knowledge and Technology between the NRNs and Nepal

3.     Obtaining dual citizenship (Nepali) for the Diaspora members who have taken foreign citizenship

4.     Helping the global Nepali community, especially the NRNs who work as migrant labors in the Gulf region and Southeast Asia

5.     Supporting the communities in the adopted lands

Challenges for the NRNA as an organization

There are big challenges to NRNA in becoming a successful and stable organization. The first is the resource limitation of the vast majority of the Nepali Diaspora to successfully engage into the activities of the NRNA, and to meaningfully contribute towards its growth.  Most members of the Diaspora are poor, uneducated, and lack the means to travel, or support the organization financially or logistically. The relatively better off Nepalis in the North America, Western Europe, and Oceania and the relatively smaller number in Eat Asia are themselves, in most part, struggling to survive, succeed, and establish themselves in their adopted lands. However, there is a good Number among them who can help the organization grow, and they are doing a great job in institutionalizing the organization.

Further, because of the global expanse of Nepalis to become a leader of NRNA, so far only individuals who run their own business and who can afford both money and flexibility of time can take up the senior leadership positions in the association. Professional people with limited leave time and with constrained travel budget can only take limited travels for NRNA work. As a voluntary organization, that put limit on professionals and those in academia to take up senior leadership position in the association. It is believed that with time, the association might have funding available for travel budgets of senior leaders as approved by the board.

Another challenge to the association is that it is still not officially registered in Nepal. Many technicalities, including the faulty registration requirements of the Government of Nepal, have made it difficult for the leaders of the association to get it registered. After a sustained effort, the current leadership has made an application for registering the Association in Nepal as a non-profit organization. A registered status of the association will provide enhanced legitimacy and official authority to NRNA, and will also help the organization in its various activities including fund raising, developing partnership with other entities, and enjoy certain privileges and status as an official organization.

The financial sustainability of the secretariat still remains another challenge. Currently, the ICC members contribute $500 each term to help the secretariat. Additionally, some funding also comes through the NRN membership within the NCCs. Some money is also raised as the candidacy deposit for elections, and from other sources.  However, this kind of intermittent and small scale funding arrangement will not be able to support a long term professionalization of the secretariat and other NRNA activities. The association must seek external funding or income from investments to make it financially sustainable for the long term.

The Future of NRNA

Every organization goes through several phases of evolution. These phases include, start, consolidation, progress, expansion, stabilization, and institutionalization. NRNA has done remarkably well in its initial phase of formation and consolidation. Thanks to the tireless effort of the Diaspora leaders such as Dr. Upendra Mahato, Mr. Bhim Udas, Mr. Ram Thapa, Mr. Dev Man Hirachan, Mr. Jiba Lamichhane, Mr. Deepak Khadka and many other visionaries and activists, the organization has been able to expand globally. The leaders have trotted to the globe to connect the global Nepali Diaspora into one galvanized organization.

The Government of Nepal, FNCCI and other Nepali agencies and organizations have fully supported the aspirations of the global Nepalis to connect with each other and also become one to help promote the socio-economic development in Nepal. Thus, so far the NRNA has done well and has become a formidable brand for the global Diaspora members.

The future of NRNA looks very bright, as it amalgamates such a large Diaspora a base for a common purpose. International financial and development organizations are beginning to see the benefits the Diaspora can bring to their native lands. The World Bank and the UN system have generated well researched reports to support this point. With such a large percentage of the population living outside its national boundary, Nepal is also attaching significant value to the Diaspora. The Nepali Government can tap into the resources the Diaspora provides collectively and individually towards its national development. That is the route India, China, Israel, Poland, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan and many countries have taken in the past. Nepal can certainly learn from these experiences. Similarly, NRNA as the umbrella association of the global Nepalis can also strengthen itself to be of a better service to Nepal, the Diaspora community and to their adopted lands.