After Israel, Russia

Those determined to go abroad and ready to take colossal risks to realise their dream will always exist.

Until a couple of decades ago, the Israel-Palestine troubles seemed to be unfolding on a different planet. It was hard to relate to wars in exotic-sounding places like ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza’ even though Nepal itself was in the middle of an insurgency. No more. In the most recent Israel-Palestine conflict, Nepalis were put in harm’s way, with 10 of them dying and one being captured. In the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Nepali media continue to be filled with stories of hardships of around 4,500 Nepalis now studying or working in Israel. Similarly, back then, news stories from Russia (with its Disney-esque Kremlin Palace) and the country’s periphery appeared no less exotic. Many Nepalis would first have heard of countries like Ukraine and Belarus through Olympics medal tables. Nepal, again, had little to do with these states. How have things changed! It emerged on Tuesday that three Nepalis serving in the Russian army had been killed while Ukrainian forces had captured another one in the ongoing war between the two countries. Just like Nepalis have ventured as far afield as Israel in search of lucrative jobs, some have even joined foreign armies for good pay.