{"id":7568,"date":"2021-06-17T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T02:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/?p=7568"},"modified":"2021-06-17T15:04:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T09:19:25","slug":"it-was-heartbreaking-to-see-and-hear-about-nepali-people-suffering-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/2021\/06\/17\/it-was-heartbreaking-to-see-and-hear-about-nepali-people-suffering-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It was heartbreaking to see and hear about Nepali people suffering, dying\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kathmandu: <\/strong>On May 15, <\/strong>560 oxygen cylinders arrived in Kathmandu from Oman, as the country was facing acute shortage of oxygen support in hospitals. Nepalis living in Oman, including other Gulf countries, had raised funds to buy the cylinders. \u201cWhen we saw that hospitals in Nepal faced scarcity of oxygen cylinders, we initiated the action,\u201d said Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal, who heads Nepal\u2019s mission in Muscat. \u201cWe were also working to send liquid oxygen to Nepal but it could not be done due to lack of suitable transportation means,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oman mission had earned a good fame during the first wave of pandemic in 2020 too, for a good reason. The mission helped Nepalis come home safely and at a reasonably low airfare. The mission ensured that every Nepali bound for home underwent PCR test, and only those with negative results were sent home.  The Nepal embassy was able to send Nepalis home at a much lower price than quoted by the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation in Nepal. \u201cWe were the first mission to repatriate Nepalis with a complete PCR test. We worked to reduce the airfare for Nepalis who wanted to go home so that the low-income people affected by the pandemic would not be left behind,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the second wave hit the country this year, Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal was closely observing the Covid situation in Nepal.  When the number of cases and the deaths increased significantly in India, it alarmed her. \u201cWhat will happen if a similar situation arises in Nepal? I thought,\u201d she said. \u201cThen I started to explore possible means and ways to send help to Nepal,\u201d Dhakal said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nepali Ambassador to Oman Sarmila Parajuli Dhakal (R) with crew members of a NAC aircraft that brought oxygen cylinders to Nepal. Photo: Nepal Embassy, Oman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then she immediately called a meeting with Nepali Social Club of Oman and discussed the situation. She organized a webinar with Nepali communities and requested them personally to collect funds. \u201cThen I spoke to the authority in Oman to book a sufficient number of oxygen cylinders.\u201d The funds were being raised by Nepali Social Club Oman, and NRNA Team while at the same time she was coordinating with the Foreign Ministry in Oman and Nepal. \u201cThe Embassy requested the government to make necessary arrangements for transportation of the cylinders to Nepal through a chartered flight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising funds, securing medical support and coordinating for approvals were not easy particularly during the Eid holidays in Oman, but due to the cooperations from both the governments it was possible.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Raising funds, securing medical support and coordinating for approvals were not easy particularly during the Eid holidays in Oman, but due to the cooperations from both the governments it was possible. It was also possible due to the contribution from Nepali brothers and sisters living in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The embassy was able to send cargo with oxygen cylinders within less than a week of the first meeting with Nepali communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dhakal is all thanks to Nepalis in Oman, Nepalis in the Middle East, NRNA Team, and the authorities in Nepal and Oman for providing support and cooperation in this noble cause. \u201cIt\u2019s a teamwork, team spirit, we could not have done it alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo see and hear about the Nepali people suffering from the deadly second wave, dying due to insufficient oxygen support, it was heartbreaking,\u201d she said. According to Dhakal, Nepal\u2019s embassy in Oman is fully invested in ensuring welfare of Nepalis there. \u201cWe have a team of dedicated diplomatic and local staff for that purpose,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are always concerned about the welfare of Nepali people wherever they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oxygen cylinders donated by Nepali workers. Photo: Nepal Airlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Appointed as the ambassador in 2017, Dhakal says, she never had to feel a lack of cooperation for being a female diplomat. She explored the ways to do things herself instead of waiting for the directives from the Ministry. \u201cWe need to be proactive ourselves during the crisis time,\u201d she shared with Nepal Live Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the reason Dhakal could do, whatever little she could, for Nepal is because of the goodwill of Omani people for Nepal and Nepalis. \u201cWhen I spoke to the officials here about the Covid situation of Nepal, they said they are ready to offer any kind of help for Nepal. Omanis love Nepal and Nepalis very much,\u201d she said. 

Read Also: <\/strong>
Tragedy at home moved the Nepal ambassador to Spain. Then she sprang into action<\/a>
\u2018In Beijing, we always think how best to secure Covid support for Nepal\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu: On May 15, 560 oxygen cylinders arrived in Kathmandu from Oman, as the country was facing acute shortage of oxygen support in hospitals. Nepalis living in Oman, including other Gulf countries, had raised funds to buy the cylinders. \u201cWhen we saw that hospitals in Nepal faced scarcity of oxygen cylinders, we initiated the action,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":7583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-top-stories"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/sarmila-parajuli-poudel.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcWLTd-1Y4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nepallivetoday.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}