For Nepali community in KL, no end to despair and hope

Today, barely four days after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake overwhelmed the otherwise-scenic region, search and recovery process are relentlessly ongoing.

Nepali migrant workers in Kuala Lumpur have been left in the dark as to what had happened in their beloved hometown.

Chandra Sarki, 22 left her home in Sindhuli District located in Janakpur -- a neighbourhood so rife with hostility to earn a sustainable living -- in search of greener pastures in Malaysia not too long ago.

When Sharki received news about the devastating quake, she made incessant phone calls to her family members in Nepal only to learn that her efforts to reach out to her next-of-kin have turned futile due to disrupted communication networks.

That has left Sarki and many Nepalis in Kuala Lumpur in the dark not knowing what has transpired and the agony just grows bigger with their anticipation.

Bishnu Giri, 28 received heart-wrenching news that shook her: her mother was one of the fatalities of the quake. It was not too long ago when Giri gathered strength to leave her loved ones to provide her family with a better future.

All hope was lost when she received news about her mother. Giri’s heart sank as she attempted to fathom the fact that her mother had died in the tragedy.

"My brother lied to me. I spoke to him on Saturday after the earthquake struck and he comforted me saying that there were no casualties in the family.

Bewildered, Giri said she was left in anguish not knowing her other family members’ situation in Nepal.

When met by Astro AWANI at the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Giri said that her brother had also told her that their properties and livestock were also lost in the earthquake. Nabaraj BK, 34 who has resided in Malaysia since 2006 is also dealing with the agony of loss after his parents, wife and son have died in the devastation.

Since he arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Nabaraj has been diligently working and has not been home. He said that all he wanted now is to go home and be with the other family members.

“My brother-in-law is the only contact person, other than him there’s no one else,” said a devastated Nabaraj, adding that he last communicated with his brother-in-law at approximately 10pm (Malaysian time) on Sunday..

When asked about his plans, Nabaraj said he has made arrangements to fly to Nepal but needed to wait until Tuesday to settle pending matters.

The Tribhuvan International Airporta, Kathmandu which was initially closed has been reopened for search and rescue missions.

Massive international aid relief had poured in from around the world with dozens of nations or aid groups volunteering everything from sniffer dogs to inflatable hospital.

The general sentiment among the family members of the victims is the undying hope to reestablish communication with those they know and are still alive in Nepal.

A lack of electricity in Nepal would soon be complicated by a scarcity of water, aid groups said, with medical supplies also dwindling.

Oxfam Australia chief executive Helen Szoke told AFP that communication systems are congested and hospitals are crowded and are running out of room for storing dead bodies.

The official death toll in Nepal from the massive weekend earthquake has risen to almost 4,000 (on Monday) and with the search and rescue efforts being far from over, the number is still expected to increase.

"The death toll has reached 3,218 and over 6,500 are injured," said Rameshwor Dangal, who heads the home ministry's national disaster management division.

Aid groups and governments worldwide intensified efforts on Sunday to help the region but blocked roads, downed power lines and overcrowded hospitals posed formidable challenges in an already poor country.

Also, helicopters were deployed on Monday to rescue climbers still stranded high on Mount Everest after an earthquake-triggered avalanche killed at least 18 people on the world's highest peak, officials said.