15 February 2006
Dubai: Funds being collected in the UAE by members of the Nepali community are not being sent out of the country, said Kamal Giri, the head of Nepalese Ekta Samaj (Nepalese Unity).
"We are an apolitical organisation, our funds are not being channelled back to Nepal," he said.
The organisation has 70 members with the majority of them being labourers, who said the funds are for helping local community members.
Queried about complaints made by a section of community members on funds being sent home, Giri said: "We spend all the money collected on needy Nepalese in the UAE. Why should we send money back to Nepal. Whenever we come across a Nepali who is in need of help we approach anyone and everyone for donations."
The Nepalese mission in Abu Dhabi denied any knowledge of the organisation or its fund collection activity.
'No complaints'
"The mission has so far not received any complaints. We are not aware that such an organization exists. I want the community members to approach the mission if they have an issue," said Madhuban Prasad, the Nepalese ambassador.
Nepal is currently battling an insurgency. The country was thrown into turmoil when people took on to the streets in anger over the functioning of the government.
Asked about the credibility of the organisation, which is unregistered, Giri said: "There are so many unregistered organizations that are operational in the UAE. Why are people complaining about our operations."
Asked about the approach applied to generate funds, he said: "There is no clientele as such. We just approach anyone on the road or even spread the word around among the community members. Nobody is forced to make a donation. We do not ask for big money. It is left to the individual. Sometimes people also give us a dirham or two."
Giri did not have a definite answer when asked for details of the humanitarian assistance rendered locally by the organization. "When big people get involved in any case we stay away from it. We mainly help Nepali girls who get trapped by unscrupulous agents," he said.
Well aware of the political conflict taking place back home, members of Nepalese community in the UAE have raised questions about the Nepalese Ekta Samaj which they said is rooted in political ideology.
The organization is unregistered and has no office as yet.
"I have never heard about them helping any of our community member," said Hari Prasad, a Nepalese worker. "As far as I know they organize some festive activities, but as for helping the needy, I did not come across any such case," said Dev Prasad a Nepalese labourer. An estimated 17,000 Nepalese nationals live in the UAE.
A serious security issue, says official
Gathering money from others to send abroad, for whatever reason, is a security issue, said a senior social affairs official.
The official, who declined to be named, said collecting money for any cause without a licence is illegal, and "security procedures should be taken against any person found to be doing so".
He said organizations could obtain a licence from one of the several government departments either from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the relevant economic department in the emirate, or through the diwan in the emirate where the charity intends to operate.
The official said collecting money to send abroad without any government permission is a serious security issue.
By Diaa Hadid
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
