Rajesh about Afghanistan attack.

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The war-ravaged country is fraught with dangers, especially for the migrant workers who are employed by different international missions and embassies. These missions are often the target of violent attacks by the militants who want all foreign forces deployed in Afghanistan out as a precondition for peace talks. Since the Nepalese make good security guards, they have become special targets of the rebels.

The Taliban militants have been giving continuation to their violent attacks. Apart from killing common Afghanis, these militants also target foreigners, often through ruthless suicide attacks.

The lure for working in war-torn nations is strong in Nepal. The Afghanistan tragedy reminds us of another tragedy that took place in Iraq in 2004 when 12 Nepalese were hacked to death by rebels in Iraq. These young Nepalese, who entered Iraq without any valid documents and were travelling on an Iraqi highway on that fateful day, were captured by Iraqi rebels. They were later hacked to death, and videos of their brutal killing were posted online, creating huge anger back in Nepal.

Following that tragic incident, violent demonstrations were staged in Nepal, and the protestors vandalised offices of several manpower agencies and airlines. So violent were the demonstrations that the government was forced to impose a curfew for several days in Kathmandu.

In the case of Monday morning’s suicide attack, it appeared that the bus carrying the ill-fated Nepalis was an easy target for the suicide bomber. The bus used to carry these Nepalese security personnel deployed by the Canadian Embassy in Kabul. The bomber was lying in wait for the bus to arrive and, posing as a pedestrian, the bomber detonated the explosive vest after coming close to the bus.

The company that had hired the Nepalese had failed to provide the required security cordon to the bus carrying the Nepalese security guards. Reports suggested that the targeted Nepalese were not carrying any weapons with them, neither was their bus given security cover. For the hardcore suicide bomber, who knew that the bus carrying the security guards would commute daily through the same road to reach the Canadian Embassy, the passengers proved easy prey.

Clearly, the incident could have been avoided had the company given enough security cover to the guards during their travel to and from their working places. It appears that the foreign manpower companies that hire the Nepalese security guards pay little heed to the safety of the workers.

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