Baglung, Aug. 25 -- When Hom Bahadur Gharti left Nepal for Malaysia in 2002 through a labour broker, he expected to find work and build a better life. Instead, he ended up stranded in a foreign country for 24 years, cut off from his family and living illegally.

The 57-year-old from Righa in Galkot Municipality-11 eventually returned to Nepal on February 27, after being found in a severely debilitated condition in rural Malaysia.

Gharti never found the job he had been promised. He moved from place to place looking for work, eventually taking whatever labouring jobs he could find in rural areas. Over the years, he lost contact with his family. Without legal documents, money or a way home, he remained in Malaysia illegally.

His health det...