Kathmandu, July 19 -- At 2 pm on Friday, Kharimaya Ghale watched her only son being laid to rest, not from a cemetery but through a video call from Iraq. Like a growing number of Nepali families unable to afford the cost of bringing home the bodies of migrant workers, the Lamjung woman was forced to bid him a final farewell from thousands of kilometres away.

From her home in Pachok, Dordi Rural Municipality-5, Lamjung, Kharimaya, along with her daughter-in-law Ganga Ghale, two grandsons and relatives, watched as the grave of her 38-year-old son, Lekhman Ghale, was dug and filled at Gwer cemetery in Erbil.

Lekhman, who had gone to Iraq two years ago for work, died during treatment on March 28. His mother had hoped to bring his body home ...