Three Rukum West men disappeared from Libya on a US journey two years ago. Families still await their return

The photograph, a cherished memory from a past Dashain festival, now serves as a painful reminder for Parimal Khatri. His son, Dipak KC, is one of three young men from Nepal's Rukum West district who vanished two years ago while attempting to reach the United States through dangerous, illegal routes.

Dipak, 29, and two others, 19-year-old Gopal KC and 21-year-old Pahal KC, were last heard from in Libya. Their families are left with the agonizing uncertainty of their fate and the crushing weight of debt incurred from agents who promised a path to America. "We don't know where he went," Parimal said, his voice breaking as he recounted the last time he saw his son.

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This is my son. He has been missing for two years. We were together at the Dashain of October 2024. After that, he left home, saying he was going to America. Then he disappeared. We don’t know where he went.

Dipak's journey was a harrowing ordeal orchestrated by human traffickers. After being lured by an agent with promises of reaching America, he was taken through various cities in India and the UAE, repeatedly returning to Nepal before embarking on what would be his final, unknown journey. His mother, Gami Khatri, recalled their last video call two years ago, a moment now etched in her memory with profound sadness.

The "donkey route," a perilous and illegal migration path, has become a source of despair for these families. The dream of a better life in America has dissolved into a nightmare of lost sons and mounting financial burdens, a stark reality for many in Nepal seeking opportunities abroad.

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Dipak is not the only young man from Aathbiskot who vanished while attempting to reach the United States through the illegal “donkey route”, a term referring specifically to the highly dangerous, illegal migration routes used to smuggle people into the United States.