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Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji

NEW DELHI/KATHMANDU/DHAKA -- "We might soon be homeless, because I cannot pay the 90 Kuwaiti dinars ($290) rent," said Lok Bahadur Rai, 36, a Nepalese chef who lives in Kuwait with his wife.

Rai's ordeal began when he returned to Kuwait a month and half ago following a trip home. The hospitality company he worked for laid him off after it ran into financial trouble due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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