COM student “photographs loss” in his native Nepal

Document absence: This was Pankaj Khadka's ('16) challenge as a photojournalist in Nepal in summer 2015. He was in his home country to report on the impact of mass migration of male teens and adults from their villages for employment. Since the 1990s — a decade that saw an end to Nepal’s monarchy and its travel restrictions, and witnessed the birth of the economy-crippling Maoist insurgency — increasing numbers of working-age men have traveled overseas for work. Many seek labor jobs in the Gulf, especially the oil-rich nations of Qatar, Kuwait, Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Women, children and the elderly have taken on new responsibilities at home while worrying about loved ones in the city or abroad.

Khadka received this travel opportunity as a winner of an International Reporting Fellowship, given by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, COM and other organizations. The funding supports student reporting on global issues the mainstream media rarely covers. As a native of Nepal, having the opportunity to shed light on one of the most pressing issues in this tiny Himalayan nation was a deeply personal experience.