Kathmandu, Dec. 17 -- 2020 turned the world upside down, and in Nepal, one of the most dramatic impacts was on the country's economic mainstay - overseas contract workers who sent home nearly $8 billion during the pandemic.

The year forces us to re-examine long-held assumptions about Nepal's remittance economy. And on International Migrants Day, Friday 18 December,Nepali Timeshas a special package of reportage, analysis and commentary on the subject.

When citizens are treated shabbily by a government, their health and education needs are neglected, they have no meaningful employment at home - they will leave. And it may be naive to expect a state that has created the very conditions for millions of Nepalis to migrate to suddenly be cons...