Nepali expat in UAE loses home he built 'brick by brick' in flash floods

For years, Paribartan Nepal, a 29-year-old chef working in Ajman, slowly built a family home in Nepal with money earned from his job in the UAE.

But in just a few minutes, the house he had worked for years to build was buried under mud and slush following a devastating flash flood in Nepal on August 26.

A Home Built Brick by Brick

Paribartan works as a Demi Chef de Partie at a bakery and restaurant in Ajman. He moved to the UAE in 2017 and began contributing to his family's efforts to build a permanent home.

His family lived in rented accommodation for years after selling their previous house in a more remote location.

Paribartan and his sister, who lives in Japan while studying and working part-time, gradually supported their parents in building the new house.

“It was not built in one go. We built it little by little over so many years of struggling,” he recalled.

Family Home Buried Under Mud

The family's single-storey house was located in Belkotgadhi-7, Nuwakot, near Thulo Khola.

The property included a small mustard and vegetable garden in front of the house, while farmland behind it stretched towards the flood-hit Trishuli River, where the family mainly grew rice.

The devastating flooding buried the house, farmland and property documents under mud and slush. Paribartan said the family still has soft copies of their important documents.

Parents Escape the Flood

Despite losing their home, Paribartan is thankful that his parents survived.

His father, who is in his late 60s, and his mother, in her late 50s, were at home when they received warnings about the approaching danger. They managed to leave before the flood reached their area.

The couple is currently staying temporarily at a relative's home nearby.

Paribartan said the family is uncertain whether they will be able to rebuild their house in the same location.

'Nothing Is Left'

The scale of the destruction has been particularly difficult for Paribartan to accept.

When he visited Nepal in February last year, he recorded a video of the entire house as a reminder of what his family had spent years building.

Today, the house and surrounding farmland are no longer visible.

A video recorded after the disaster shows the area buried under mud, with Paribartan's elder sister heard saying in their mother tongue, “Nothing is left, nothing is left.”

He said an international news channel recently visited the neighbourhood to document the destruction. While a neighbour's three-storey house was featured, Paribartan said the crew may not have realised that his own home was buried beneath the ground where they were standing.

“We are the most affected in our neighbourhood,” he said.

Returning to Nepal

The disaster has made it difficult for Paribartan to concentrate on his work in Ajman.

He has booked a flight for September 7 and plans to return to Nepal for a month of emergency leave.

“I just want to go. I cannot focus on my duty. I don’t have peace of mind,” he said.

He wants to be with his family and assess the situation on the ground.

Grateful His Parents Are Safe

Despite losing his home, farmland and years of hard work, Paribartan remains grateful that his parents survived.

“I am grateful that my parents are alive,” he said.

Other relatives in the affected region have also suffered losses, although the full extent of the damage is not yet known.

Paribartan sees his experience as just one example of the heartbreak faced by families affected by the floods across Nepal.

“I am only one example. So many people have the same story right now and I am grateful that at least my family is safe… God plans… Let’s see what’s next,” he said.