Devendra Dhakal is a farmer and he ploughs fields all day long in a remote border town between Qatar and Bahrain. Every time he meets a recent arrival from Nepal he asks the same question, "Will the constitution be drafted this time?"

Cheated by manpower agents, Dhakal who hails from Gorkha has been forced to work illegally for the last five years. But the 39-year-old worries more about his country than the pain he endures in this distant land. "No matter how much I toil in this desert, every night I dream about my village, the green forests and the day when the constitution will be drafted," says Dhakal who believes there will be more jobs once the statute is written and is hopeful people like him can return back to earn a decent living.

Like Dhakal, Bir Bahadur Buda of Dang who has been herding sheep for the last nine years is also confident that things will change for them soon."We have heard that monarchy was abolished and the nation is now a democratic republic. If we go back, our lives will be much better," says the 58-year-old who has spent 24 years away from home working in various Gulf countries.

Basiuddin Musalman of Lumbini says he left Nepal because he was not recognised as a citizen and is currently living and working in Jamelia as an illegal immigrant. He laments, "If only the place I call home would shelter me, I would not spend another day here."

Many other workers like Chetman Rai of Dharan, Ram Balak Mandal of Mahottari, Chhaya Chandra Ghimire of Syangja and Madan Shiris of Baglung who are toiling in various cities across the Middle East are eagerly waiting for the new constitution to be written so that they can come home to their families.