‘We were poor, but at least we were together’: families of Nepali workers killed in Saudi Arabia wait for justice

Binita Das’s husband, Sitaram, died in Saudi Arabia when he was crushed by falling debris while working in a deep trench. He leaves behind his wife, five daughters and the son he never met. Photograph: Pete Pattisson

For years, Sitaram and Binita Das had longed for a son. The couple loved their five daughters, but on the deeply conservative southern plains of Nepal, they faced having to raise large sums to pay for each of their wedding dowries.

With no way to afford such costs, they decided that Sitaram should join tens of thousands of other Nepalis going to Saudi Arabia in search of work.