The wonderful experiences of taking public transport in Kathmandu- Part II

Continued from: The Wonderful Experinces of Taking Public Transport in Kathmandu: Part I

My computer just decided not to charge anymore and just die on me…Meow, what is a girl supposed to do without her laptop? And yes, it is still not fixed so I had to drag myself to walk all the way to the library to finish this second part because I knew how everyone was anticipating the other half of the blog (I like being narcissicist sometimes)!

So, just in case you have forgotten what my last article was about or did not read it, I was talking about how the problems girls have to face when taking public transportation in Kathmandu with men trying to assault you and touching you inappropriately. In this blog, I want to point out the flaws in us women itself, how we define feminism. To be honest, having a quota system is a slap in the face for me, be it in job interviews or in the bus. Not only does it make us realize that men are giving us something as a favor but it makes us look less qualified. For example, if I did extremely well in my school and my guy friend did not, it is highly likely that I will get the job over him (all other things being the same). Surely, there are some jobs women are good at and there are some jobs guys are good at, but there is no reason as to why men are better at most of the jobs or better doctors or engineers compared to women! That is a bunch of crap created by the unfair society and we sadly try to stick to it. You might be wondering what this has to do with travelling in public buses, but trust me, there is a connection.

Tell me how it feels when you are trapped between a chatpatey-wala smelling like sweat and all the spices and a middle aged pot bellied man with a smelly breath in the month of Jestha in a micro only to look over and to see the sign “Women and handicapped” seat being taken over by a twenty-two year old healthy boy. It pisses me like no other! Not only are we being compared to handicapped or old people (not that I have anything against them), but the so called “men” do not even have the enough decency to give us a seat while they clearly see what we go through.

surprisingly i found personal videos and stories on the web like this here!

So my dear ladies, stand up for yourself, carry yourself with dignity and make sure you have that pepper spray with you! Any time any random guy tries to behave inappropriately, hit them, kick them, yell at them, pepper-spray them….DON’T STAY QUIET! That is exactly what they want…for you to not to anything about it so that they can do it to every girl they are next to! Once you let them know clearly you are not taking any of that crap from them, they will think twice before getting close to any other girl! Be proud of yourself and get on that Microbus/bus/tempo! Let them know you are okay standing in the micro while all the men take the seats…we have had all the opportunities men have, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise and make you feel weaker! We are just as good as any of the men we have encountered, if not better; We surely do not need any favors from them and we surely will not take any kind of disrespect lightly from perverts like them.

Sex Slavery in Nepal: The Ugly Present Truth

Nepal is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Children are trafficked within the country and to India and the Middle East for commercial sexual exploitation or forced marriage, as well as to India and within the country for involuntary servitude as domestic servants, circus entertainers, factory workers, or beggars. NGOs working on trafficking issues report an increase in both transnational and domestic trafficking during the reporting period, although a lack of reliable statistics makes the problem difficult to quantify. NGOs estimate that 10,000 to 15,000 Nepali women and girls are trafficked to India annually, while 7,500 children are trafficked domestically for commercial sexual exploitation. In many cases, relatives or acquaintances facilitated the trafficking of women and young girls into sexual exploitation. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009  [full country report]

            It is very sad that even in the times of technology and marvels of science, human trafficking is a reality in Nepal. The other alarming fact of course is that our  unique cultural system known as "Deukis," whereby by rich zamindars (feudalistic agricultural families) having no children through a legally married wife, procure these young girls from poor rural Nepalese families and after initiating them into the household through the temple rites are taken as mistresses cum slave bonded laborers to produce offspring. Later on, as the girl gets to be over 30 years and grows older, she is forced into prostitution. There is no respite to what the poor Nepalese girl has to suffer on in life once initiated into this system. In 2007 according to a UN report, there werel nearly 30,000 deukis in Nepal compared to 1992, when there were 17,000 deuki girls according to Radhika Coomaraswamy in the UN Special Report on Violence against Women.

       

     “The Day my God Died”(click this to buy from amazon for $3.99) is in my opinion, the most heart-wrenching documentary. Narrated by Oscar Winner Tim Robbins and Winnona Ryder, it shows you the stories of poor uneducated girls from rural Nepal who are drugged up or misled, often by their very trusted men. And then sold to the brothels in India, mostly Bombay. This is a must watch. Thanks to PBS! It is also amazing how they have such good insight in the issues in Nepal better than even us Nepalese realize. This documentary brought me down to tears, but filled up with rage and disgust at the same time. And since then, I had wanted to write about it for a while now. Young girls as little as 7 years old are sold for as little as 50000 NRs(less than 1000$). That is the price of a life for them. Yesterday she was a little girl. Today she is a prostitute.”

The film provides actual footage from the brothels of Bombay, known even to tourists as “The Cages,” captured with “spy camera” technology. It weaves the stories of girls, and their stolen hopes and dreams, into an unforgettable examination of the growing plague of child sex slavery. Girls are gang-raped, beaten and forced to service up to 20 clients a day as they are held in perpetual sexual servitude. The film also introduces us to the heroes of the movement to abolish child sex slavery – non-profit organizations which rescue and care for former sex slaves. 

Children are the commodity consumed by the voracious and sophisticated international sex trade. Recruiters capture them, smugglers transport them, brothel owners enslave them, corrupt police betray them and customers rape and infect them. Every person in the chain profits except for the girls, who pay the price with their lives. Sexual servitude is a virtual death sentence. During the making of the film, in Bombay alone, 90 new cases of HIV are reported every hour and the girls suffer up to an 80% HIV/AIDS infection rate.

It is hard to sum up the video. For those with slower internet speeds, try and rent/buy it from your local store or download from here: http://www.videobb.com/video/Pm10LxRPwsmE .

Click on Download and you can watch it when it’s done. I know it’s an hour long but after you’re done, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t seen this before!

With Anuradha Koirala winning CNN Hero of the Year, everyone rejoiced. But little do we know the pain behind the real stories. We all voted for her and no doubt, she has been struggling for the cause selflessly for decades. We had a moment of joy but that was all for most of us. Even the Nepalese media didn’t take some to go behind the story. There are many ways to contribute. Many NGOs such as Maiti Nepal are working day and night for prevention of trafficking and the rehabilitation of the abused. Do what you can! At least share the stories, share this video, spread the word. That’s the least we could do.

 Also read: http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/opinion/22kristof.html?ex=1177473600&en=c2997ca054bb7389&ei=5121&emc=eta1

Greater Nepal: A Quest

While the rest of us are sipping lattes, Manoj Pandit, Subash Adhikari and friends are probably doing the same but they're on a quest. A quest for greater Nepal. Literally!!

His documentary “In Quest of Boundary” is travelling on the web fast. To understand this quest, let’s shed some light on Sugauli Treaty first. (skip this paragraph if you know The Sugauli Treaty). The Sugauli Treaty (also spelled Segowlee and Segqulee) was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between theBritish East India Company and Nepal, which was a kingdom during that era. This ended the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816). The signatory for Nepal was Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra aided by Chandra Sekher Upadhyaya and the signatory for the Company was Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw. The treaty called for territorial concessions in which parts of Nepal will be given to British India, the establishment of a British representative in Kathmandu, and allowed Britain to recruit Gurkhas for military service. Nepal also lost the right to deploy any American or European employee in its service (earlier several French commanders had been deployed to train the Nepali army).

Under the treaty, about one-third of Nepalese territory was lost, including Sikkim (whose Chogyals supported Britain in the Anglo-Nepalese War); territory to west of the Kali River like Kumaon (present Indian state of Uttarakhand), Garhwal (present Indian state of Uttarakhand); some territories to the west of the Sutlej River like Kangra (present day Himachal Pradesh); and much of the Terai Region. Some of the Terai Region was restored to Nepal in 1816 under a revision of the treaty and more territory was returned in 1865 to thank Nepal for helping to suppress the Indian.

Even though, Nepal was entitled to the territory, India has been encroaching and as with the other issues, Nepal is watching in dismay.

Is it worth the hassle to get those lands back? You might ask. That is a very good question. Nepal has so many problems already as of now; illiteracy, political instability, bad infrastructure, etc. But considering the fact that our ancestors had bled for them and to respect the fact that Nepal has always been a sovereign country and to prove that we won’t be pushed around, I think it is worth it! It probably isn’t worth fighting for the whole Sikkim and Darjeeling back (though it would have been nice!). But I think we should stand up and protect at least what we have.

What do you think?

Frenchman breaks cliché in Nepal

The LA times wrote on January 22^nd, “Reporting from Chandeshwori, Nepal — Francois Driard enters a cave dug into the steep Himalayan hillside, scares off a mouse and, in a twice-weekly ritual, wipes mold from several plate-sized wheels of cheese sitting on crude shelves against the wall.

Voila! High-end French cheese has reached a new level, literally, with Driard's farm an hour from Kathmandu, where the 32-year-old has become what he believes is the only French cheese maker in the Himalayas.”

            Breaking the Nepalese stereotype thinking about agriculture, Driard has been working in his own farm in Tokha. At the times when agriculture is looked down upon, he has made a good example out of himself. He, as of now, owns 21 cows, 12 rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and chickens. He looks forward to buying new land and a bigger farm! He has employed 6 people along with a Polish intern and another foreigner.

It was not that Driard came to Nepal for cheese production. His aim was to live in Himalayas only but earning a living from cheese production was a second thought. He had not even dreamed that his pungent afterthought could make him the Cheese King in Kathmandu.  Studying from French business school, Driard, who had been visiting Nepal since 18 years of age, spent three years in reading and writing business articles, but never liked the office jobs. An entrepreneur-mind Driard then decided to move to Nepal and introduced French cheese there. He justified that traditional cheese making business would do wonders in an area, which has frequent power cuts and bad infrastructure. He said he came to Nepal and loved the nature here and so, settled down!

           The 5 star hotels of the Kathmandu now use his cheese and also some of them are exported to western countries mainly Europe. He says in an interview, “The Nepalese people have a tendency to look to the government with expectations rather than starting something of their own.” It seems right at a first glance. 

The vast majority of the economically active population (81.2%), particularly in rural Nepal, is engaged in agriculture and allied industries. Even then, the harvest is painfully little because of the natural causes, lack of technology and irrigation and also because the upper region of Nepal is not very fertile. People toil day and night for very little. And even whatever is harvested doesn’t get the right price or doesn’t get to the people on time due to lack of proper means of communication, transportation and storage. For example, the grade-A apples from Jumla are wasted yearly in large sums, when there is a big potential market in Thailand and Malaysia.  (http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/09/23/money/thailand-malaysia-potential-markets-for-jumla-apples/213099/)  

So even though Driard’s right in his way about the people and that he has been an icon of entrepreneurship in Nepal , it is very hard when it comes to uneducated, rural people who don’t even have education, electricity or running water, let alone the banks and loans.

The Price of Beauty

                 You must have seen this video going around the internet few months ago. The History Channel listed Lukla Airport as the world’s most extreme airport because of its location, high altitude, short angled runway, unforgiving surrounding and high vulnerability.

            Recently I came across another one documentary from “current TV” where Nepal’s Karnali Highway is featured in a tv series called “Deadliest Journeys”. In this gut-wrenching episode, the reporter hitchhikes a jeep which is carrying food supplies like rice and sugar from Surkhet to Jumla. I had serious creeps after watching the video and I remember my dad travelling there for work purposes. I was scared for him, even though it was long way back.

             

             (Here I have described the video shortly especially for people with slower internet speeds.)The driver prefers to drive at night because he thinks its less scarier when he can’t see the fall. Reportedly, a truck falls from the side of the road every week. And death is always around the corner. The ones who luckily made it realize they may not be that lucky when the nearest hospital is hours or day away. It is sad to see that the only hospital in miles is equivalent of a small medical centre. Even sadder is the fact that the only doctor in the region is a Dutch volunteer from Médecins Sans Frontières

 (French INGO which translates to “Doctors without Borders” and it has been working actively in Nepal for a long time now. Cheers to them!!).

            So many problems are obvious from the video! The natural terrain of Nepal makes it a beautiful place but beauty comes with a price and the people have been paying for years. The geographical barrier is always a hindrance to development and people have been living at the edge of their lives. And unfortunately, the same people who get pushed around by the nature are the ones that are the worst affected by the egoistic politicians in the cities. I only wish we can get past the political turmoil so the people in real need of help can get some attention they deserve. They ask for very little. Only if our leaders could do with a little less……….

15 years of “People’s War”

So yes, it’s been that long! Things haven’t gone any better! Promises remain unfulfilled. Villages are still in ruins, people still missing and wounds still unhealed. I don’t want to put any blames on anyone nor do I want to discuss the reasons. But just a reminder of all the people who lost their lives, their families and homes, reminder that war does no good and a reminder of the lesson learnt the hard way.  

In 2010, the government updated the figure of those killed during the conflict to 16,719 from a previous toll of just over 14,000. The Maoists launched a decade long war from 1996 to 2006 in Nepal, to establish a communist state.According to the report, 78,708 people were internally displaced by the insurgency. The statistics are based on the figures provided by district administration offices, peace committees and district-based all-party mechanisms.

            I also recently came across an article in Times Of India. An excerpt here:        “Sukmaya was 12 when she and her family were forced to join the underground Maoists. The rebels took shelter in their mud hut in Pakapani village in Myagdi district and the army stormed it, thinking Sukmaya's family were sympathisers, so they had no option but to join the guerrillas in the jungle. Now, seven years later, Sukmaya still weeps when she thinks how she and thousands of children like her were led astray with false promises.” 

Read more here:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Nepals-Peoples-War-turns-15-forgets-its-own-people-/articleshow/7487569.cms#ixzz1Dqa4VLXb

Students find a way to ease the load-shedding pain a little!

The colleges- Balaju School of Engineering and Technology, Nepal Polytechnic Institute, Bharatpur and Trade School, Nuwakot with the support of Dundee College, Scotland, under the Skills for Employment Project funded by British Council have been working together as partners since 2008 to develop technical and vocational skills training for students, and one of the results of the project is a prototype solar battery charger with battery tester.

            These UK and Nepali colleges are working together to build “Munro solar battery charger with battery tester” which is designed to be affordable and attractive and they have come up with a prototype! YAY! According to the press statement, “Munro solar battery charger with battery tester” will be a 24 watt product with the potential of 96 watt, very low-priced compared to other similar products in the market(12000 NRS/-) and it is expected to come out in period of 6 months.

British Council Director to Nepal Dr. Robert Monro said that this effort will provide relief to the current load shedding crisis in Nepal. The college also intends to introduce this copyrighted design in the Nepalese market, which can be used as alternative source of energy. They also intend to build the same for higher energy appliances. With its success, they aim to recommend the curriculum board of CTEVT to introduce solar technician course in the curriculum of Vocational and Technical colleges, the press statement stated, adding that this project is particularly important as it provides environmental and sustainable development through education. About time!

  

End of privatization of education in Nepal; A farcry?

Maoist vice chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai has said his party is in favour of doing away with the private education as it is creating two categories of manpower.

Speaking at a programme in Banepa of Kavre on Tuesday, Bhattarai maintained that providing education to the citizens is a state liability and that the private sector's involvement in education should be ended.

                     Private education is to be blamed for creating unequal social classes, he said.

Bhattarai, however, did not elaborate how or when the Maoist party would push for replacing the private investment in the education sector.

                    Now, let’s think of the good, bad and the ugly(literally) of this if it gets a go ahead:

*The Good:

·        Similar education to all will close the gap between people to some extent as he says. He is right to some extent!

·        Government can then implement education system that produces the right kind of manpower they need.

·        Standardization of education meaning a graduate from Palpa would have to be somewhat similarly qualified to the one from Kathmandu. (it is good that he thinks health and education are govt. liability and his focus on investment in education as well as his commitment to bring along open university.)

*The Bad:

·        Thousands of jobs will be lost causing the unemployment to rise drastically unless the government comes up with a trick from his pocket.

·        Lack of (decrease of) competition between schools. Even though private education is relatively expensive, because of high competition in the major cities, people now have access to quality education at a reasonable price.

·        Even though government might get its money back eventually, as of given time, the time and money that the government needs to invest is way out of reach. For e.g. just a couple of months ago, the banks stopped giving loans against land and also govt was struggling to pay the regular salary to the govt. office clerks.

*The Ugly:

·        As good as the prospect of equal education sounds good, Nepalese government barely can manage to ensure enough food for the people. It probably would have been a good idea if the gap between the rich and the poor hadn’t been this large as it is now and if the government was stable and had enough resources to ensure good education.

So it looks like he is all talks on this one! Just like one of them once said they are going to make Switzerland of Nepal!! Cliché much!? LOL @ this facebook group"IF-prachandra-will-b-da-president-Again-NEpal-will-change-into-switzerland/11124490557808" I like to think as the no. as the no. of years it will take!

What do you think this means to the nation? Comment here!

The Darker Side of Load-Shedding!

IIf you were brought up anywhere in Nepal, you grew up with load-shedding! And it has been a part of Nepalese living like momos and asking people if they ate as a greeting. But it is surprising the amount of load-shedding Nepalese people have to bear even at this current time, when rest of the world is getting ahead by leaps and bounds. It certainly puts not only the people in the dark, but the whole economy and the future of the country. 

            And the record load-shedding couldn’t have happened at the worst time. For instance, here’s the travel advice issued by Australian Government:

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/nepal. Among other things, it says “Shortages of essential supplies (food, water, fuel, gas and kerosene for cooking) can occur with limited notice. Black out (or load shedding) periods can have a significant impact on services, including in major tourist destinations.” Imagine that on the face of millions of visitors of the website most of whom are internet savvy 24/7 social networking average joes. I also remember reading similar comments on the American federal site last year. We can’t help other major issues like the unstable condition, not much anyway. At least, the government should try to provide the basic needs of the people.

            It is understood that the resources they are given may be little. But how long has this load-shedding been a problem in Nepal for? I remember it from as long as when we used to buy 2 rupees lollies after school. Maybe it is time to think out of the box. We all like to brag about how rich we are in water resources (2^nd richest after Brazil in the world). And the potential is huge!! But the project costs are massive and without foreign help, even the smallest plant is like “chheparoko katha”. Maybe it’s time to bring public investments in! Or even best, focus on other sources of energy, such as bio energy and solar power.

Rural parts of Nepal are already onto it. It is durable, not-so-expensive and eco-friendly. Even best, you’re in control. Western countries have been giving special grants to people who adopt these eco-friendly power for years now. Even African nations have realized, it is the way to go and they’re reaping the benefits already. Our government has shown very little interest in alternate energy sources though! At least a bit of encouragement and a little help for people would have been great help for everyone(the people, government, economy, environment…..) . But who can blame them, they’re too busy making the loadshedding timetables!

Kantipur TV have started broadcasting their 7PM evening news bulletin with the help of one lantern; dubbed the Lalteen Bulletin this is their symbolic protest against the 12 hour daily loadshedding which Kathmanduitees are currently facing. Their efforts have been praised by thousands and picked up by international media. (Source: lexlimbu.com) Here’s a video of KTV’s talk with the Energy Minister(I think the news host was a bit too pushy though! Lol) .

We don't need no PM! Let no taxpayer mourn!

So it has been more than 6 months since the fomer prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned on June 30, 2010! Even though this must be some another guiness record for Nepal's front and it shows how undetermined our government at the moment is, it might not be as it looks.

Well, we all know, without proper leadership, country won't have definite direction and so on and so forth. But its not like things were better when we had their leadership. Lets think about all the money the government is saving with not having to pay for a prime minister and his family and millions of rupees for travel to india and to open more swiss bank accounts and son. It always reminds me of the time when once Nepal had a jumbo Ministry Panel!!!?

Remember the times, when we had a all party ministry panel and everybody was fighting for their piece of cake. In answer to that, there were more than 40 ministers at one time. Now thats some serious tax money gone down the drain!! Mind you, at that time, we had more ministers than India or China. India(has around 38 ministry cabinets) is approximately 44 times larger than Nepal and China(has around 24 cabinets) is larger than Nepal by approximately 66 times. Also mind that, we dont have sea access or complicated train systems like them; just to name a few. (i.e. we should have had less ministries than them). Anyways, even though, procrastinating is in our blood and we like to nag about everything :), lets be positive!!

We don't really need a prime minister! Let it be! ;)