from the Asian Development Bank. At this exact time of year, the Himalaya really does look like that, filling the horizon. And yes, many villages destroyed in the earthquake are still in ruins. Any hopes that Nepal was going to "build back better" are buried in that same rubble. People have already re-piled the same stones and beams using the same techniques.
Stamping out snark as a rule
I usually detest snark on DailyKOS, I think things are bad enough without mocking, sarcasm, satire. There's so much great reporting that shows up here, and it's not by accident. I have even grown to enjoy the Saturday Kitten photos, dyed-in-the-wool dog person that I am. ( I have not been an alpha male since my beloved Golden Retriever died, but that story is for another time and place). Oh, I sometimes have fun with the hyperlinks, but - nobody has ever called me out.....
Niche reporting
I write these diaries about Nepal because nobody else seems to be consistently sharing the news with an American audience. My first trip to Nepal was in 2007, and when I returned it was clear that nobody I knew had a clue what I had done over there. There aren't that many American tourists in the first place, but I was a volunteer in a hospital, taking care of pediatric burn patients, which put me in some kind of lunatic fringe (it's the hardest medical specialty there is). In the limited realm of medical volunteers that work in global health, I started trying to give a non-sugarcoated description of what to expect.
On those occasions when the New York Times publishes something, it's excellent. And I discovered that Al Jazeera English has some excellent video reportage that really gives a feel for what's going on. One of the difficulties for me is that my ability to read Devanagiri ( the syllabary of Nepal) is limited. It's hard to sort out the journalists, Tweeters and Newspapers that only give the party line, from those who are more objective.
my photo, June 2014 (pre-earthquake). Not far from my flat in Lalitpur. Yes, it was damaged, but the people themselves already sorted the rubble very carefully. Wanna make money? write a new Tourist Guidebook post-quake!
The Koch Brothers
having said all the above about snark, Today is the day I finally found myself saying "This is how the USA would be if the Koch brothers, and all their lackeys, finally got control.... "
Day Fifteen of the Petrol Siege of Kathmandu
There are developments. The government now can't decide who will be the Prime Minister; the government is meeting with leaders of the protests that caused the petrol shortage; the riots at the border continue; the black market thrives; the airlines are now quantifying exactly what a money-loser their flights to Nepal are; the tourist industry itself reports that they can't provide the level of service most tourists expect; and the city of Kathmandu is emptying out as the biggest festival of the year "Dasain" approaches. (nobody is thinking of how they will get back when it's over). Amid all this, there is an active anti-India campaign. And the ultimate: normally the government takes a week off for Dasain, but they are thinking to make it - two weeks.
Dasain is not a party-and-parade festival. It's a time to hang out with family, gamble using the newest bills, and eat until you are bowlegged. Sort of like an extended Thanskgiving that takes place over ten days. Going back to the village to be with family is critical.
Click on "continue reading" - I promise there will be no graphic photos. Maybe Everest or a cutesy elephant..........
First, the tourist news. Think about these issues before your visit.
infographic from Republica. Tribhuvan International Airport is unable to refuel the planes in Nepal, therefor each plane carries more fuel; to compensate for the weight of the fuel there are now empty seats.
(there is a finite amount of weight a plane can carry..) so each airline is losing $10,000 USD per flight. see the article below.
In Republica, the following analysis was buried in the business section. In a previous blog, I relayed how the major tourist hotels are running out of petrol for their generators. This amplifies the impact:
Figuring out how to maintain their promised quality of service, keeping tourists comfortable, costs low, and fulfilling pledges made on their sold packages has become their top priority. Given that they have no fuel, how are they going to transport guests to places they had promised to take them on their package, they ask.
Airlines, travel and tour operators, hoteliers and trekking companies are worried about how they'll provide hassle-free service to tourist if the unofficial economic blockade by India continues.
"Airlines are having a hard time due to an Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) shortage. There is little or no fuel to transport those passengers to hotels, which are also running out of LPG to cook food for guests and diesel to run generators. Travel agencies and companies are having a hard time transporting tourists due to lack of petrol and diesel," Bijay Amatya, CEO of Kora Tours, says, adding that the travel and hospitality industry was going through its worst period and things could get worse if the situation continued and was not solved by next week.
Because of all the above reasons, tourists who had already planned trips to Nepal are in a dilemma on whether to hold on to their plans or go elsewhere. - See more at: http://myrepublica.com/...
The electric supply is not twenty-four hours a day in the first place. There is an intricate system of rotating power shutoffs called "loadshedding." In the past this is anywhere from eight to tewnetytwo hours per day. Like the hotels, every hospital has a petrol-fired generator. The
hospitals have appealed to the governmentto be exempt from loadshedding.
"We cannot run equipments like X-ray and CT-scan during load shedding," said Dr Pandit, adding that patients receiving emergency care like those admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Operation Theater (OT) will suffer a lot if the NEA cut the power supply to the hospital. - See more at: http://myrepublica.com/...
The US Embassy released a
statement about emergency response capability it says:
We recommend that travelers evaluate any upcoming travel plans in Nepal. Due to the nationwide fuel shortage, due to blockages at the border with India, many of the safety measures that would normally be relied on in an emergency situation may become unavailable. These measures include air medevacs and local hospitals. As of today these services are still operational, but service providers are facing dwindling supplies. If you are planning multi-day travel the situation could change drastically during your trip. Please consider that if you are trekking in a remote area and become injured, there will be limited options for you to be rescued until the fuel situation returns to normal. Tourist facilities continue to operate in the Kathmandu valley, but levels of service may be lower than normal. It is estimated that the fuel situation will not return to normal until 2-3 weeks after the border supply lines are fully restored.
In Terai
The focus on India has overpowered the actual concern about the Terai, the flat plains where the protests started. Today was an interesting report on daily life there. This is the region where Jimmy Carter is headed in another few weeks.
from Kathmandu Post. Today's only graphic photo. The story is, this ambulance was inspected by protesters, and found to be carrying onions and vegetables - a violation of the strike.
The protesters torched it as you can see. stoppage of vehicles is a "bandh" - the most common tool of protest.
Violent protests continue in Terai
I won't go into graphic detail. trust me. I've learned more about riot control tactics than I ever thought I would.
Amending the failed Constitution
Despite the Nationalist talk in Kathmandu, and despite the government talking points and hype about how great the constitution is (it recognizes LGBTQI rights but curtails the rights of women), the constitution released Sept 20th was the spark that set on this in motion. From the beginning, there were calls for immediate amendment. The only ray of hope is that negotiations to amend are proceeding (at a snail's pace). Political leaders from Terai promise they will continue the blockade until their demands are met. They presented a 35-point proposal the other day. Here's a report from yesterday:
KATHMANDU: The government on Wednesday registered a Bill to amend the Nepal’s Constitution 2072.
The Bill aims at addressing concerns of agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narahari Acharya said the Bill has been registered at the Parliament this evening.
In particular, the Bill seeks amendment to the new constitution on two issues: proportional inclusion in state organs and making population the major basis for delineation of electoral constituencies.
Amendments will be sought on at least three articles – Articles 42, 84 and 286. Participation of defined underprivileged groups in state bodies as per the principle of proportional inclusion will be proposed to be incorporated in Right to Social Justice of Article 42 under the fundamental rights. This is the demand mainly raised by the indigenous communities.
What is India's involvement?
Prashant Jha is a Delhi-based journalist who is from Nepal, he has been vilified at times for failing to express the party line and government talking points, but has a lot of street cred and has reported from Terai in the recent events. His latest analysis is one that gets a lot of insight.
India ready to rough it out for an inclusive, stable Nepal
Delhi can sense that unless the currently disaffected section of the population is taken on board, ethnic radicalism could grow and divisions in Nepal could get further entrenched. Given the open border-special relationship, this conflict would inevitably affect India. It would then be even more difficult to sort out and that is why the need is to nip the problem in the bud. ‘A stitch in time will save nine’ is a phrase doing the rounds in government, for currently the issues are not intractable.
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TLDR?
Believe it or not, I have needed to prioritize in order to upload a diary that people will read. I appreciate the feedback I've gotten from previous diaries. When I'm in Nepal, I write a blog about my project to teach critical care skills to nurses and doctors. Even before all this happened, I was working on ways to improve situational awareness for doctors and nurses working in emergency rooms and ICUs. My second book addressed this issue head on from a cultural perspective. There were many skeptics who didn't think this was important. It is strangely surreal for this issue to come to the fore.
Ganesh
I promised one picture of an elephant. Here it is!
not exactly an elephant, but - Ganesh, the elephant-headed boy, son of Shiva. A common motif in Hindu art. The leaves are from the "Bo" tree, the species under which the Buddha sought enlightenment. Ganesh is the remover of obstacles. Nepal needs a few things cleared away these days.