Send this to any Nepali friends you have in USA (or anywhere). It's a greeting e-card for Dasain.
Click here for a Dasain hymn! (the bottom logo is from one of the medical schools where I have taught).
The "Madhesi Morcha" - a coalition of political parties in the Terai - have met and decided to lift the Terai-wide "bandh,"though they will continue the sit-ins at the border crossings. In some areas, the bandh has been going on for about sixty days. And an update.
From Aug 31st. The shaded areas were on continuous "bandh" in August; the southern tier is the Terai where it's till been enforced this whole time. In a "bandh," all vehicle traffic is prohibited by the strikers, and violators might be thrashed & their vehicle torched. There is now a sort of holiday truce. A lot of water over the dam since August.
There is more news. It's going to be light today..... it comes in a big box with shiny festive paper, wrapped with orange ribbon - pull the bow apart, let the ribbon go to the floor, and - open it by clicking "continue reading"....
The "Kumari" ("Living Goddess") of Kathmandu. I know that in these blogs, I am focusing on the drama of political turmoil - mass protests, riot police, shutdown of government services, misery of post-earthquake recovery - but there are also many amazing aspects of Nepali culture that go way beyond the usual touristy things of shopping or hiking.
Executive Summary
For the next nine days of Dasain, things are chilling out. Everyone takes a holiday. Let's hope that behind-the-scenes work is taking place to address all the crises.
The New Prime Minister has announced his cabinet. There are no women and no dalits, which has caused a stir among activists eager to find fault with the P.M. For Deputy Prime Ministers he appointed two men from Terai; one is from a Hindu fundamentalist group, the RPP, and the other has been a leader who tried to broker agreement between the Terai parties and the Kathmandu "big three" prior to the new constitution.
The blockade of petrol is still "on" and there are sit-ins at the border crossings, but just enough has been allowed through that private vehicles will each be allowed to buy 30 liters of petrol in Kathmandu.
Kathmandu Post photo Oct 13th. Biratnagar is the industrial city of Nepal, in the east. My first visit there in 2014 was shortly after the Hepatitis E epidemic. I was thinking it might be why there were so few other westerners...... (reported in an earlier diary).
Oct 12, 2015- The cross-border activities at Biratnagar entry point that were stalled due to Madhesi Morcha’s obstruction since Saturday have resumed from Monday evening. According to Biratnagar Customs Office, the vehicles carrying industrial raw materials and trade commodities have started entering Nepal.
A team headed by Morang Trade Association senior Vice-Chairman Rajendra Raut held discussions with the officials of Jogbani Customs Office today following which the Indian side allowed Nepal-bound vehicles.
According to Raut, the Indian side agreed to release the petroleum products in morning shift and industrial raw materials and other commodities in evening shift without any obstruction.
Debate about numbers in Birgunj
I reported that 100,000 people attended a rally in Birgunj yesterday. The twittersphere today includes many in Kathmandu who deny that it could ever have possibly been so well-attended, or that anybody in Terai could even be a supporter of the bandh or of the petrol blockade. Go figure.
New York Times
The NYT posted a report on the lack of reconstruction in earthquake zones (hills near the Himalaya, opposite side of Nepal...) and the impending winter. For those joining this program late, The NYT piece gives a good summary of events.
As snows work their way down from the mountain peaks and nighttime temperatures plunge, the village, Manebhanjyang, is showing few signs of recovery. Other cities and villages across Nepal share the same fate. While billions of dollars have been pledged to rebuild the country, little has been spent so far amid a long and distracting fight over a new Constitution. With winter approaching, aid workers are warning of a humanitarian crisis.http://mobile.nytimes.com/...
Sobering.
Nepal-China Border crossing re-opens
One of the border crossings to Tibet from Nepal is now re-opened. The idea of "if India won't transport anything, let's just get our imports via China" continues to flicker in the minds of some Nepali nationalists.
New American Ambassador makes courtesy call on New Prime Minister
Ambassador Teplilz and Prime Minister Oli. I'm not going to give a recap of US-Nepal relations here. In May, six US Marines were killed in a helicopter crash on a humanitarian mission post-earthquake. Many Nepali friends extended their condolences to me, though I obviously had nothing to do with the event. Semper Fi.
On the occasion, ambassador Teplitz congratulated PM Oli and expressed best wishes for a successful tenure on her and her country's behalf. - See more at: http://myrepublica.com/...
http://myrepublica.com/...
Hindu State?
Republica published a provocative call in which the editorialist provides rationale for restoration of the monarchy and designation as a Hindu State (again).
What you say if somebody asked you this question?
On a personal note, I got a message from a nurse who told me that she quit her job and leaves for Nepal in two more weeks. She's been "following me".....hmmm, I hope I don't get blamed for inspiring her on some kind of wild hair....
She'll be volunteering with NGO that does nursing education.education. (I have met this particular group and they are excellent).
She asked "Got any advice for me?"
How would you reply?
My answer was to share a bunch of links, especially this one, but also this YouTube playlist, and of course, my books. In less interesting times, my blogs usually focus on nursing education in Nepal.
4:58 AM PT: UPDATE:
The best video reporting, in my view, comes for Subina Shrestha, of Al Jazeera English. AJE is blocked on USA YouTube for some reason, so I wait a day or two until it's uploaded to Vimeo. Here is one from two days ago that is really good! https://vimeo.com/... titled "Nepal struggles with food shortages after Indian blockade" what I like about these is, the video editing shows day-to-day scenes that really capture the feel......