Fire?
It produces warmth and cooked food but it also is a destroyer. Got it?
A strange Travelogue
Kunda Dixit wrote a detailed description of life in the villages of upper Gorkha valley, today. It goes into detail as to what is needed, and the political paralysis that prevented effective response. When you get there, read the comments to the right. They sample the attitudes and bickering.
Beneath a deep blue Himalayan sky and hemmed in by mountains on all sides, winter has come early to the villages of Upper Gorkha. The pastel green Budi Gandaki tumbles past the settlement of Ghap, which used to be a busy stop for trekkers on the Manaslu trail before the April earthquake.
The earthquake destroyed the Nubri Primary School in Ghap. But delays in approving standard designs for schools and budget allocation for rebuilding means that seven months after the earthquake, students are taking lessons in 30,000 tented classrooms like these across the mountains of central Nepal. read more at: nepalitimes.com/...
The definitive analysis of the dueling protests in front of the US White House
Dorje Gurung took a look at Nepali media coverage of the recent protests in USA. There were two groups on the same ground, at the same time, on opposing sides. How was the event reported? click here to find out!
Nepal makes India TV
Anchal Vohra, a Delhi-based correspondent, did a documentary titled “Nepal: Power and Prejudice.” It is not available in USA. :-( www.ibnlive.com/… The companion photostory is viewable; click here for the link. Part of the photostory is a comparison between recent versions of Nepal constitution to show what was taken away.
An economic review
Experts gathered. They talked. they produced a three-page report confirming the ways it isn’t looking good.
Another Polite Suggestion about responsibility for overall problems, this time from Kathmandu Post
A litany of failures. The Kathmandu Post gives an accounting of the present government, quantifying the specific ways it is doing nothing. It ends with:
While there is widespread frustration and anger towards Indian intransigence over the border blockade, Nepali people are also well aware of the government’s incompetence. Corruption in the government agencies, including Nepal Oil Corporation, over supplies crunch is making daily headlines. If the current crises continue, public anger could increasingly be directed towards the government. read more at:
bit.ly/...
Tea protest in Kathmandu Street
A two-minute video showing a “tea protest” against black market.
Man Burnt Alive in Eastern Nepal
Fire again. Um, this was the phrase used to describe an event. (in the link, the report is “Person Set ablaze") It’s not exactly the same as being burnt to death, I suppose.
Nov 26, 2015- A person was set on fire at Bhatigacha VDC of Morang district for allegedly transporting petrol on Thursday.
One Ballu Rajbanshi of Bhatigacha VDC-6 was set ablaze for transporting 15 litres of petrol in his motorcycle, Ko 1 Pa 2450, at Ram Janaki chowk in the area. Rajbanshi has received burn injuries to his leg and chest and has been referred to Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Science from Koshi Zonal Hospital.
District Police Office DSP Pramod Kharel informed that Ajay Singh, Jugeshwor Mukhiya and Jitendra Mukhiya of Bhatigacha-3 along with others set Rajbanshi on fire.
The police is yet to ascertain that if the perpetrators are affiliated to the agitating Madhesi Morcha. from:
bit.ly/...
Obviously, this was stupid, malicious, and a criminal act. I suppose the protesters were trying to prove that there is more behind the protests than simply the “blockade” by India, since the incident took place well away from a border crossing. There were pictures of the victim slathered in silvadene cream (an anti-infective used in burns).
The problem in Nepal, is that it is not a nation of nonviolent Gandhis. For every highly-principled leader, there are ten young guys finding glee in the chaos.
On a tangent: bride-burning is still a problem in Nepal. Burn injuries are excruciatingly painful and pose a challenge to the caregivers. About half my first book was devoted to my time on the pediatric burn ward. In Nepal it is not considered feasible to treat any burn greater than 60%. There is also a chapter in my second book where the medical team confronts this face-to-face. The victim here faces the prospect of a lingering death.
My Own Archives
This prompted me to look back at my own blogs. On Aug 31st I wrote about communal violence in one of my WordPress blogs. Now is an auspicious time to see if what I wrote then stands up today. (This was before the “Siege of Kathmandu;” before the constitution; before the Army Deployment; before almost everything. It was a week after the premeditated Tikapur murders).
At that time, there was acknowledgment that many of the protests were youth-driven and not really under the control of the Madhesi Morcha. It is a very sad juncture that the young guys might find that they enjoy criminality or take perverse pleasure in the depraved indifference to the suffering of fellow human beings. We can all sympathize with the plight of chronic unemployment and limited future hopes, but — the need to prevent these guys from being accustomed to criminality serves as one more reminder to get this under control.
US Ambassador Weighs in
The new Ambassador to Nepal from USA, The Honorable Ms. Alaina B. Teplitz, contributed an editorial to Republica. It catalogs the initial progress of the American constitution, listing each early misstep and each tweak. We have, after all, amended it 27 times. She ended with:
When I took the oath to become Ambassador, I swore to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. And today, on Thanksgiving, I give thanks for the fact that so many Americans persevered to make our federal Constitution, as it says in its opening lines, the foundation for a "more perfect union." As Nepal continues on its democratic path and works to implement a constitution that guarantees and protects the rights of all of its citizens, I urge all Nepalis to commit to the challenge of making your own federal constitution "more perfect." - See more at: myrepublica.com/…
It’s a polite way to say that There is No Shame in Amendments.
Cooking over wood
the photo at right does not really go with the article it accompanies. It’s a pressure cooker and the title is "Pressure Tactic." LP gas is the preferred method for food prep, but everyone is using wood these days. LP is still available on the black market, as is petrol. There are allegations that the government is complicit in the black market. Petrol costs about $20 US dollars per gallon.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.