A CRY FROM NEPAL
The Heart of the World
"WE ALL NEED YOU"
Part 3.
Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday July 16th, 2001.
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I had to split this communication in several parts, so it can be unloaded safely at your end. In Part 2 recently sent to you, I was giving you a support to my exposition with examples of reports and articles picked from local news media. And so, I now continue with the balance of the ones I have selected plus many other aspects that are interesting us, in the tourism business, from Nepal. So, let me go on with one report missing and other matters to make this communication a fluent one: Last report selected reads under the title “Maoists destroy police post” at Baglung on July 15th: ‘Maoist rebels torched the police post the same evening after removal of the police personnel. Nearby, 100 police staff withdrawn from Harichaur, Burtibang and Jhiwakhola were stationed at Galkot Hatiya Police post’... The report goes on...: ‘Local people destroyed alcohol distilled from nearly 10 to 12 muri (local measurement) of foodgrain in Galkot Hatiya with the cooperation of the Maoist rebels after the police left the place. Maoist rebels removed furniture from the police post before torching it and handed over the furniture to Galkot higher secondary school, a teacher told’. I can go on giving you more reports that daily appear in local newspapers. Some of them with bloody contents... but here is you, my reader, to start making a balance in your appreciation of situation prevailing in Nepal... Because of all that bad news spotted around the world and because of the unfortunate massacre of the Royal Family on past June 1st, as we all know, most tourism for the actual off-season has been cancelled. The Maoists have been living here in Nepal and have been making their rounds since around and for about already six (06) years. That means that Maoists cannot be new news, either are they not a new “guerrilla” or “insurgency”, or “rebels” or “assassins” or “executers” or ‘whatever name’ you want to put them after this reading. Before, such group was hardly touched by broadcasters or press news as events involved were being handled as “a local problematic affair”. It is only until now that they have got to be notorious, specially following the Royal carnage of June 1st, as news, mainly the international ones, use to stick to sensational, bloody issues in order to succeed selling their channels and papers, not minding, not even a bit, if they kill the economy and reputation of an entire country. So, for a few days, it was the spectacular incredible bad news of the Royal Family’s massacre making full all the international spaces. Today, same spaces are filled with the news of the Maoists that have become the most important ones for them and so making Nepal to succumb. You and me, have reached up to this part of my communication to a point I can now send some questions with the only purpose to be answered to yourself and, after, to take your decided action: Why tourists were fluently visiting Nepal before June 2001 and not anymore if assassination of Royal Family was under investigation by an official committee and submitted to the public and same locally accepted as a one of a fully internal family matter? And, why? tourists are not coming into Nepal after curfews were banned, if Maoists have been here and around for already six (06) years, acting the same way as they do now?. Why? it is dangerous to come to Nepal now and it was not dangerous to visit Nepal before the Royal’s massacre and terrorist news of Maoists, as events?. That will be a homework for you to do. IN HOPE THE GOOD
LUCK RETURNS TO NEPAL The duo started the journey keeping with them holy water from the also Holy Bagmati River at Pashupatinath, in the hope of removing the bad spell believed to have pushed the country into its present crisis. They took also 10 priests from Pashupatinath in their vehicles, as those priest were the ones to bath the Bhimsen idol with the holy water. A police team, an ambulance and a great number of volunteers escorted their vehicles. Many people from the public, showed up to the road to see them pass. They offered the holy water to the Bhimsen and prayed for peace and stability in the country. Local religious faith tells and it has become a popular belief that it is considered a bad omen, specially for the Royal Family, if the stone figure of Dolkha Bhimsen ‘sweats’ on its left side. In 1990 such statue sweated a number of times so ‘it was one of the reasons why the years were ominous for the Royal Family’. As per the tradition, the sweat of this idol is wiped with pieces of cotton by the priests and it is believed that keeping such pieces of soaked cotton in one’s home, brings a good luck. Such pieces, then, were sent to the Royal Palace and, according to the tradition, holy rituals were conducted by the Palace and offerings and sacrifices were made to Bhimsen. In January of this year 2001, the stone idol had sweated again and the event was widely talked about by the town, fearing that something bad would happen to their beloved Royal Family. All the ceremony held yesterday was performed in such a human and detailed way, I was highly impressed, specially by the faith they put in it. That is the way Nepali people do their best and try all possible within their so much enrooted religion to help their country. They have no other way, no other kind of ‘marketing’ to do it. |
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With Connie Scheller in Nepal Rabindra
Rayamajhi Connie
Scheller |