September 21, 2003
News From Kathmandu
You rarely hear people talk about Nepal in the news. They don't have any WMDs, or any oil, and they haven't invaded anyone recently. But apparently, there's a civil war going on over there, and I only know because a friend's family has been caught in it.
M's family sent him abroad several years ago to avoid a rash of kidnappings in the country. He wound up in the US, and began the long process of getting a green card. He's been luckier than most, because as an executive manager in a stable company, he didn't just get the brush off. But he was unable to go home two years ago when his grandmother was dying, and has just recently been approved.
Now his mother has cancer, and he wants to go home to visit. His parents have begged him not to come. Guerrillas are fighting in the capital, and there have been periodic curfews due to rebel instigated general strikes which apply at night and sometimes all day. Driving has become very hazardous, and kidnappings and ransoms are popular again.
About a week ago, his family called an ambulance to come pick his mother up for chemotherapy in hopes that no one would shoot at a medical vehicle. They'd barely pulled away when the engine was shot out of the van. The second time, the vehicle was shot up before even reaching the house. His mother has to walk to chemotherapy.
People are trying to get out, and now none of the neighboring countries will take Nepalese. Also, the airport shuts down due to fighting sometimes. If M flies home, he'll have to stayover in Singapore, and he won't be allowed to stay more than a day. If he flies to Singapore and they shut the airport in Nepal, he can't wait there until it opens. They will send him back here.
Today, apparently, the strike called by the Maoist rebels has eased enough that they're allowing limited traffic in the capital. The article notes that 8,000 have died since 1996 when the conflict began.
The BBC talks more about the aftermath of the rebels' unilateral breaking of a negotiated ceasefire, and the BBC provides this country profile and a chronology. Also of note is this retrospective on the strange 2001 massacre of the royal family by the crown prince, who then took his own life.
An Independent article profiles the rebels.
A 2000 report in the Guardian notes that both the rebels and the police had taken turns terrorizing people with brutal and heavy-handed tactics.
This is the US embassy's travel advisory.
Nepal will request help from the UN. I wonder if I'll hear about it on the news.
Posted by natasha at September 21, 2003 12:31 AM | TrackBack