Nepal is a land where conspiracy theories abound where apparently all kinds of dark forces are at work to scupper progress and those who are on the side of what is right and good. The best illustration of this is probably the plethora of these that followed the massacre of the Nepalese royal family in 2001. Conspiracy theories make for intriguing speculation by the man in the street but they also are a way that for example a political party can prepare its constituency for failure. The Maoists are no exception in this respect and there have been many statements from them since their landslide victory in the Constituent Assembly elections suggesting that plans are afoot to deny them their destiny to govern and form the "new Nepal". I am sure that they are, at least in part, quite correct however it could well be the case that the biggest threat to the Maoist agenda coming to fruition lies from within. For it would appear that some from the ranks of the People's Liberation Army have not grasped yet that murder is no longer an acceptable activity in the post-conflict Nepal.
Last week some PLA fighters abducted a Kathmandu business man, Ram Hari Shrestha, and took him to one of their cantonment camps near Chitwan. It was alleged that he had been involved in theft and for that he was beaten to death. A PLA brigade commander has been arrested and two others are at large. The Maoist leadership has been quick to condemn the outrage. For Shrestha was not just any old member of the public. He was prominent within the Kathmandu community and his family had given shelter to the Maoist fighters during the People's War. Such was his connection to the Maoists that the Maoist chairman himself, Prachanda, went to the widow's home to tell her of the vicious circumstances of her husband's demise. There have now been street protests against the Maoists and today in Kathmandu there is a "bandh" (strike) that will close down the city and all transportation. This has been a Maoist shot in the foot if ever there was one but maybe Shrestha's death will not be in vain given the impact that perhaps the public revulsion will have on ensuring that the Maoists stick better to a non violent path in future.
More difficult to read has been the bomb attack on the Norwegian Embassy last weekend, a discrete establishment which is within ready walking distance (earshot) of my home. It is hard to imagine why the affable Norwegians should be the target of anyone's aggression. Unless perhaps someone from the European community is giving them a taste of their own medicine for the atrocities inflicted upon their ancestors by marauding Norsemen a thousand years' ago. More likely it is a protest by a disgruntled Nepali tourist who has been on holiday in Norway and is making a statement against the cost of the basic essentials of life over there. I visited Norway way back in 1984 and the cost of beer was ridiculous. I haven't been back since.
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Making a dent
In yesterday's post I commented on how I was increasingly of the impression that the best that one could do in the fight against girl trafficking was to make a significant "dent" in the problem; sadly I feel that the scale and economics of human trafficking makes the fight unwinnable given the limited resources a Trust like mine can muster. However, I added that I felt one had to continue to try to make that dent else one forfeits one's right to remain part of humanity.
After reading my post my wife Bev reminded me of the content of an amazing obituary we had read recently. It was for Polish lady Irena Sendler who passed away this month at the age of 98. During the war, as a gentile social worker, she risked her life to save 2,500 Jewish children from certain death by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto. Later in the war she was captured and in return for her courage was tortured by the Gestapo.
Of course it could be argued unkindly that this heroism had but a modest impact given the scale of the Holocaust. Indeed, at the end of her days Irena herself remained haunted by the thought of how she could or should have done more. Nevertheless last year she was honoured by the Polish senate which had no doubt about her contribution as a national heroine. She had made that significant dent. Irena was too frail to attend the ceremony, but instead one of those children she rescued read out a letter in which she stated "Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory".
I am very pleased to share that philosophy, not least in the context of the motivation, professional background and beliefs of my first wife, Esther Benjamins.
After reading my post my wife Bev reminded me of the content of an amazing obituary we had read recently. It was for Polish lady Irena Sendler who passed away this month at the age of 98. During the war, as a gentile social worker, she risked her life to save 2,500 Jewish children from certain death by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto. Later in the war she was captured and in return for her courage was tortured by the Gestapo.
Of course it could be argued unkindly that this heroism had but a modest impact given the scale of the Holocaust. Indeed, at the end of her days Irena herself remained haunted by the thought of how she could or should have done more. Nevertheless last year she was honoured by the Polish senate which had no doubt about her contribution as a national heroine. She had made that significant dent. Irena was too frail to attend the ceremony, but instead one of those children she rescued read out a letter in which she stated "Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory".
I am very pleased to share that philosophy, not least in the context of the motivation, professional background and beliefs of my first wife, Esther Benjamins.
Saturday, 17 May 2008
A job interview in Nepal
A few years’ ago I listened to a programme on Forces Radio that had been compiled to mark some anniversary of the launch of the service. In it presenters reflected on some of their golden moments from over the years with one veteran, Richard Astbury, recalling how another, Richard Nankivel, had been the victim of a prank. He recounted how an interview had been set up between a visiting foreign dignitary and Nankivel on live radio. His mischevious colleagues hadn’t told Nankivel beforehand that the visitor didn’t speak a word of English.
I was reminded of this anecdote yesterday when we conducted interviews for a new researcher’s appointment within my INGO, Esther Benjamins Trust – Nepal (EBT-N). Chairing the interview, I invited my colleague Chris Kendrick to initiate the questioning of the final candidate who had quite a strong, well-written CV. None of us could have guessed from this that she hardly spoke a word of English. Chris was visibly discomfited by the experience, his own excellent command of English stretched to the limit, writhing as he tried in vain to frame a question that the unfortunate lady would understand. The amazing thing was that she seemed to remain quite cool during this process; I’d have run a mile. In the end I called a premature halt to the interview and we sent her on her way. I guess she, like so many other Nepalis in a land where there is so little work to be had, tries her luck with every appointment that is advertised. You’ve got to admire the tenacity if not the wisdom of it all.
The successful candidate, who has a Masters in Law, was effusive about her interest in joining our effort against trafficking. This is a subject that has been greatly on my mind these past few days, following my unsuccessful fundraising attempts for our Programme in Nepal and after receiving this rather depressing article from my co-worker in Nepal, Helen Sherpa.
Given the scale of the problem and the vast amount of money that is involved in the traffickers’ and collaborators’ ill-gotten gains I really wonder if this, like poverty and prostitution, is an issue that is going to be with us always. We have nothing to counter this with apart from commitment and courage, but these are insufficient if not underpinned by a financial input that just can’t rival the economics of evil that we are up against. When I asked the young lady yesterday what she saw as being the solution she felt it was just a question of interested organisations pulling together to maximise their effort. There is some truth in this but there is also the reality to contend with of the rivalry that inevitably arises between organisations that have similar agendas and are forced into a situation of competing against one another for scarce financial resources (grants).
My depressing conclusion from all of this is that the best we can do at the end of the day is to make some kind of a significant dent in the criminal activity that goes with modern day slavery. And we must do this if we are not to forfeit our right to be part of humanity.
As Bev was carrying Alisha down the hallway this morning Alisha pointed behind her and said “Incey Spider”. When Bev looked around Incey turned out to have the proportions of a dinner plate.
I was reminded of this anecdote yesterday when we conducted interviews for a new researcher’s appointment within my INGO, Esther Benjamins Trust – Nepal (EBT-N). Chairing the interview, I invited my colleague Chris Kendrick to initiate the questioning of the final candidate who had quite a strong, well-written CV. None of us could have guessed from this that she hardly spoke a word of English. Chris was visibly discomfited by the experience, his own excellent command of English stretched to the limit, writhing as he tried in vain to frame a question that the unfortunate lady would understand. The amazing thing was that she seemed to remain quite cool during this process; I’d have run a mile. In the end I called a premature halt to the interview and we sent her on her way. I guess she, like so many other Nepalis in a land where there is so little work to be had, tries her luck with every appointment that is advertised. You’ve got to admire the tenacity if not the wisdom of it all.
The successful candidate, who has a Masters in Law, was effusive about her interest in joining our effort against trafficking. This is a subject that has been greatly on my mind these past few days, following my unsuccessful fundraising attempts for our Programme in Nepal and after receiving this rather depressing article from my co-worker in Nepal, Helen Sherpa.
Given the scale of the problem and the vast amount of money that is involved in the traffickers’ and collaborators’ ill-gotten gains I really wonder if this, like poverty and prostitution, is an issue that is going to be with us always. We have nothing to counter this with apart from commitment and courage, but these are insufficient if not underpinned by a financial input that just can’t rival the economics of evil that we are up against. When I asked the young lady yesterday what she saw as being the solution she felt it was just a question of interested organisations pulling together to maximise their effort. There is some truth in this but there is also the reality to contend with of the rivalry that inevitably arises between organisations that have similar agendas and are forced into a situation of competing against one another for scarce financial resources (grants).
My depressing conclusion from all of this is that the best we can do at the end of the day is to make some kind of a significant dent in the criminal activity that goes with modern day slavery. And we must do this if we are not to forfeit our right to be part of humanity.
As Bev was carrying Alisha down the hallway this morning Alisha pointed behind her and said “Incey Spider”. When Bev looked around Incey turned out to have the proportions of a dinner plate.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Kathmandu massage
The most common search words on Google that lead researchers to my blog are "
Kathmandu", "Nepal" and "massage". For some reasons the sex tourists never use the words "prostitute" or "brothel". So for those visitors to this post who are considering to travel all the way to Nepal for a "massage" I thought I would post a picture of the kind of facility to expect; these salubrious premises are just around the corner from my home. If this doesn't make you review your plans then reflect upon the circumstances of the girls who are involved in the "massage" industry. They are often coming from desperately poor village areas and broken homes to be ruthlessly exploited by pimps - oops, proprietors. And if that doesn't bother you particularly you might be interested to learn that many of the girls who have been trafficked to India into the sex trade are sent home after they contract HIV. They duly enter the domestic sex trade and carry on their activities out of desperate need for an income.
Kathmandu", "Nepal" and "massage". For some reasons the sex tourists never use the words "prostitute" or "brothel". So for those visitors to this post who are considering to travel all the way to Nepal for a "massage" I thought I would post a picture of the kind of facility to expect; these salubrious premises are just around the corner from my home. If this doesn't make you review your plans then reflect upon the circumstances of the girls who are involved in the "massage" industry. They are often coming from desperately poor village areas and broken homes to be ruthlessly exploited by pimps - oops, proprietors. And if that doesn't bother you particularly you might be interested to learn that many of the girls who have been trafficked to India into the sex trade are sent home after they contract HIV. They duly enter the domestic sex trade and carry on their activities out of desperate need for an income.Maybe best to stay at home?
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Baya Weaver
It's always a welcome distraction from work when the bush outside my office 
window attracts a bird that I haven't seen before. This morning it was the turn of the "Baya Weaver" which I noticed rustling around in the ample pre-monsoon foliage. This is the male of the species, which is now in its yellow breeding plumage. As you can see by its rather startled look it had in turn spotted me just as I was snapping this image. According to my guide book it's quite a common resident but then again this is central Kathmandu!
At the end of March child counsellor Steve Shears came on trek into the Annapurnas through which he raised some very welcome funds for the Trust. This gave me a chance to meet him for the first time after a correspondence that had been running for the previous few months. I took Steve to see the refuge and art workshop and we had a good one to one chat about the kinds of problems our children have experienced and that we might have to deal with in the future. He is now writing up his journal from that visit and you might be interested to see the entries that appear on his blog. After that you might like to give him a little retrospective sponsorship towards our work through his secure online form. Thanks!
window attracts a bird that I haven't seen before. This morning it was the turn of the "Baya Weaver" which I noticed rustling around in the ample pre-monsoon foliage. This is the male of the species, which is now in its yellow breeding plumage. As you can see by its rather startled look it had in turn spotted me just as I was snapping this image. According to my guide book it's quite a common resident but then again this is central Kathmandu!At the end of March child counsellor Steve Shears came on trek into the Annapurnas through which he raised some very welcome funds for the Trust. This gave me a chance to meet him for the first time after a correspondence that had been running for the previous few months. I took Steve to see the refuge and art workshop and we had a good one to one chat about the kinds of problems our children have experienced and that we might have to deal with in the future. He is now writing up his journal from that visit and you might be interested to see the entries that appear on his blog. After that you might like to give him a little retrospective sponsorship towards our work through his secure online form. Thanks!
Monday, 12 May 2008
HIV in Nepal
My colleague with The Esther Benjamins Trust in London, Chris Kendrick, arrives in Nepal on Thursday for his six monthly operational attachment. His main remit in UK is to fundraise and such field visits keep him in touch with our activities at the coal face. Chris has a background in implementing HIV related projects in Malawi, so for this trip I have asked him to begin a needs analysis on HIV and its impact upon Nepalese children. The situation already looks very bleak. See this overview by Surya Prasai, written just last week. I feel that the Trust has to play a role in fighting the infection and its consequences and Chris's research will start us off down that path.
Following my comments in yesterday's post, it is interesting to read Mr Prasai's sobering comment:
"The actual truth expressed by Nepal´s prominent AIDS activists in various world AIDS blog sites point to the fact that a massive diversion of attention of health resources has gone towards organizing expensive seminars and foreign travel jaunts for Nepali civil servants than focusing on the crises, thus adding injury to insult among those infected and affected."
Following my comments in yesterday's post, it is interesting to read Mr Prasai's sobering comment:
"The actual truth expressed by Nepal´s prominent AIDS activists in various world AIDS blog sites point to the fact that a massive diversion of attention of health resources has gone towards organizing expensive seminars and foreign travel jaunts for Nepali civil servants than focusing on the crises, thus adding injury to insult among those infected and affected."
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Saturday in Kathmandu
Yesterday morning Bev and I decided to do some shopping in Kathmandu for books and posters for the children at our refuge, in advance of paying them a surprise visit in the afternoon. En route to the refuge we stopped for lunch at The Godavari Village Resort. It does a super lunch at the minute with locally-farmed Godawari trout being a seasonal delicacy (I highly recommend the Tandoori version of the dish).
The Resort is an amazing place, massive in scale, traditional in style and very plush. One wonders at first sight how it manages to make ends meet, given that it must have huge overheads yet is around three quarters of an hour away from Kathmandu’s tourist attractions and nightlife. Its view over the brickfields and chimneys below can only hold attraction for but a few of its visitors. The reason why it seems not just to survive but to prosper is its being a popular venue for conferences, especially for those conducted by “development” organisations.
When we arrived at the Resort there was a banner welcoming the delegates to a refresher course on "Orchestrating Ownership and Sustainability" (whatever that might mean), under th
e auspices of two organisations with the unfortunate acronyms of NAAN and MDF. I had heard of neither of these before but googled NAAN (Netherlands Alumini Association of Nepal) when I returned home. From its website it really gives the impression of having primarily a huge social emphasis, with the site mentioning its last tangible benefit to anyone, apart from themselves, being a cardiac clinic way back in 2002. I was taken aback to see on the poster that the course runs from 11-23 May; that must cost someone somewhere (most likely not the privileged attendees) an arm and a leg. However custom like this must do wonders for the "sustainability" of the Godavari Village Resort.
Conferences and seminars play a huge part in the daily life of the development sector over here and, in contrast to the edgy work that we are doing, seem to have no difficulty in attracting lavish funding support. Maybe the return from something like this is more predictable and funders are content to know that x number of participants attended for y days and studied such and such subjects. As for my Trust, we can only apply for funds stating in honesty that our plans are at times of necessity rather vague. For instance one of our rescue teams might go to an Indian circus, not knowing how many children are inside beforehand and (if the circus hasn’t moved in the meantime) whether or not they will come back empty handed or not. And as I wrote in my post of the other day liability considerations (given the risks involved) has scared off at least one potential grant maker this week from our very vital work. There's not much risk involved in attending a sustainability conference at the Godavari Village Resort, beyond sustaining wakefulness at the start of the afternoon session following a splendid lunch. The Resort is but one of a number of troughs used by those who purport to belong to the development sector in the racket of “conferences” and “networking”. Their contribution is an obscene squandering of scarce resources that are being frittered away slap bang in the middle of one of the world’s poorest nations where real need is so obvious and burgeoning.
After lunch we called at the refuge to be greeted by the refuge dog, a stray that Bev had picked up in really bad shape at the end of last year. The animal has gone from a having no fur and being mere skin and bone to becoming a picture of canine health and fitness. Before and after pictures are alongside. The kids gathered around us eagerly to study and savour the posters and to bask in a bit of loving adult co
mpany. The children’s main carer and local director, Shailaja, joined us and we spent some really quality time with the children, reminding ourselves once again of what this is all about.
In the group were two small boys who just the week before last we transferred from our other children’s centre in Bhairahawa following their achieving top marks in the end of year school examinations. The schools in
Kathmandu are more challenging than those in the rural areas and we're going to stretch them to the limit of their abilities and give them the best chance possible in this very tough society. The boys know that their industry is being rewarded and they are over the moon to have been given this opportunity.
We left the children happily colouring in work books that we had brought them, and lo
oking forward to Bev's return this week when she will be doing a library session with the youngest kids. Of course I am more than a little biased, but she's fantastic in this role and her rapport with these kids and their hypnotic response is a joy to behold.
The Resort is an amazing place, massive in scale, traditional in style and very plush. One wonders at first sight how it manages to make ends meet, given that it must have huge overheads yet is around three quarters of an hour away from Kathmandu’s tourist attractions and nightlife. Its view over the brickfields and chimneys below can only hold attraction for but a few of its visitors. The reason why it seems not just to survive but to prosper is its being a popular venue for conferences, especially for those conducted by “development” organisations.
When we arrived at the Resort there was a banner welcoming the delegates to a refresher course on "Orchestrating Ownership and Sustainability" (whatever that might mean), under th
e auspices of two organisations with the unfortunate acronyms of NAAN and MDF. I had heard of neither of these before but googled NAAN (Netherlands Alumini Association of Nepal) when I returned home. From its website it really gives the impression of having primarily a huge social emphasis, with the site mentioning its last tangible benefit to anyone, apart from themselves, being a cardiac clinic way back in 2002. I was taken aback to see on the poster that the course runs from 11-23 May; that must cost someone somewhere (most likely not the privileged attendees) an arm and a leg. However custom like this must do wonders for the "sustainability" of the Godavari Village Resort.Conferences and seminars play a huge part in the daily life of the development sector over here and, in contrast to the edgy work that we are doing, seem to have no difficulty in attracting lavish funding support. Maybe the return from something like this is more predictable and funders are content to know that x number of participants attended for y days and studied such and such subjects. As for my Trust, we can only apply for funds stating in honesty that our plans are at times of necessity rather vague. For instance one of our rescue teams might go to an Indian circus, not knowing how many children are inside beforehand and (if the circus hasn’t moved in the meantime) whether or not they will come back empty handed or not. And as I wrote in my post of the other day liability considerations (given the risks involved) has scared off at least one potential grant maker this week from our very vital work. There's not much risk involved in attending a sustainability conference at the Godavari Village Resort, beyond sustaining wakefulness at the start of the afternoon session following a splendid lunch. The Resort is but one of a number of troughs used by those who purport to belong to the development sector in the racket of “conferences” and “networking”. Their contribution is an obscene squandering of scarce resources that are being frittered away slap bang in the middle of one of the world’s poorest nations where real need is so obvious and burgeoning.
After lunch we called at the refuge to be greeted by the refuge dog, a stray that Bev had picked up in really bad shape at the end of last year. The animal has gone from a having no fur and being mere skin and bone to becoming a picture of canine health and fitness. Before and after pictures are alongside. The kids gathered around us eagerly to study and savour the posters and to bask in a bit of loving adult co
mpany. The children’s main carer and local director, Shailaja, joined us and we spent some really quality time with the children, reminding ourselves once again of what this is all about.In the group were two small boys who just the week before last we transferred from our other children’s centre in Bhairahawa following their achieving top marks in the end of year school examinations. The schools in
Kathmandu are more challenging than those in the rural areas and we're going to stretch them to the limit of their abilities and give them the best chance possible in this very tough society. The boys know that their industry is being rewarded and they are over the moon to have been given this opportunity.We left the children happily colouring in work books that we had brought them, and lo
oking forward to Bev's return this week when she will be doing a library session with the youngest kids. Of course I am more than a little biased, but she's fantastic in this role and her rapport with these kids and their hypnotic response is a joy to behold.
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