Unrest in Nepal: first person view
I've been posting updates from Rob Buckley, an Ojai resident who, with beau Sharmila, has been building and is now operating a healing center in Nepal. If you have followed the international news at all, you have seen that Nepal is experiencing some serious unrest due to the King who has suspended democracy, pissing off the Nepalese people. I emailed Rob to get his view and to make sure they are ok. His reply:
Great to hear from you – hope/trust that all is going well for you and yours. Life here is ok for Sharmila and I, it’s all the Nepalis that are going through difficulties that I worry about.
For us everything is ok. Sharmila lives with her extended Nepali family which gives us a completely different perspective as well. Currently I am in a tourist café (one of the very few that are open), drinking coffee, and can hear the chants and whistles of protesters less than a mile away and making efforts to march on the palace. 3 army helicopters also recently flew overhead.
The place I live is next door to the palace, so is surrounded by army and police. By donning a backpack and pretending I don’t understand Nepali, I am able to walk around fairly easily, although at times with some questions and resistance. That’s when the years of Nepali language comes in handy.
The people who live and work day to day to survive, and those who are jailed, and who are injured are who I think about. It can be a real head-trip when you think about the advantages we have over others, and the hard times they have to go through.
The people’s movement is finally coming to a head, and the King has already relented to a degree. The people continue to press forward with their demands, and this will succeed: it will return the power of the military to the political parties; re-establish the disbanded elected officials; lead to the creation of a constituent assembly to re-write the constitution (and write the King out); and perhaps most importantly, bring the rebels back in to the fold via a peaceful process of compromise and joint elections. It just takes time.
As far as our project, our training has been shut down since the start of protests: our training facility is in one of the most active neighborhoods for daily protests. The nation and city are shut down, with at least 95% of businesses closed, no transportation, and curfews quite often. We had just started window shopping for decorations and supplies for the community clinic as well. Still, that’s life in Nepal, and time is never linear.
On the extremely positive side of things, our students had just worked on their first guests from the general public, with rave reviews, prior to the start of the protests. It’s been such a process watching them shine and bloom – we’re all learning so much through this together (and I have so much to learn!)
One thing I’m considering is some seminars in Ojai next Fall, teaching people that are interested the Tibetan massage and Newari infant massage techniques we are learning (and teaching) over here. Would be a cool thing to share, and could also generate goodwill and connections between our project and the community of Ojai.
Anyway, lots of work here in Nepal before then.
Health, Happiness, and Peace,
Rob
| Permalink | author bio | 
Comments (1)
I love the way the internet can bring something so far away into my office here in Ojai. And it is good to hear that somewhere in the world the people are acting in their own interest and it is effective.
Comment #1 Posted by: heather | April 28, 2006 05:21 PM