Letters from the Field - 2 Nov 2007 - Nepal

Second Letter from Nepal – 2 November 2007

Dear family and friends:

Time rushes by. It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Nepal for over three months although I have begun to feel quite at home here, so I guess it is true. My mission was extended by a month but will, nevertheless, end on the 30 November.  I think it has been a productive three months. I have been able to get Directives for the implementation of the Government’s National Policy on IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) drafted and it will, hopefully, be adopted in the coming weeks by Cabinet. We will be having a “Training of Trainers” workshop before I leave, so that the 25 individuals who we train can then go out to the districts and train the Chief District Officers on the Policy and how to implement it. We are trying to assist the Govt to improve its information management on IDPs, especially its database, so it can monitor the situation including the relief it provides. And I’ve been able to keep attention focused on the IDP issue, as it has a tendency to slip off the radar because IDPs here are not in camps and are, therefore, largely invisible. In terms of all the missions I’ve done the past two years, I think this has been one of the most productive and rewarding. And Nepal is a fascinating country.

Sadly, I have not seen as much of the country as I would have liked – but there is never enough time, and I do not have the stamina for long (5-6 day) hikes to visit remote villages. But I have seen a little. I’ve been to Nepalganj in the Western Terai and to Jumla in the hills in the West. I’ve been to Biratnagar and nearby districts in the Eastern Terai. I did a weekend visit to Pokara to see the mountains up close. Spectacular!  And I plan to go to Chitawan for the coming long-weekend, and ride an elephant in the National Park. Unlikely that I’ll see a tiger, but you never know.

I have also had two memorable trips – one to Bhutan – a real little Shangri-la with pristine clean rivers and magical mountains. They have maintained the original architecture of both houses and Dzongs (fortress-like monasteries), and people wear traditional dress – the men a short  kimono folded in such a way that they have a huge expandable pocket at their waistline – with knee-high socks; and they carry a ceremonial scarf that they wrap around themselves when they enter a monastery or dzong. The women wear long skirts, short bright coloured jackets, and embroidered scarves. They do beautiful weaving and embroidery, though it is very expensive, so I bought very little. I had a wonderful 6 days in Bhutan – with a car, a driver and a guide all to myself.  The weather was glorious and the views stunning. I rode a horse up to Tiger’s Nest, which resembles the Ostrog Orthodox monastery in Montenegro – built high up on a cliff.  I walked next to fields of rice ready for harvesting, and drove up to the Dochula Pass (3,050 meters) where the Govt has built 108 stupas; and, having lent my guide a camera, we were in competition over who could take more photographs.

A footnote:  Oddly, Bhutan reminded me a lot of Yemen. Both mountain countries. Both highly traditional where traditional dress is the norm. And, in both cases, unique architecture has been carefully preserved, and the handicraft tradition nourished. Both societies also use a mild narcotic: in Yemen they chew qat – in Bhutan the beetle nut.

I also went for a week to Tibet, flying into Lhasa and coming back by jeep. But this trip depressed me no end. Perhaps had I gone there before Bhutan, I might have felt differently. True, in Bhutan, I did not pay much attention to the lack of real democratic freedom or the fact that Bhutan has expelled 100,000 of its people out of a population of 600,000. (These are the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal who have been in camps here for about 18 years.) But, in Tibet, I could not avoid the politics. The Chinese totally dominate Tibet now – they form about 80% of the population in the cities. All business is controlled by them.  Most of the monasteries – certainly the ones open to foreign visitors – are visibly under the domination of the Chinese authorities. And all of Tibet’s resources of timber and minerals are now being exploited  to feed the Chinese industrial appetite. A railway is being completed from Lhasa to Beijing simply as a way of shipping the wealth of Tibet to China more easily. Most of the old Tibetan houses – certainly in the cities --  have been totally razed to the ground and wide boulevards created with ticky tacky buildings lining the roads, square boxes made out of square white bricks, and brash Chinese signs dominating the skyline. And the brutality with which the common official – police and others – treat the Tibetans is also very obvious. It was demeaning and humiliating.

The Tibetans seem to have been reduced to beggars in their own land. However, the pilgrims who come to the monasteries also upset me because of the frenetic zealot quality of their homage. They prostrate themselves, sometimes dragging their bodies on the roads for miles. Old ladies and old men turn their prayer wheels mindlessly as their other hand counts the beads. Poor village people bring tiny denominations of money to give to the Gods. There is money scattered everywhere in within the monasteries, and the constant smell of the rancid butter that is used to light the lamps; as well, there are Chinese officials overseeing everything, including making sure the tourists pay to take photographs. I was also appalled by the vast kilograms of gold and silver – as well as precious stones -- that has gone into the buddhas in the temples. I guess I never associated Buddhism, and certainly not Tibetan Buddhism, with such opulence. And, it seemed as if the standard was the more the better. If one Buddha was good, 100 was better and 1000 better still. Rote, repetitiousness. But, most depressing – it seems to me that any hope for a free Tibet is gone. So my illusions about Tibet are now gone, despite the raw beauty of the landscape. (Where it is not littered with garbage.)

I intend to take two weeks after my mission and visit Angkar Wat in Cambodia. Hopefully not will not be a disappointment. I will then be in Geneva briefly (4-5 days) for a workshop before going home to Canada for the winter holidays. I will try, if I possibly can, to get out west after the New Year to see the boys and the grandchildren and good friends. It has been too long since I’ve seen the West Coast folk.

I expect to start a new assignment around mid to late January.

So that’s my news – except to say that, while many people don’t like Kathmandu because of the pollution and the traffic and the noise, I find it a fascinating city. There is always something going on. Leave your apartment, walk into the street and see a family of pigs, or cows or donkeys. On Deshain (the main holiday that has just passed), go to a ceremony to bless the cars (so there won’t be traffic accidents next year) and watch them slaughter a goat and use the blood to anoint the vehicles. Walk past the temples in Patan, past the workshops where the Nepalis perform miracles to keep the motorbikes and bicycles running, encounter a Maoist demonstration, look at the magnificent handicrafts in the shops (and if you are me, stop to buy just one more ring or bracelet or bobble), or the wide variety of fruit sold in the stands. I now know many of the beggars on my street as well as the people who sell the vegetables, or second hand clothes, or mobiles. And everyone is ready with a smile, despite their poverty. Sadly, this is one of the poorest countries in the world with one of the most inefficient governments. But, life goes on. I have taken lots of photos.  I have tried to attach a few but my connection here is too slow. So, you will have to access them on line. I will be posting them on Facebook in a couple of days - when time permits. If you are not on g-mail and want to see them, drop me a note and I will send you a URL. Drop me a note in any case.