jacob's journal

Hvedebrødsdagene har meldt sin ankomst ovenpå et valg, som valgkommissionen og uafhængige valgobservatører betegner som  succesfuldt. Der var, som forventet, også grus i maskinen og flere historier om Maoisternes ungdomsorganisation YCL der truede befolkningen til at stemme på dem. Der er nok gran af sandhed i disse meldinger, selv om beretningerne oftest fortælles af dem, der havde andre forhåbninger til valget. Sådan kan valg også være en uskøn affære i et land som Nepal.

Sidst beskrev jeg at Maoisterne ville kunne danne simpelt flertal i den nyvalgte grundlovsgivende forsamling, hvilket jeg ikke helt havde ret i. De fik blot 38% sæderne. De to nærmeste forfølgere hhv. kongrespartiet og kommunistpartiet UML fik begge omkring 20% af sæderne, og således er der hovedbrud og forhandlinger i disse dage, for at se hvorledes koalitioner og alliancer kan dannes – og sikkert også knive i ryggen og intriger.

Den 28. maj er sat til første møde for den nyvalgte forsamling, hvor ét af hovedpunkterne på dagsordenen var/er sat til dannelsen af republikken Nepal. Tror man nok. Om end det var én af aftalerne mellem Maoisterne og alliancen af de politiske partier (ja, jeg deler dem fortsat op for en sikkerheds skyld), kan man ikke være for sikker at der er 2/3 flertal blandt de nye folkevalgte til at lave en grundlovsændring. Her ligger én af knuderne og spørgsmålet om håndhævelse og fortolkning af den nuværende grundlov. Kongen har sendt sine budbringere i byen for at han kan bibeholde sine religiøse og kulturelle funktioner, og medierne eksponere i disse dage forskellige positioner blandt de nye folkevalgte, der taler både for og imod disse rettigheder. Der tegner sig lige nu ingen klare billeder, og der er ingen tvivl om der de kommende to uger bliver meget svære forhandlinger.

Det er ellers ikke fordi, der ikke er nok af sager at tage sig af for de folkevalgte udenfor mødelokalerne. Prisstigninger på føde og råvarer rammer også Nepal hårdt som mange andre steder i verden, og det er som altid de fattige det rammer hårdest. De første historier om landsbyer der må emigrere grundet vand og fødevaremangel, er begyndt at komme ind på radaren. Derudover har vi de sædvanlige problemer med leverancer af gas og brændstof grundet Nepal’s ubetalte gæld til Indien, og køerne udenfor tankstationerne er igen begyndt at kunne ses. Takles disse udfordringer ikke hurtigt og klogt, kan vi meget vel snart igen se massernes protest i gaderne.

Confusion, fear, anger were feelings that went through the veins of many people in the days after the violent incidents in Kapilbastu mid February 2005. What happened to the lives of the tens of thousands of villagers who were displaced from their homes, the people from the hundreds of houses which were burnt down, and the remaining family members of the forty-six people who got killed?

At Radio Lumbini we were shocked and concerned by the incidents at our neighbours, and worried if this would set new standards for an already violent and escalating conflict. In order not just sit and watch as if nothing had happened, we decided to express solidarity with the affected people and collect relief funds, arranging a solidarity concert in Butwal on June 4.

Sometimes words alone can not entirely express the state of mind and the feelings inside. Music and other art forms, however, in these situations are creative means for human expression on more subtle and delicate issues. Also taking into account the very sensitive situation at the time, we had to be very careful how to deliver our message and assure not to provoke either side of the conflicting parties.

We found a music concert as an appropriate way of expression to create a room for solidarity and joy outside space and time where new inspirations and ideas could be shared without censorship, concern or restrictions.

Through good contacts and help from Hits FM in Kathmandu we were able to manage national popular singers to come and perform free of charge. Also local bands and singers willingly supported our idea. Totally, we managed to sell 1,288 tickets and collect NRS 136,498. The presence of the star singers from Kathmandu we could also utilize for interviews and phone-in’s at the radio to put spotlight on the issue. Obviously, the concert itself was broadcasted live on the radio.

After the concert and an assessment of the situation in Kapilbastu, we have decided to provide scholarships for children from the conflict affected areas of the February 2005 violent incidents. The scholarships for the children will be provided over a period of five years through two schools: Bal Shiksha Primary School in Hallanagar and Bhubanishwori Secondary School in Jagdishpur. After five years we will reassess the situation. Hopefully, at that time there will be no need to support conflict affected children in Kapilbastu.

The article is written for AMARC.

When people from different cultures and backgrounds meet, the encounter is always challenging for the people involved as many different thoughts and feelings pass through the intellect, such as: trust/distrust, suspicion/curiosity, pleasure/disgrace, feelings of superiority or inferiority, and so forth.

No matter language, ethnic group or geographical location, the challenges for the people involved in an encounter with “the other” is felt and experienced inside. However, the outside reaction to the encounter varies from people to people, from culture to culture. In world history we have seen many different responses how to deal with “the other”: building walls, through diplomacy, starting wars, trade relations, colonisation, exploitation, surveillance systems, alliances, altruism, etcetera. Also systematic suppression though a social and religious system, like the caste systems in India and Nepal, is one example of a system made to classify “the other”.

As the world increasingly is becoming globalized, so is the understanding and recognition increasingly that higher walls, strict surveillance, suppression, or killings of “the other” is not a lasting solution and an appropriate recipe. Quite the opposite – and increasingly important is the need to understand “the other” through compassion and empathy. Information and sharing of different values, ideas and dreams are all important ingredients and needed for the creation of a common platform where all can meet no matter social, cultural, ethnic or religious background.

As elsewhere in Nepal, many of the so called lower caste people, the Dalits for example, are suppressed by so called higher caste people in the coverage area of Radio Lumbini. To mitigate the negative outcomes such suppression might generate in a society, Radio Lumbini in January hosted a conference on “Dalits representation in the media”, and invited two Dalit intellectuals to present a paper on the issue. Community reporters and listener club representatives were also invited for the seminar.

It was a very inspirering but also emotional seminar and the waves were sometimes very high. After a stimulating introduction to the subject by the two intellectuals on how they perceive Dalits representation in the media, the seminar opened space for a discussion between the panel and the participants. One of the Dalit presenters expressed his opinion: “why do [so called, red.] high caste people treat foreigners more human than the Dalits?” The response from one of the participants was that the Dalits should not claim anyone as racists as they themselves also have discriminatory practices.

Discussions like this moved back and forth between the panel and the participants, and I sometimes had the feeling we were at the limits of what we could manage and opening a Pandora box we not easily could close again; there are no easy and single answers to these very difficult issues. During the debate I constantly had a stressed feeling in my solar plexus, which also underlines the very emotional nature of the debate. My colleagues, fortunately, successfully managed to safely land the discussions again, and we all left the seminar as friends.

Without any doubts, seminars of this nature help people to broaden their horizon and assist in developing empathy and compassion for “the other”. No arms can deal with these very subtle issues, nor can they address the root causes of any conflict. These can only be dealt with though accuracy, empathy and compassion. Besides the issue of discrimination of so called low caste people, Nepal has many other pending issues which can be dealt with in a modality similar to the described. The participation in the seminar showed great eagerness to peacefully and through dialogue searching for answers to some of the many sensitive issues waiting to be resolved, to again making Nepal a peaceful and prosperous country.

In an increasingly polarised conflict, automatically a middle path is created in which moderate, democratic and peaceful interests can meet. Radio Lumbini showed with the seminar such a path to walk.

The article is written for Radio Lumbini's Annual Assembly Magazine.

Just outside my office, in the small village Manigram on the highway between Bhairahawa and Butwal, this Maoist banner has been for quite some days.

"On the auspicious occasion of our great people's war, completing 10 years and entering the 11th year, we welcome and salute all our national patriots and well wishers." Nepal Communist Party, Maoists

Confusion, fear, distrust, anger, hopelessness were feelings that went through the veins of many people in the days after the violent incidents in Kapilbastu mid February. What happened to the lives of the tens of thousands of villagers who were displaced from their homes, the people from the hundreds of houses which were burnt down, and the remaining family members of the forty-six people who got killed? Many did probably also ask themselves whether these incidents would set new standards for an already violent and escalating conflict, or if it was a one-time incident.

At Radio Lumbini we were also shocked and concerned by the incidents at our neighbours and conversations with members from our listeners clubs showed they also were anxious. We experienced, though, it was difficult to express the reactions to the incidents and many were left with a “ke garne?” to the very uncertain situation. The overall reaction, however, was that we could not continue as if nothing had happened. We had to do something.

To make a coordinated and joint effort in support and solidarity with our neighbours in Kapilbastu, Radio Lumbini decided to invite their listeners clubs to a seminar to discuss how to express and show solidarity with the people of Kapilbastu. At the meeting we decided to organise a solidarity musical open air concert on June 4th where a variety of local and national known musicians would perform and express their solidarity. Music and art is sometimes useful when words alone become meaningless or difficult to express.

The concert had two main objectives; to promote the notion of solidarity, and to raise funds for the affected people of the violent incidents in Kapilbastu.

Through contacts in Kathmandu we got in touch with well-known bands and singers. Most expressed a positive attitude and support for the idea and so did local musicians. The encounters with the artists were very encouraging and helped us to believe our idea was possible to materialise.

In Butwal and Bhairahawa we started to look for sponsorships to cover our investments for the concert – not an easy task in times where many businesses strive to make their own survival. MS made a generous contribution and a local offset company kindly printed 3,000 tickets, charging only the cost of the paper. The sale of tickets turned out to be very challenging, but applying different strategies such as “push sell” and support from the police in selling our tickets, we managed to sell 1,127 tickets. June 4th was slowly but surely approaching and we became increasingly ready to receive our five star-singers from Kathmandu and the audience.

On the day of the concert tension was high. In the short history of Radio Lumbini this surely was the first time we had organised such big an event. Were we able to manage?

In the morning our guest stars from Kathmandu went live in the radio, allowing fans and listeners to call in and ask questions. They seemed to enjoy attending their local fans, happily answering all kinds of questions and explaining their reason for their visit.

Later at 3:30 PM the concert was due to start and with some delay the first artist was ready to go on stage. A light blue and white striped tent was placed on stage as protection for sun and rain and our banner “Solidarity Musical Programme” turned the stage into a beautiful scene. However, as strong winds started to set in we had to remove the tent again – it became a truly open air concert. Eleven bands and singers performed everything from folk music to heavy metal, and the audience looked like they were enjoying it; allowing themselves to flow with the music.

Radio Lumbini seemed to successfully have created a room for solidarity and joy where people willingly entered – a room outside space and time where new inspiration and ideas could enter without censorship, concern or restrictions.