Hello, World. Nepal is closed today!

December 6, 2009
Hello World. Nepal is closed today. And we might be tomorrow too. But leave a message after the beep, and we’ll get back to you as soon as the Maoists get out of the roads. So, this was my initial reaction to seeing the strike today. Growing up in the US, I knew about labor unions and had heard of strikes, but only from afar, and the US has never seen a strike like this. When the Maoists say “Tomorrow there will be a strike for all of Nepal,” they literally mean, tomorrow the entire country will shut down. Not one or two industries or even businesses, but the whole country comes to a standstill.

Let me give you some background. I honestly don’t fully understand the situation, even after trying to read 3 months worth of local newspapers about everything going on here. But, here’s my best shot. Nepal went through a civil war here from 1995-2006. The Maoists (also known as the Communists, literally) fought against the government for those years, in an incredibly bloody revolution. I’ve looked through books of pictures from those years, and they make me sick, with all the bloodshed and bodies strewn about with what seems like no concern for life.

But, in 2006, they formed a new government and began to rebuild the torn nation. Their initial attempt included mixing all the political parties here (including the Maoists) into the government and trying to work together that way. Nice in theory, a disaster in real life. Back in May, the Maoists pulled out of the government after the rest of the government refused to let former Maoist soldiers be integrated into the Nepali army, and instead insisted that they be kept in camps on their own. Meaning, you basically are back to two entities vying for the power here, and there’s not a lot to keep them in check.

Now, there’s a lot of Indian refugees here (I guess India’s problems are a lot worse than Nepal’s at this point) who are living in the forests/jungles without homes or land or anything. Well, in an attempt to strengthen their party, the Maoists promised these people along with the poorest Nepali’s that they would receive land if they stayed in this forest. So, imagine the strangest village made of makeshift lean-tos and tents sporadically stretched between trees and people milling about everywhere. Well, the government got mad and wanted their jungle land back, so they decided to take action.

Naturally, the people there wanted to fight for the land, which they believe they are entitled to, so they refused to leave when the government commanded them to. So, now you’ve got a whole entire pool of squatters who are refusing to move while the government sent out another army of people to move the squatters out. Well, the conflict turned deadly on Friday, with the government using force to move the squatters, and 3 people ended up dying in the conflict. This has added further fuel to the fire of anger that the Maoists have against the government, leading to where we are today.

The Maoists called a nationwide strike today in order to protest the 3 deaths at the “hands of the government.” So, everything shut down. Maoists can instill a lot of fear here, and 17 vehicles were destroyed and set on fire in the roads here. The streets were vacant of vehicles yet full of people, looking around aimlessly as if not sure where to go or what to do in this time of confusion and silence. Here and there a street shop was open, but the majority were closed, locked tight as if trying to keep out the very air itself. There were fist battles between the police and Maoists, and there’s concern that this will just continue to escalate, especially with the Maoist pulling out of the government all together. The Maoists have declared that they’ll continue to fight as long as the government denies “justice” (whatever that means here!) and the government has stated that they’ll continue to thwart the actions of the Maoists as long as they continue to stir up riots.

Watching the news last night and seeing the flames flowing from destroyed cars, watching battles between the police and the Maoist and hearing the tales of the violence escalating left me thinking we just need to have a huge revival here. I mean, they all need some Jesus in their lives. I can’t play sides, because I really don’t understand the Maoist’s anger or the government’s actions, but from the sidelines, I can see so much hatred and anger here, and I just want to go out and gather everyone together and say, “Here. You need some Jesus. Really. Everything will be better with a little love in your life!” Who knows... maybe one of these kids will do that one day!