Day 24 - Damak -> Biratnagar

I got up early and went back to Beldangi for the morning. I focused on photographing people in their homes. I had the usual mob of 30 people following me and a couple people to keep them back. I said my goodbyes and checked out of my hotel -- bought a ticket to Biratnagar (35 Rp) and went back to my old hotel, Hotel Barjeko.

Tonight was one of the main nights of Tihar which lasts 5 days. I barely recognized Biratnagar as everything was decorated, the sidewalks had designs, banana tree branches adorned the front of businesses and christmas lights. I said hello to my friends Davendra and Bikash who acts as my translator. After walking around with Bikash I went downtown and enjoyed the festival -- people dancing, loud music, fireworks everywhere (it was like a warzone) and drunk people.

Day 23 - Beldangi

Day 2 of the camps I left around 6:00am to get the best light and got on top of a bus that goes out there. I photographed the outside of the camp and some of the people in it for the morning. Then at around 12:00pm a UN vehicle came and took me to the other camp so I could photograph them, the vehicle, and inside the vehicle. I stayed at the other camp (Beldangi 1) for the rest of the day until night.

Day 22 - Bhutanese Refugee Camps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees

Basically Nepalese were encouraged to come to Bhutan in the 1930s to collect tax. They never fully integrated; never learned local languages nor had any positions in the government and were indistinguishable from the Nepalese people in Nepal. then in 1980 the government decided to kick them out and Nepal didn't want them either.

Now the UN set up camps for these citizenless people in Eastern Nepal. I had a chance to visit 3 of the camps near Damak, Nepal called Beldangi 1, 2, and 2 extended. The main purpose for my visit was to photograph the food distribution by the UN which is hampared during strikes.

After I talked to Eva _____ at the office in Damak she agreed to let me go to Beldangi but not the other ones... the day I arrived was the first day they were starting 1/2 rations because of the low funding received this year: this is mainly because the camp is becoming smaller and smaller; Bhutanese are choosing to go into Nepal illegally and work, go to western countries (organized by I.O.M), and possibly return back to Bhutan.

The camps have been around for quite some time (around 20 years?). A lot of the people have spent their entire lives in

the camp. Because the number of people at the camp are dwindling and the economic crisis, the donors are giving less and less.

For this reason I went to the camps by bicycle and not in a UN vehicle. Almost immediately I had a huge mob of people following me, curious about what I was doing. I had to keep a few people with me who spoke english well enough so that I could communicate and keep them back when I wanted to take a photo. It was an interesting process. Day 1 I got the distribution and basically just walked around the camps. I made it back by nightfall around 7:00pm.

Day 21 - Damak

So I get a call at 12:00pm from Seetashma at the UN saying that they got my papers all worked out but they're only good until the 17th. The papers allowed me to enter the Bhutanese Refugee camps as long as the director down in Damak saw no problem with it. As soon as I got the call I started packing my bags and checked out of my hotel and went to Patan (where the UN office is located) and waited for further instructions from then.

I got the call at around 3:00pm, went in, grabbed my papers, and took a taxi directly to the bus station. Luckily, there was still a bus to Itahari which is just 15 km away. Bought the ticket for around 700 RP (ripoff!...10USD) and took the 18 hour bus ride there. The bus ride was hell, as usual... my legs didn't fit in the seats and the entire bus was packed, people sleeping the aisles and everything. I made it though. Then transfered buses (bus driver helped me do this and I didn't have to pay) to Damak. I was pretty much dead tired so I settled in the first place I saw, the Damak Hotel View Restaurant and Bar. The price was 1000 RP which is ridiculous but I was only staying for 3 nights and by that time didn't really care.

The room was pretty awesome though, huge room with a king sized bed! They even had a generator for when the power goes out (I guess you really do get what you pay for). Contacted Eva who is the director down there and was told to meet her at 7:30am the next morning.

Day 20 - Interview - Buddha Muktan (sp?)

Spokesperson for the Federal Democratic National Forum - Political Party trying to gain rights and seats in the parliament. They are still not in power and their numbers aren't large but they're constantly striking to let their voice be heard. Although the organization isn't huge, the people they represent are big in numbers; that being the indigenous people of Nepal.

So far everyone in power are of higher castes (brahmans) and a lot of these groups (such as the Tamang ((see above))) that live off of the land are being harmed by newly implemented laws and regulations. They also raise issues of gender inequality.

Basically native ethnicities and minorities (christians, muslims) in Nepal are represented by this organization. For example, in the past the Madheshi people (who are also Native Nepalese but said to be ethnic Indians) had a voice in the government and gave them benefits

They don't just strike right away: first they go through the government -- right a memorandom with demands... if their demands are not met then so and so will happen such as disobedience. Then they organize a torch rally... and finally a general strike: schools, roads, factories... everything except emergency services.

-- After the interview I went to the local hospital to photograph... even the doctors at the hospitals strike leaving no one to care for the sick and injured (again not pointing the finger at the doctors or hospital workers

Day 19 - Ramechhap - returning to Kathmandu

Continuing our journey through the Tamang territory, we stopped at every house who's owners are all relatives of Nabraj. Nepalese culture means that we also had to eat a meal at every single house so we ate, and ate, and ate. I was pretty sure my stomach was going to explode by the 4th house. We kept going around the mountain and finally started making our way down into the canyon and back to the river where we had to cross again. The Tamang people grow all of their basic necessities on the steep cliffs: guava, custard apple, chili, vegetables, goats, chickens, buffalo... and once a month they make the journey down to where we left our motorcycle for things like clothes and salt. Another thing that I had a lot of was their home-made wine. They each have their own house wine and a second morning brew (different in consistency). I was a bit tipsy and it wasn't even 10:00am yet. The "morning wine" was kind of like oatmeal but watery and tasted like alcohol.

When we finally made it to the bike it was about 4:00pm and we took off for Kathmandu. By the time we got there it was dark and traffic was unbelievable. Nabraj drove like a maniac through traffic, even driving on the side of the road. I told him that I would never ride on the back of his motorcycle again.

Day 18 - Ramechap

I've been wanting to get into the mountainous areas of Nepal to document the "janjatees" or mountain people. People have lived there for hundreds of years but for whatever reason (climate change possibly) they're becoming more and more prone to drought. The UN then helps some of these unreachable places get water or distributes food. My friend Nabraj was actually born in these mountains as his family is Tamang - a caste and ethnicity that's lived in the steep slopes for centuries.

At around 10:00am we started our motorcycle journey to the river where we left our bike (this was only the beginning). After getting to the river we have to hike. We met up with some tamang relatives of Nabraj and started our journey. The women we were with make this journey about once a month to get clothes and various other items that they can't produce themselves such as salt. After crossing the river by wading through it.

It was about a 4 or 5 hour hike to the house in which we were staying: up rocky paths, winding across the slopes, over ridges... it was pretty insane. I didn't know that we would be embarking on such a hike so of course I had a bunch of useless crap: my laptop, all my camera equipment, toiletries, etc...

It was pitch dark by the time we got there and shortly after we ate a meal and went to sleep. The next day we visited everybody else. Nabraj's family seems to own the entire two faces of a mountain... and we walked ALL of it. I'll post more about the trip tommorrow.

Day 17 - Maoist Headquarters

The maoist headquarters was a long drive - traffic was ridiculous. I did get to snap a few photos of police talking to a group of people and taking someone away (from my taxi). We got to the CPN Maoist headquarters and were told to come back tomorrow. Earlier I walked to "Star Hill" which was amazing... just a 20 minute walk from almost anywhere in Kathmandu will get you to the mountains.

A few phone calls went back and forth between the UN and I and they're still going to try and work on getting the paper work filled out for me to enter the Bhutanese Refugee camps. It could take a week. I don't have a lot of time but said that's ok, if I can I can, if I can't I can't. If I can't the photos taken from previous UN trips would be made available to me.

I'm going to try to get out of Kathmandu to keep shooting my project as soon as possible -- either tomorrow or the next day. Most people I talk to tell me to come back tomorrow and nothing is getting accomplished.

Day 16 - Poems and driving around

Today I was looking for a fight.... but not me fighting... and not really a fight, a strike. Basically this is what happened: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=25676

Tibetan protesters were pre-emptively arrested before the anniversary. I figured there would be some kind of demonstration so I went to the CDO office, police headquarters, and the main prison where the Tibetans are being held. No strikes today, but I told a few more people to look out for me and gave them my number (in those areas).

I went to a poem reading, organized by Seetashma's (from the UN) mother which was actually quite interesting. We went in there and it was really dark with just a few candles lit and a group of people gathered around listening.

That's pretty much it for today... it dawned on me today after listening to my interviews a few times that I need to get out of Kathmandu to get my shots. I need to get photos of certain ethnicities and the difficult terrain of Nepal which I'm quite happy to photograph. Oh god no, not natural landscapes!

Here's some things that Richard Regan mentioned that I'd like to try and illustrate:

*people living in the hill areas

*terai - the agricultural breadbasket

*difficult terrain

*malnutrition

*high mountains

*moving food by any means possible (aircraft, helicopter, yak, etc...)

*no compensation or to hold people accountable for their crimes

*poor nepali people

*laborer

*the country evolves (maybe stores selling the latest in technology)

*politically protest through other means

*the mid and far west

*men working day labor

*women managing the household, agriculture, fetching water

*drought

*as many pictures of the UN doing stuff

*secluded groups

*political parties

*madheshis

*ethnic groups

*tarhu, limbuans, janjatees (check spelling)

*individuals who live by a roadside

*student union

*mahendra hwy

*un negotiating... or people negotiating on the road

*nepalese are kind to foreigners

*unemployed youths

*7 plagues - weather, conflict, difficult terrain, political disturbances, global economic recession, load shedding, dependence on imports,

Day 15 - Chinese 60th Anniversary

For the Chinese 60th Anniversary of Communism the Tibetans protested in Boudhanath Stupa. I got there while they were singing a song and lighting candles.

Earlier in the day I went to the police office and tried to get an interview regarding their side of strikes. Each policeman I talked to said they didn't have the proper authority and would send me to another one. Finally I got the number to the "spokesperson" and gave him a call. He said in order to give an official interview I would have to go (somewhere) and get permission. This bureaucratic nonsense is a perfect example of the political system in Nepal that keeps you going in circles if you want to get something accomplished. My friend Nabraj had similar troubles when writing his thesis on Nepal/India water relations. Just to talk to someone about the current treaties he would go from one person only to be sent to the next. Strikes in Nepal occur so often because people know they won't be able to get compensation or their voice heard by going in through the Nepalese Bureaucracy -- it simply doesn't function correctly. I ended up not getting an interview and wasted the whole day.

As Richard Regan of the UN said, "if there was another means to voice their opinions, strikes would be reduced immensely..." (this is off the top of my head, not a direct quote).

Day 14 - Interview with Richard Ragan

Richard Ragan - UN World Food Program Director and Representative. From Mississippi, USA... he was also the first American Family allowed to live in North Korea. Lived in Beijing for a while to (both times working with the UN). The interview went great...I'm 99.9% sure that I'll use what he said to narrate part of my story. Not only did I ask him about the UN Food Program and what they do, but I asked him to give a little bit about strikes in general to use with the multimedia.

Also he's interested in my book, would like to publish it with the WFP logo in the back to show Bandhs affect. After which we would have an exhibition. I told him that I can return mid-december to work on this.

I'm also trying to get to one of the camps to which they deliver food. The only one that I would be able to get credentials would be for the Bhutanese Refugee camps near Biratnagar. I told them that I need to leave as soon as possible (leaving Nepal October 22nd). A 3 day trip in Nepal can easily turn into a 3 week trip.

Day 13 - computer day

Today I woke up early and worked on my computer... editing and sending e-mails and whatnot. I also need to prepare for the UN interview tomorrow. Nabraj and Goutom came over and I also worked on a T-shirt design for their better world nepal t-shirts. I thought it was cool but apparently gender is a touchy subject in Nepal: both of them asked, "Why isn't it a girl?" To which I replied, "I didn't have a photo of a girl that would make a good design." I like the stamp effect using from my photo... I'll probably end up using this in some way or another anyway.

At around 5:00pm I went to the hospital near my guesthouse to take some photos for the multimedia. There have also been hospital strikes in which they just close the doors to the hospital! I took a few photos but nothing too great, will go to a larger one in a couple days.

Day 12 - Boudha Plastic Homes

I skipped a day:

This day happened prior to the meeting. The day we arranged for the meeting I visited Rajeep in the "plastic homes" which are made out of wood. They call them the plastic homes because the people who live there collect plastic. Being my second, visit I was welcomed with luring gestures to bring them rice...

I ate some breakfast that Rajeep's wife made me, even though they were on the brink of starvation --> not by choice, they wouldn't let me leave until I ate and was cooked just for my arrival.

Rajeep is from India; a migrant worker and he's trying to come up with enough money to start a shoe shining/fixing business. This requires a box with all of the necessary tools. He asked if I could help him aquire a box... I said no. The linkage to my story is that during a strike, the poor are hit the hardest as they live day by day, leaving them to skip meals because of not being able to purchase their daily bread. It's a little far fetched and I felt uncomfortable that they wanted me to help them start a shoe shining business. I left as quickly as possible but after being convinced by someone outside Rajeep's home, I took a walk around the homes, here are my photos:

Day 11 - Meeting

I met an economist, Resham Thapa out in Kirtirpur. The area was amazing, super thin, super high buildings built into the side of a mountain. It was like a dream city --> insert picture here later (bad light). He agreed to meet me the next morning for an interview near Boudha where I'm staying. Fascinating guy, he's currently applying to get his PHD and has been working in the field for some time. He was previously a professor at National College - Center for Development Studies but is affiliated with Tribhuvan University (oldest University in Nepal) now.

Summary of the 1.5 hour Interview (parts that apply to me):

Thapa - Basically Nepalese economy is divided into two parts: one is a kind of round type of economy. Almost everything is done by producers and consumers... and the other is agriculture and non-monetized economy where almost nothing is recorded for the producers and consumers.

[2:54]

...the immediate effects of strikes economically are... what happens is at first, uncertainty appears in the economy... an economy is basically in two parts... one person can be a consumer or producer... if both activities are in good equilibrium condition

[4:47]

...almost all strikes are uncertain. Almost all strikes distort information and essumptions of equilibrium individually, socially and by a government level so strikes create uncertainty of my consumption or my production...or both. Consumption of the society and production of the society or both. Consumption of the nation and production of the nation or both... uncertainty starts theoretically.

[5:40]

...one specific example --> you can think about a local tea shop. That local tea shop owner is never well informed about a strike... and for how long... what is the degree and intensity of the strike?... is it going to last for one hour, two hours, three days, four days... it is most uncertain... Because of that, one tea shop owner, couldn't predict how much milk to collect... whether to call that helper or not... how much tea he can sell... it causes much uncertainty and this milk owner, milk seller's economy becomes damaged and due to that what happens... a kind of circle in the very short run.

[6:50]

this is applicable in developed nations and underdeveloped nations... but what happens in underdeveloped nations like nepal...[goes into some examples]... you can look at the same thing with the Biratnagar Jute Mills like what happened with Mr. Thapa (rickshaw driver in my multimdia)

[8:35]

he didn't know what happened about the factory therefore he went searching for the rickshaw and he claimed himself that it's not that comfortable like the Jute Mill... the Jute Mill was always comfortable like it was certain... he could allocate certain money for education, certain money for his health... almost his whole family economy was settled. But now, though he is working, though he is earning money, his activities and his consumption activities are almost uncertain so he is unhappy... that is the fatal thing in the Nepalese case.

[10:04]

...let's assume that the Jute Mills closed for uncertainties (never mind why)... it's an industry, it's not an individual's decision, it can consume whatever we consume, I consume land, labour, capitalization individually. If I consume bread, land is embodied there, labor is embodied there, organization and capital is embodied there... it consumes the basic needs of an economy... it has a positive impact on the boarding school near by, positive impact on the local tea shop, local vegetable market...

[11:30]

it has linkages with farmers who produce raw materials...etc... at first glance the bear I can see is people will be losing jobs. Not only that, it has multiple time effects.. due to Biratnagar Jute Mills only, not just a few thousand people lose their job.. due to that a few thousand times one bigger number people will be losing their jobs

[12:30]

it means there are less taxes there... it means the government performs less services and it means the government becomes weaker and weaker. In this way it means one Biratnagar Jute Mills' bandhs, closed, strike, doesn't mean only a few thousand people would be losing jobs... long term society becomes weaker, the biratnagar area will become weaker,

Day 10 - San Tol Bajar (San Tol Market)

Based on day 9 information -> About 1 quarter of Nepal's population spends more than 75% of their income on food... when Nepalese are prevented from earning a day's wage -- due to business closure, inhability to travel to work or inability to access arkets - this most often means missing a day's meal....

Today I explored the types of businesses in which Nepalese like to visit and show their buying habits... this is to show how much business is lost when a strike occurs and helps you imagine how much money is lost by weeklong or even monthlong strikes:

14 percent of traders in the Terai had to close their business because of bandhs. A day's bandh is estimated to cost the economy around NPR 630 million (which represents close to one day's GDP) in indirect loss alone.

In 2007 the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries estimated a 20 day long Terai bandh in 2007 to have caused economic losses of around NPR 28.74 billion.

Day 9 - UN World Food Program

Today I went to the World Food Program office in Patan (where I also gave out my phone number to people on the streets). I spoke with Seetashma Thapa about getting someone who works there a formal interview (recording sound). She's going to try and help me out and asked if I had any photos on the role of Women in Nepal -- someone she knows is putting together a gallery: I gave her my website to look at what I have.

Seetashma was super helpful and printed out a bunch of information on how bandhs affect their program. It seems as though I hit the jackpot to the link between strikes and their effects on the economy.

A summarization of the information:

...in addition to political parties and thier affiliates, in the past year local councils, ethnic groups, students, journalists, and even teachers have all organized bandhs, often bringing specific regions or sectors of the economy to complete stand still.... this is reeking havoc on business.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nepal recorded 755 major events in 2008 alone. In addition to these major bandhs there are also hundreds of thousands of smaller scale bandhs.

The impact caused by bandhs on daily livelihoods and food security is immediate, and it is often the poorest populations who are worst hit. About a quarter of Nepal's population spends more than 75 percent of their income on food. When this population is prevented from earning a day's wage - due to business closure, inability to travel to work or inability to access markets - this most often means missing a day's meal. When bandhs extend for several months, the situation for the poor becomes critical.

Broader Economic Impact: Nepal is ranked as the poorest country in South Asia, and ten years of civil conflict has resulted in GDP growth falling from over 6 percent in 2000 to 2.3 percent in 2007. A day's bandh has commonly been estimated to cost the economy around NPR630 million (which represents close to one day's GDP) in direct industrial loss alone.

The Indirect costs to the economy of continued social unrest are arguably even more serious. There is strong indication that the recent period of peace has been amongst the most demoralizing for business.

--Businesses perceived strike action and ongoing political instability as the two major constraints to economic growth during 2008 (above power outages and labour law). As the financial markets around the world tighten due to the global financial crisis, Nepal faces a serious challenge in maintaining, let alone increasing, investment.

The social factors which give rise to increased social instability such as poverty, food insecurity and social exlusion need to be carefully monitored and continually reduced. Justification for serious action to immediately reduce bandhs and labour strikes lies in the immense economic costs, and the livelihood impacts caused by Nepal's increasing bandh culture.

------------------------

My idea now is to get an interview from the organization as well as document them giving food to an area in need (the orange represents areas they deliver food to):

Other things to photograph->

Businesses (open and closed)

Poverty

Trucks on a busy road

Markets (open and closed)

Hospitals

Still need to get an Economist and Students [these are still the two main objectives of the trip]

Day 8 - Thapathali Slum

Day 8 -- have finally started shooting something related to my project. I'm trying to discover a link between the economy and strikes --> Photographically it's not so easy to show struggling or food shortages other than going to poorer areas. I found it interesting that (article in Day 7) there are 20,000 people in Kathmandu living in slums and there have been about 800 new squatter families within the past 2 years. I talked to one woman who blamed the sole reason for moving into a slum was because of the constant strikes -- one 16 day one in Kathmandu resulted in the closing of her shop near Bhoudha.

Not to pin point poverty with strikes... it is however indirectly related by hurting more and more businesses thus hurting the economy. There are ways in the west however that are directly related such as the UN trying to transport food to the starving and not being able to. This will be discussed in more detail after my trip to the UN office.

Today it is raining but I have a better understanding on what i'm looking for as far as shooting poverty to tell my story --> I need a sure way, independent of audio or text that will show the suffering of Nepal as a result of strikes.

Day 7

The strikes in Nepal often happen in the Southern Terai region cutting food supplies and fuel to the nation's capital. Also food from the UN that's going to the poorer western region cannot make it in time during a strike. As the strikes occur, the poor people of Nepal are paying with their hunger.

Kathmandu slum area on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cactus23/sets/72157604452702282/

Slum areas: slum areas like Lonhla, Imukhel, Khapinchen and Chyasal....

http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2003/09/05/Nation/3990

Another photo of the slum area in Kathmandu along the bagmati

http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/kathmandu-slum-and-polluted-river-bagmati

How strikes in the south cut fuel to the North:

http://newshopper.sulekha.com/news/strike-cuts-off-fuel-supply-to-nepalese-capital.htm

Goat shortage during dashain:

http://beacononline.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/nepal-nepals-capital-suffers-festival-goat-shortage/

Strikes effecting the economy, especially in the west:

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=79709

Strikes and load shedding link:

http://www.livemint.com/2009/05/07214700/Crisis-in-Nepal-may-affect-pla.html

Everything is linked:

http://www.phillyimc.org/en/maoist-leadership-nepal-bans-strikes

Birgunj is effected by strikes (business capital) during Dashain:

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/dashain/index.php?story=115

Day 6 - Economist and Student Questions

For the economist (off the top of my head...will add as I go):

1. How do strikes effect the economy in Nepal (in general)?

2. How is the eminent food shortage linked to strikes?

3. Who strikes?

3a. Why?

4. Are strikes a part of Nepalese Culture?

5. What are the main reasons why strikes occur so frequently?

6. Have you ever participated in a strike?

7. What needs to occur in order for this issue to be solved?

8. Could you talk about how strikes played a key factor in the closing of the Biratnagar Jute Mills

Student Questions (for a student who participated or organized a strike):

1. When did you strike?

2. Why?

3. Why is it usually students who strike?

4. How do you strike [what is the process from beginning to end]?

5. Did you achieve your goals?

6. Are you planning to throw a strike in the future?

7. What could be a reason to strike in the future?

8. Do you think this hurts the economy?

9. Are strikes the only way to voice your opinion to the government?

Day 5 - Walk

Last main day of Dashain. Walked southern (not including Patna) Kathmandu, through the center and up to Swyambunath (monkey temple). Going to try to start shooting tomorrow.

I'm going to plan for the worst and hope for the best with this project... it's possible that there won't even be a strike but there are a number of issues linked with the strikes:

1. Food Shortage in the Terai region and western regions

2. The shutting down of businesses and factories

I also still need to get an economist expert which is being worked out (they're still busy from the festival). And I need to get students at the colleges since they're the ones that organize the strikes (they go back to school on Sunday).

Tomorrow I may attempt to go into one of the slums but will need to work out a translator to come with me.