| the real ashu |
Posted
on 17-Jul-01 11:30 PM
July 16, 2001
The Honorable Girija Prasad Koirala
Prime Minister
Government of Nepal
Via Fax: 977 416 016
(Note: this above number is here so that GBNC friends
could also urge the Koirala government to properly
rehabilitate ex-Kamaiyas)
Dear Prime Minister Koirala,
We applaud the government's decision to free the Kamaiyas and promise to provide land and rehabilitation to these former slaves exactly one year ago.
We are writing today to follow up on our delegation to Nepal in February, when we toured the camps of displaced former bonded laborers, met with local and national government officials and held a press conference. At that time we expressed serious concern about the need for rapid movement to resettle
former Kamaiyas and provide humanitarian relief to those living in dire conditions in camps in the districts of Bardiya, Kanchanpur and Kailali.
During the trip, we also delivered letters to you and His Majesty from former President Jimmy Carter, who has taken great personal interest in the situation of the former Kamaiyas. We were assured by your representatives that quick action would be taken and encouraged us to write to find out what steps the government had taken, after informing us that five central government officials had been appointed to travel immediately to the
districts where former Kamaiyas were living in camps to begin resettlement and rehabilitation.
Today, one year after the historic decree ending bonded labor, we received a report from a local organization providing humanitarian relief to the former Kamaiyas in the camps. We are alarmed about the deteriorating conditions in the camps, with reports of Japanese encephalitis, malaria and other diseases
related to lack of access to clean drinking water, and the deaths of several children. The report also notes that children in the camps still are denied access to education.
As the monsoon season is under way, we are gravely concerned that the government did not meet its new deadline of resettlement in June, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis that already exists.
We are also troubled that the small amount of land that has been given to a limited number of former Kamaiyas will not be sufficient for subsistence farming and will perpetuate the dire living conditions of this vulnerable group, and
former slaves will be forced to return to their landlords.
We are writing to learn what concrete steps have been taken, how many ex-Kamaiyas have been resettled, when the final resettlement will be completed, and what effort has been made by the government to provide food, shelter, and medical needs to the thousands of families living in the camps
in these districts.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Ashley Barr
The Carter Center
Atlanta, GA USA
Lesley Carson
Forefront Leaders
New York, USA
Abubacar Sultan
Wona Sanana and Forefront
Maputo, Mozambique, Africa
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