| Biswo |
Posted
on 22-Feb-01 12:26 AM
Though ongoing discussion about 'writing style' is still in force,
I want a few of our friends, including those who think themselves
to be elite and those who think others are suffering from so
called inferiority complex, to focus on this current news.This
is from nepalews.com:(see the news below). It is about the
death of 400 Nepalese workers in gulf countries in the past
three years.
Isn't it shameful that 400 people from our country died in
gulf countries working in harsh condition in three years? This is
a third of the whole number of casualties in Maoists' "People's
war" of six years.
Unemployed youth in Nepal have two main options these days: one
to go abroad, another to join Maoist army.Both employers pay
salary, but both options are so horrendous !!
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In KTM and abroad, Nepali elitism has one common characteristics:
to blame every thing to others. To repeat that national leadership
is in bad shape and other obvious bla blas. The elitism
generally leads some NGO, and attends several seminars with other
elitists.The elitism doesn't create wealth, doesn't provide
employement for educated youth, doesn't go for engineering new
mechanisms. The elitism berates other until it is satisfied that
by berating others, it has consecrated itself.
The elitism never participates in election, because it never
went deeper into mass. It never understood the spirit of hoi
polloi. Its understanding of mass limits to its perfunctory
peek at 'Junkiriko Sangeet' of Khagendra Shangraula. It talks
about obvious topics only that its donors are interested at.
Such elitism never goes against the mantras that western monetary
institutions or other donors chant tiresomely.The elitism thinks
impecunious Nepalese villagers are masses for conducting
experiments for their masters.
The elitism preaches, but doesn't work. The elitism relays, but
doesn't creates.The elitism shows itself to be proactive in nation by following other gurus of foreign countries.It berates
its compatriots for not understanding it properly. The elitism
tries to settle itself in foreign countries if possible. The
elitism sends its kids to the best private schools in nations.
Lately, elitism of Kathmandu, which lacks any systematic study
of any subject but is imbued with hubris and dogma, has gained a
voice in government. Elitism cloaks itself in 'think tank' type
organization to model for some commodity, elitism enters into
political arena as advisers of politicians, elitism enters into
print media and starts eviscerating all thing that is
establishment, sadly not because it is different from the
establishment, but because it wants the continuity
of such tradition by settling itself at protagonist's position.
Elitism has been impatient and bigoted.It professes liberalism,
but has no position for conflicting views. It needs a cleared
arena to stage its fights.
Given unrestrained access to everything it desires, elitism will
indubitably create a hodgepodge of aristocracy (of eighteenth
century France) and cronyism (of twentyfirst century Indonesia)
in KTM.
**************************************************************
400 Nepalis died in Gulf countries in three years
Kathmandu, 21 February: A report prepared and published by the Labour Department Wednesday has said at least 400 Nepalis working in harsh conditions in three countries in the middle east have died in the last three years. The daily newspaper Naya Sadak was quoted as saying that the report prepared by two senior government officials from the Labour Department said 14 labourers died in United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in January alone.
Labour Secretary DB Bhattarai and under-secretary Deb Ratna Tamrakar in the same ministry prepared the report after visiting the three countries. The news also says that Nepalis work in the unorganised sector and do not come under the purview of labour laws and that those working as domestic helps, drivers, herders and agricultural workers are often not paid for months. The officials recently visited West Asia to study the opportunities and work condition of Nepalis. Nepal for the first time opened a residential embassy in Qatar last year
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 22-Feb-01 12:30 PM
Nobodyji:
Viable solution to such a vexed and immemorial(we know it has
been very long since Nepalese started going abroad to serve
others)problem can't be uniquely identified overnight. However,
my suggestions are as follows:
1. In the glittering world of hydroprojects, our politicians and
elites talk of, quarrel about , big hydroprojects/small
hydroprojects. Looks fine. Media project light on such issues.
Such hullaballoo can be justified in terms of multimillion dollars
that would be invested there.
But do you know, in the mostly agrarian society of Nepal, how
many people talk of new irrigation projects? New canals,new
channels, nahar, kulo, ghol?rarely do any.Govt used to work
on such projects. A project in Chitwan,Narayani Sichain, absorbed
more than a billion rupees and became defunct within a few years.
If priority is set by elites of KTM, it is bound to happen that
way, because how many people in KTM have worked in farm? No wonder
people talk of human right more, hydroproject more, child labor
more, but not the peasant right, the status of peasant, the steep
increase of Uria and other ferlizers.The situation is such that
a lot of intelligent people also regard peasant leaders as idiots.
Their problems are never heard of. Govt has no hesitation in
raising prices of electricity and fertilizers. Govt has no problem
in classifying 'tractor' as 'bilaashita ko samagri'(luxury
product) and impose heavy duty on that.
The majority of people who go to Arab to work in harsh condition
are from rural peasant household. They do that out of desparation.
We can't stop them from going to Arab by making such flux illegal.
In sanskrit there is a proverb:" Bubhukshita kim nakaroti papam!"
(Starved one will commit any crime!) Unless we raise the standard
of peasants of Nepal, the shameful exodus continues.
2. Most of the ceramics we buy from China comes from a city called
Yixing. Once I worked as a sales manager for a Shanghai-based
multinational company and had a chance to visit one of such
ceramics producing factory.
The factory I visited was not very big, though it provided jobs
to 14,000 people.First, I dismissed such staffing as socialist
overstaffing.But it was interesting to know that the company was
still running in profit.The best thing about handicraft industry
has been its ability to create more jobs.
The reality is, in present day world, there is no shortage of
handicraft market.Nepalese can make small dokos(wickerwares) and
beautifully embroidered cloths.Nepalese papers are unique in
themselves.Encouragement of such industry has never been our
main agenda. Several years ago,in Nepal, ruling elites talked
about 'promotion of Kutir Udyog', but no longer. Misdirected
focussing of our activists(For example, a few of our friends are
vigorously demanding 10 Kaththas of land for freed kamaiyas for
free. No occupational training, but land, they say.Come on, I can
say with guarantee that 10 Kaththas of land will not liberate
these Kamaiyas. It is only way to deplete national resource, and
gain instant popularity among freed Kamaiyas. ) have never helped
to ameliorate the situation. These same Kamaiyas could have been
displined labour force for country's much needed handicraft
industries. Alas, they just became pawn of some ambitious persons.
Sooner or later, a lot of Kamaiyas will join one of two options
I outlined earlier: Arab or Maoists.
I think the promotion of hitech industry in Kathmandu and other
cities for educated people, and the promotion of 'lowtech'
indigenous industries in rural area for not-so-educated people is
the best way out of this present day desparation.
3.I think Nobodyji must be aware of one situation of present day
Nepal: budgets are allocated very late in fiscal years. A lot
of offices gets development budgets around Baisakh, so they
can't spend them properly within three months.In a hurry to spend
(arrived) money, they buy luxury vehicles and other unnecessary
things. Malappropriation of development budget has been one of our
main problems.
Does our budget focus on popular participation development
projects?How many roads are made with collaboration of local
citizens? How many programs are run for local health situation
improvement? As far as I know, (mostly from the example of
Narayani Anchal, I don't pretend the knowledge of whole nation),
the government often delegates such projects to contractors,
who can tamper with the quality of products by forming illicit
alliance with government inspectors.Thus, things are rarely
get done.
We need to give freedom to local populace in determining the
priority of development projects there. The government should
return a chunk of tax collected locally to the same district,
so that districts can have healthy competition in generating
revenues, and creating conducive environment for investment.
Unless KTM and elites there stops sucking national revenue,
no incentives can be provided to the districts for development
projects.
Please, feel free to provide your thoughts also.
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