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| SITARA |
Posted
on 19-Aug-02 07:12 PM
REALITY CHECK.....
Can we for a brief moment pause upon the Cyber Utopia called Nepal, that "we" are painstakingly trying to create in threads like "Vision for Nepal", "Nepal:Sexist....". We all seem to know what is wrong in Nepal, and how to go about "changing" things. This is great as far as policy-making and brainstorming in Cyber space!! We can and are creating a "Sundar Nepal" here but how many of us are really going to back to "bigreko, bhatkeko, Nepa" to implement the change/s? Cyberventilating is great no doubt...(esp. for a guilty conscience like mine ...I'm a part of the braindrain too!).
I have no problems with idealism, I am one too, an idealist ( so, I would like to brainwash myself into thinking). And here is my idealism "Someday" I would like to go back to Nepal and work with the children of Nepal! The catch phrase here is "someday". but in moments of "truths", I wonder. No doubt, I would like to make "the difference" in my own country...but can I survive the actual process of implementing my theories into practice within the physical space of Nepal??????
Have you ever wondered why most of the foreign projects "fail"? Because most of the policies for rural Nepal are being " implemented" from the Capital city comforts...let alone cyber space.
So, to put it bluntly, how many of us are actually going to Nepal and working there (...even thinking is fine!) to make the changes we have all read and written about in both the threads: "Vision for Nepal" "Sexism...." the theory of "Utopia" actually only exists in words; a semantic space! It is a great cyber "vision"...really. And for this I may come across as a cynic...or am I a realist???
This summer I was in KTM and stepping out of my idealistic daydreaming was painful, to say the least... I love Nepal as much as any Nepali ever could...but the tenacious dedication required to "make it better"...is a far cry from cyberventilating! I talked to many youth in Nepal and it was heartbreaking for me to "realize" I have an option, (to go back or not ) but they don't. Did I even dare verbalize my utopian dreams for Nepal....NOT! because I was not living in Nepal to help realize them!
A very reflective friend told me in total honesty..."the longer I live in US, the more complicated gets my answer to whether I am returning to Nepal".
And so it seems with most of us...I don't know, correct me if I am wrong! Unless I am the only one suffering from an overloaded conscience!
It is great to dream I know, but when I come to ....there is a Reality check! threads that arouse "desh bhakti" also revoke reality....that a Cyber Vision for Nepal exists only in cyber space...unless...
...comments please!
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| Junkie |
Posted
on 19-Aug-02 07:29 PM
My Nepal .... my pride ...... it rings in the hearts of all Nepalis ..... be it madesh-ko, hill-ko, himal-ko basee haru .... it when its time to act, most falter. But its the economic woes that is of greater magnitude that bothers me. But then I look at innocent of the Aghans trying to resurrect their pride and the poorer of the nations and feel fortunate to be a nepali ..... lucky yet sad for them .....
"....... And here is my idealism "Someday" I would like to go back to Nepal and work with the children of Nepal! " (____ Sitara, Sajha posting, 2002)
----> I commend you for thoughts, hope it transpires ..... someday is better than "maybe" .... it's the thought that counts anyway
You may say you're a dreamer but I assure you, you are not the only one .....
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| surya |
Posted
on 20-Aug-02 12:21 AM
Sitara:
You raise an interesting point. For all the high brow talk of desh bikash here on Sajha, many of us are spending the most productive years of our lives in a foreign land. What does all that talk amount to really? All that good intention! The road to hell is paved with good intentions they say.
But then why not? Why not throw ideas around and articulate what WE think would work? Its not like the ideas being implemented right now for real are working all that well.
Yeah, you can dismiss the discussions of exiles and expatriate like us as mere semantics, but there is value in that. For one it keeps us engaged, informed and committed to Nepal. Plues there is not just ONE way of being instrumental in the development and change a nation. Being there is the best way obviously, to bear witness and pick up that shovel when necessary. But you (now this is a generic "you" hai) can make a difference in other ways. You don't HAVE to work there. You can invest. You don't have to wear a kalo rumal and picket the supreme court. There is much to be said for cyber advocacy and advocacy and lobbying through foreign governments.
I am not disagreeing with you in spirit, Sitara. The reality is that many of us ARE mired in our new lives as immigrants working and making a living in foreign countries. And it IS kind of tragic-comic to see cyber patriots having a battle of words and ideas... getting so engrossed in our self-righeousness word battles, trying to stake a claim as heros and visionaries.
I am glad you brought up the idea of a reality check. I think we do need to be honest. But I hope you (this is generic as well as specfic you hai) will not let your "guilt" be your excuse to being a disengaged citizen.
my two cents
[ke garne.. gutter queen re malai. Thought I can attempt to salvage my good name (ahem) by responding to a thread started by the new star of Sajha ni. :) ]
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 20-Aug-02 04:38 PM
Junkie ji:
Thank you for your candid comments. True about the economic factors involved in making the decision to go back...And to start from a scratch is another thing. Yet, many have done it...amazingly. I met some people US returned and was genuinely interested in what was it that made them return....Not all of them had idelistic visions; some had no choice...but there were also those who returned to implement their visions.
And thank you for your encouragement...Yes, I do dwell upon it a lot! :)
love the Beatles!!! Thanks!
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 27-Aug-02 10:46 PM
Sitara:
The two thread you mention were started by me. So I guess I ought to respond.
"....threads like "Vision for Nepal", "Nepal:Sexist....". ............."
(1) I believe the Internet is a new land altogether: it is not America, not the West. People go online from Nepal. People go online from the US. True, it is much harder for the most to do so from Nepal, but that option is there.
(2) Something is better than nothing. All else equal, would you rather people not cyber-talk about the issues at all?
(3) Talk is work. Dialogue is necessary. That is how changes are made. The parliament passed this law that empowered the CIAA which is now working diligently to go after those corrupt, in the bureaucracy and the politics. That legislation resulted from "talk." So this cyber-talk is not a waste.
(4) Many Sajhaites might stay around and not "go back" but Sajha itself is already there in Nepal.
(5) "Going back." I think a big reason many Nepalis discuss Nepal in the US or on Sajha is self-interested psychology. Claiming that chunk of memoryland. It is not about service to the nation at all. Call it homesickness, if you will. I call it clutch.
(6) Some Sajhaites will go "back."
(7) It is more important to contribute than to go back. One can go back and not contribute, or one can contribute regardless. Contribute in terms of ideas, investments, visits. For $20 you can sponsor a high schooler in Nepal for a year. Maybe you (as in, the generic you) ought to consider spending about $200 a year on that. For a starter. Something that would be hard to do on a Nepali income.
(8) My favorite point: Nepal, like all the poor countries, needs people to fight for it on the global stage. In trade talks, and stuff of that nature. That is where those abroad ought to actively help. And that help might be greater than if those people were to just "go back."
(9) The socializing for the sake of socializing is a positive thing.
(10) Each to his or her own.
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 28-Aug-02 09:41 PM
Paramendra ji;
I appreciate your taking the time to respond to the thread. Yes, I did mention "your" thread's because I was sincerely wondering why people were so wrapped up in "making" a"cyber" Nepal... all that passion, ranting and ravings, cyber egos hurt by confused identities.
Yes, changes are being made by "talks" but talks by people living within Nepal...trying to make a better physical space, not cyber space. You are talking about a "different" land...a whole new world...accessible by whom? Nepalese living outside of US, and those who can afford a computer, ISP and a separate telephone line......do you know the percentage of the people?????? very few!!! to go into cyber cafes you need to pay rs. 35.00 to 45.00 per hour...how many can actually access this new land.
As for me, I am grounded in reality....my job, profession involves a level of grounding that makes me laugh in derision at "policy makers" (in the real world) those that are not even implementable. Yes, I have read your threads.... but with a critical mind...(critique is not the same as criticism, mind you!)...they are thought provoking to some extent but also, awaking as to who we are trying to convince; ourselves or other?????
You are telling me "I" "ought" to contribute $ 200.00 dollars in sponsoring.... I contribute much more than that... :). Here too, for children all over regardless of Nationality. My question is how many of "us" actually do that???????
Yes, and "for a starter" it is easier to make a better Nepal here in Cyber space than in the real world!!!
As for homesick........I am with you 150% on that...truly! :(
Socializing is wonderful esp. here if we can all retain our sanities...
To each his own is also true........ without getting too uptight about cyber passions!!!
Paramendra ji...I got to talk to the otherside of Cyber Nepal...those who actually live in Nepal. They are well aware of the policies of cyber Nepal and question the validity of such "hot air and delusional visions" made from outer space. The "brain drain" issue is a personal issue for most immigrants, I know. Taking a hard look at what we are saying and how we are saying is always painful too.
I posed this thread to ask for candid opinions...thank you!!!
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 28-Aug-02 09:44 PM
PS. please...proof read my typos.... I have a hard time typing accurately sometimes!!
Thanks!
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 28-Aug-02 10:44 PM
Sitara.
I get the impression your concern for Nepal is genuine. That is commendable. You are an example of someone who is not in Nepal, and is not cut off, intellectually or emotionally.
That $20/ year talk was in reference to a particular program:
http://www.sebsonline.org/nsp/
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 28-Aug-02 11:07 PM
:) will check out the website!
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