“April 25, 2015!” When the sun shone that day, some felt a mystery in its rays; others knew time would soon rob all the innocent Nepali citizens of the little brightness they were enjoying and would bury them under a never-ending darkness. And it did happen. That incredible force came within seconds and shook the entire country. It shook buildings and thrashed them to the ground. It took and shook people’s lives. It killed hopes. It instilled fear. On top of everything, the catastrophe punctured the limping nation and turned it into rubbles that would not be mended in years to come. It happened brutally.
I was in the reveries of my to-be college in California when the earthquake shook my shaky bed. Fortunately, the screams of people on the street were louder than the creaks of my bed and my senses pushed me out of the room on the narrow street where people thought death would be less painful if it occurred. My siblings rushed out of the five-story building and gathered among the wailing crowd too. The openness we all thought would save us from being buried in the rubbles of the falling buildings screamed of helplessness and tried to remind people that the surrounding tall buildings, if fell, would not spare a life because they were in the tiny little open space. But everybody was convinced that the probability of death was lower outside in the space than it would be in rooms. At least, everyone could cry their fear away together, or they could try to.
They say everything has an end, even atrocities. The shaking did not seem to have any end though. It kept shaking every couple of hours, or even less until the next big one happened. The two great shakings took lives, broke hearts, and hammered people’s dreams. No possession could keep the fear away; rich, poor, ministers, beggars, all were on the streets, under tarpaulins, or under the open sky. The only flesh that remained within the walls were the ones that had lost their lives or the ones that were waiting for rescue. But nature had decided to add to the suffering of the people; it rained and rained so heavily that no tarpaulin could keep lives dry. Or maybe nature was testing people of their humanitarian responsibilities at times of need like this.
The Nepali people proved once again that they are strong, yet caring. They united to get out of the immediate pain and help each other. There were no differences among the people then. Everybody was so kind and supportive. I remember sleeping in the open ground with all my neighbors together for more than 15 days. My landlady served us food, and we helped her cook. That short period was when I actually got to know people from my neighborhood. I got to interact with them, and I felt more connected to each one of them. Everyone felt like family. Same was with almost all the Nepalese. Everyone was so united that the long-existing political stalemate seemed to have approached an end. People were hopeful that the country would finally get its first democratically written constitution and that the country would get back to normal again very soon.
The political environment, indeed, seemed to have improved. Sympathy from all over the world poured and the country was able to collect more than $4 billion of foreign aid in less than a couple of months. The people were united and the leaders motivated. As a result, Nepal drafted the long-awaited constitution despite some political dissatisfactions. Some ethnic revolts and demonstrations against the constitution slammed the country for a few months, and the neighboring “big brother” imposed an economic blockade on Nepal. The suffering Nepalese suffered more. And the reconstruction process, which was not in a good condition anyway, was hampered greatly.
More than a year has passed since the 7.8 Richter quake, but not even 7.8 percent of the foreign aid budget has been used to ameliorate the victims’ struggles. The government has not shown any seriousness on the issue. People living under tarpaulins suffered during the long monsoon and thousands of families are still living under the same tent/roof. They have adjusted their lives accordingly, but the political parties have not yet adjusted their incompatible interests in the favor of the reconstruction.
Cliché it may sound, but the blame definitely goes to the incapable government. What can we expect from the government, the head of which is not even a high-school graduate? The more I learn about politics, the more I wonder what a 10th grader would know about today’s world politics. It’s sad to know that the majority of his time is spent making jokes about what he can do, and the rest in extending the cabinet to please his well-wishers. What is sadder is the fact that the so-called educated people applaud him and his stupid words, and can not realize that the opportunists like him tell them what people want to know and not what they should know.
The country is crying. Hundreds of thousands of Nepalese are leaving the country every year. Skilled human resources are emigrating to Europe, America, and Gulf countries. The government is silently sucking the marrow of poor people and we are trying to hold our heads high showing pride in our history while the world has already leaped to an uncatchable place.
Thousands of people who are in need of help have long kept their mouth shut suffering. Videos and documentaries portraying the struggle of the earthquake survivors are made in abundance. Articles are written and banners are held high. Unfortunately, a very limited action is taken by the government to implement any solid plan to aid the victims, let alone rebuilding the schools and other social properties that were destroyed. As a result, after more than a year, people like me have to complain about the situation through articles and writings with the hopes of making a difference, but not having anything tangible.
