Violent Negotiations

Last week, five bombs were detonated in three Kathmandu locations, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others. These injuries were not cuts and bruises, but loss of legs and other permanent disablement – a common outcome of violence like this that’s usually glossed over in the news reports’ reels of statistics. The bombs hit a mini bus full of commuters, a group of school children waiting at a bus stop, and a crowd at one of the city’s busiest shopping and transport hubs.

A couple of little known militant groups from the southern Terai region claimed responsibility for the attacks – apparently with little concern for the legal ramifications and apparently with good reason, because there’s been little in the way of a response at any level. And that’s been the most astonishing aspect of the whole dreadful thing for me. When we decide to come to Nepal in the lead up to November’s elections, during one of the most tumultuous periods of the country’s modern political history, we were prepared for civil unrest – strikes, riots, even bombs. And there have been plenty of strikes. Rubbish piled up on the street for weeks as garbage collectors went on strike to demand permanent working agreements. Tyres were burned in the street and all vehicles were forced off the road to protest the death of a young woman in a traffic accident and demand compensation for her family. But there has been no public action in response to the most significant attack on the capital’s security since the end of the 10 year Maoist insurgency. It seems people have been shocked, and looking to the months ahead, scared into silence.

A friend of mine is working with an NGO here in Kathmandu to promote good governance and inclusion as the new political system is developed. He was telling me of a new program they’re launching to train and encourage various political and interest groups to express their concerns and opinions in appropriate, effective and non violent ways. In a social climate where marginalised groups are targeting civilians with bombings designed only to maximise the loss of life and rubbish gets more attention than people, clearly, it’s vitally necessary.