“They (the Maoist rebels) bombed the police post,” recalls Ghale. “The bombing was so powerful that it shook my house, which was close to the police post. I saved my life by hiding under the bed all night.” [break]
The following morning, when Ghale stepped out of his house, he saw the police post, which was built on his own land, badly devastated. The bombing had battered his house, too. “After the bombing, my house began to crumble,” he says. “It soon collapsed. And, I was rendered homeless.”
Ghale had allowed the police to build a post on his land. But, his generosity proved too costly to him. Luckily, no one was killed in the attack as the police had already fled the post. “I was the only victim,” says he. “I lost my most valuable property, my house.”
Hari Bahadur Ghale, 60, and his son Resham still live in the house, which was badly damaged in a bomb blast carried out by the Maoists during the insurgency. The house was destroyed when the Maoists bombed a nearby police post. The Ghales said they don´t have money to either repair the house or build a new one.Photo:Ramsharan Pudasaini/Republica
Shortly after the Thingan attack, the Maoist leaders joined peaceful politics after signing the 12-point agreement with the mainstream parties. The Maoist rebels, who fought the police for years in the remote villages and jungles, have now settled in urban centers. Also, the police no longer fear any attacks. But, Ghale´s plight has only aggravated.
Unable to build a new house or repair the old one, Ghale, along with his son, spends nights in the war-torn building that housed a police post in the past. The ruins of the police post are covered by thick bushes. He feels the ruins still reek of gunpowder. “I still live in my old house,” says he. “I have nowhere to go.”
Ghale´s wife died years ago. He and his son Resham Ghale now work as daily-wage laborers in nearby villages and return to their dilapidated house in the night. “I still remember the faces of police officers who once lived here,” says he, adding, “I do not know where they are. I do not know whether they are alive.”
Despite having to live in the house devastated by war, Ghale feels somewhat relieved as he does not have to fear for his life.
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