There was a little boy who lived not too far from where I do, who was in the news for a few days. All we knew was that he had walked back from school, as he usually did, and then one day just failed to get home. [break]
Then they found out some kidnappers had nabbed him and wanted money. And then they found out the child had created too much of a ruckus. And they found out the child had been gagged. I was horrified.
Back in the day, Nepal Television would monotonously declare “balak harayeko suchana” and display amazingly pixilated black and white passport photograph of some child and it wasn’t as horrific. It was a child more often than not, but also an old woman or really old man sometimes.
These days they are kidnapping in broad daylight and kidnapping anyone and everyone – sometimes for ransom, sometimes for revenge. It’s disgusting.
Of course, crimes such as these – looting, burglary and kidnappings – are very common (immediately) after conflict. As soon as you enter the “post-conflict” phase, it seems law and order is a mess.
It’s hard to tell who’s in charge and it feels as though no one’s in charge. Unemployment is rife and opportunities lacking. But kidnappings aren’t entirely uncommon or unheard of in the aftermath of an insurgency.
Even then, it’s largely unsettling. There are no children in my immediate family but I worry quite a bit about my middle school cousin. Though, of course, it’s not just children being kidnapped in Nepal, is it? There’s no two way about it. Kathmandu is a scary city these days, and based on news reports, it isn’t feeling any safer.
I suppose there’s little you can do when you’re nabbed in the dark and thrown into the back of a van and then stuffed into a dark dungeon. But insofar as many kidnappings aren’t that “exciting” (for lack of a better word, that is), there actually seems to be a few good pointers to keep ourselves (and our younger cousins) safe.
So, I Googled, and after reading a few sites, I realized there was a general consensus on a few bits. One, they always talk about children being kidnapped.
Two, they are mostly talking about cases in the US. Three, they talk a lot of kidnappers actually being non-strangers. So, it’s not entirely related to how kidnappings happen in Kathmandu. But I liked a few of the suggestions. So if you care, continue reading.
My favorite and very obvious was the one that said about knowing where your children are. That’s easy – we just keep tabs on them. When my sibling comes home from work, she’ll touch base with us when she leaves her office, approaches our neighborhood and walks down the gulley to the gate.
I guess I could be more courteous and do the same. That way, if I got kidnapped anywhere between my house and New Road, at least my family would have a closer vicinity to mark off, to start off with anyway.
They also suggest that you don’t go out alone. Of course, they are talking about children. So it’s weird to tell adults to always take a buddy along. But it’s not a bad idea if you can help it. In boarding school, we were told to go out to the bazaar in threes.
That way if someone got hurt, one person could stay with the sick and another could get help. I suppose a similar purpose remains, except if a masked man grabbed you, you’d have two other friends to do the screaming and also remembering what the guy looked like, the license plate number, and so on).
Then they also talk about how we always teach children to be polite, and that made me think, we adults are no different. Like the few times I’ve met perverted men, I always think when they approach me as perfect strangers they want to know the time.
So I stop and smile and respond – only to be horrified. I guess the lesson isn’t to walk around with a scowl on your face, but definitely not to fear being rude if you don’t feel safe.
If anyone you don’t know starts to act too friendly or gets too close, just very loudly ask who he is because you think he’s mistaken you for someone else.
Hopefully, others in the bus or on the sidewalk or wherever it may be, will turn around and stop long enough for the creeper to move away.
Since we’ve crossed year five of having since entered the Peace Process, things will begin to fall into place. Till then, be safe!
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