The reason I am reminded of this now owes to the discussions, many of which I have been part of, on various social media. Today we stand at a point where every other person has an opinion on how the great quake could have been avoided, how the relief operations should have been handled to how to rebuild. Sample these.A friend of mine thinks that radio and television stations should stop playing tragic songs, for they, he believed, adds to the pain!
The other argues how he wished one upbeat song could change the agony, especially when there is not a single tarp above their heads, let alone other basic amenities. With thousands dead, wounded, lost or rendered homeless, one dead or wounded or disappeared is likely to affect four people at a minimum. His point was simple. It's no time to make merry and songs that tell tales of "we will rise like phoenix from ashes" will only annoy them. It will be one long difficult year. So, music will cease to be 'music'. I have my own take but I choose to remain silent.
Another section felt that the way out of this tragedy was to start promoting tourism like never before. Go on a tour and tell the world only 14 districts have been affected. Nepal is unlike what you've seen on television. Start trekking and those along the trekking routes will find a means to live again. If not for the durbar squares that once stood tall, people can be emotionally 'blackmailed' to come and see what remains of one of the most beautiful places on the planet; the remains of a city with maximum number of world heritage sites within a minimal space.
The counter argument was equally compelling. We don't tell the world anything but get to know from them! That to me was profound. All it takes is Google! And once they Google, chances are they will come across statements like 'Please do not donate to Government, ours is most corrupt'. Smarter ones can easily read between the lines! Give money to us. One argument in particular that made every other opinion look 'childish' was the issue of our airport. Turkish episode stripped us naked of being one international airport country with one runway! The inability of our airport to receive whatever little relief material was sent is bound to make most, if not all, think before packing their backpacks and heading off to Himalayas!
One again, I leave you to decide where you stand on how to rebuild this nation.
I only request you to rise above rhetoric. For quite a while, and quite rightly, we have been forced to witness, and hear if not listen, to 'experts' that have landed from all parts of the world. It's no fault of theirs that they chose a place where their expertise was valued.
This is where Manjushree features. For all these years we were told that there is a big quake around the corner, but there was no preparation. I cannot speak on your behalf but the kind of orientation I had from government's advisories was that the big quake was coming but not right away. All we are saying is: be prepared. Should it occur, duck under the bed or table or safe area of your house. Go to open space (which open space?). I am not sure what else was said. I may have missed something but hearing of a tragic story of a five-year-old who sustained head injuries had me overcome with guilt. She is currently undergoing treatment and has facial palsy. When the earth shook she was playing outside her home with a group of friends. She felt the shake but it was not until someone shouted earthquake that she realized what was happening.
As soon as she heard of the earthquake, she ran inside and ducked under her study table. There's no point getting into detail but when I talked to her, she was smiling, with parents by her side. She was thankful that her teacher had taught her the right technique, completely unaware how others had rushed to open ground!
This is where we fail, not just now but all the time. We make rules but do not communicate. We do not implement. We have experts drop in from hill tops like landslide only to tell us such a massive earthquake was bound to happen! After the event, isn't everyone an Expert?
The idea of integrated city and satellite cities is what every expert is now talking about.
The thing that does not get into my shaken head is if there was that one tour of our towns and cities would have sufficed to figure which houses were illegally built and this in turn could have saved many lives.
It thus comes as no surprise that a certain section of retired bureaucrats and leaders at the helm when housing in Kathmandu was booming have now started raising a 'new discourse' to build a new Nepal.
Should we fall into the trap and not investigate who permitted those killer buildings, we will fail again? Should we now thank gods for giving us no volcanoes and keeping us landlocked and hence safe from tsunamis?
To rise above the rhetoric, let's make it a point not to forget and forgive, for we have already forgotten a lot. The price has been heavy and we are way too poor.
hiteshkarki@gmail.com
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