Dil Kumari breaks into tears as soon as someone mentions her son. “They took him saying they would bring big changes. Our son never returned,” she said wiping tears. “We have no one to take care of us. At this old age, we cannot work,” she added. [break]
The ailing Ranas are unable to work the fields to fend for themselves.
Their son, Yam Bahadur, fell to a bullet fired by security personnel on January 11, 2006 in a skirmish at Naupani of Tanahun district. This happened barely a year after Yam Bahadur joined the Maoist army.
Maoist fighters who came to convey the news of his death assured the couple that they would be provided pensions. “We have received nothing so far,” Dil Kumari said.
Despite losing hope, she has not stopped calling on
Maoist leaders taking along a letter signed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Suresh Singh, the division commander of the Maoist People´s Liberation Army´s fourth division.“The leaders tell me not to worry and assure that they will make some arrangement. They said that we would be given Rs 1 million. But not even a paisa has come our way,” she said.
During the armed conflict, 27 people went missing from Baglung district while 184 lost their lives. Families of all those who lost their dear ones share the plight of the Ranas.
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