Chaudhary, who had been working as a bonded laborer, or a Kamaiya, for a landlord in Kailali district, was just 32 years old then, and had started to dream of rebuilding his life, which was ruined by years of hardship. [break]
Having toiled for the landlord to pay off the loan which his ancestors had taken, "freed" Chulu Ram wanted to own a plot of land, more than anything else.
Thirteen years on, he is still to realize that dream.
"I am growing old, but I haven´t own a plot of land yet," sighs Chulu Ram, who is now 45.
Far from owing land, he is still languishing in a small thatched hut built on a plot of unattended land, which is owned by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
"I wonder what I will do if I am forced out of here. Where will I take my children? What will I feed them?" These are the questions that have been tormenting him for years now.
Unfortunately, Chulu Ram is not the only former Kamaiya whose families are yet to be resettled as pledged by the government while declaring them emancipated.
According to Kamaiya Tradition Elimination Society, an organization of working for the welfare of former Kamaiyas, over 2,000 families are yet to be resettled in Kailali district alone.
"They are forced to live in a deplorable condition," says Basanti Chaudhary, president of the society. "Some of them live in huts, while many spend nights under makeshift tents. And they always fear being chased away, as they do not have permanent houses."
According to the society, of the total 9,697 families of former Kamaiyas, only 7,457 families have been provided with land by the government in Kailali. The Kamaiya families in other Tarai districts in the mid-western and far-western regions have also not been rehabilitated. But, the former Kamaiyas in Kailali district are in worst conditions.
On July 17, 2000, the government had freed all Kamaiyas from the burden of loans, which they or their ancestors took from the local landlords.
Euphoria was short-lived for the freed Kamaiyas.
Until they worked for the landlords, the Kamaiyas were allowed to stay on their land. But, with the declaration of emancipation, the landlords chased them away from their land. On the other hand, the state did not move quickly to rehabilitate them, leading to their reduced circumstances.
As human rights organizations, political parties and NGOs prepare to mark the Kamaiya Emancipation Day on July 16, thousands of former Kamaiyas feel cheated by the state.
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