Familie bezoek in Nepal

Een paar maanden geleden was er schijnbaar geen betere plek voor avontuurlijke reizigers dan Nepal. Nepal doet dromen: het dak van de wereld met de hoogste bergen, meditatie en spiritualiteit. Na de recente aardbevingen, met beelden in de media van de slachtoffers, verwoeste huizen en tempels, beschouwen veel reizigers deze droombestemming echter als een nachtmerrie. Nochtans is Nepal nog steeds de moeite waard, en misschien zelfs meer dan ooit.

Ik woon sinds een jaar in Kathmandu, als cooperant voor Wereldsolidariteit. Ik heb de twee aardbevingen hier in Nepal beleefd en nam zelf foto’s die mijn familie en vrienden op het internet of nieuws zagen, van ingestorte huizen en tempels. Dagenlang werden in België angstaanjagende beelden getoond van chaotische steden en verwoest dorpen, die de ernst van de aardbeving illustreerden: meer dan 8.500 slachtoffers, 100.000 gewonden en 800.000 huizen beschadigd of verwoest. Van vrienden en familie kreeg ik vele vragen die potentiele toeristen zich ook stellen: lopen ze in gevaar van meer en zwaardere aardbevingen?

“Toen mijn familie en vrienden hoorde dat we naar Nepal vertrokken ondanks de aardbeving verklaarden ze mij voor zot, vooral met onze twee kinderen van vier en zes jaar.” Dominique, 38

Wil en kan Nepal toeristen ontvangen op dit moment? Wat is er nog te zien, gezien zo veel is ingestort? Als ik ga, gebruik ik dan niet eigenlijk middelen die de lokale bevolking harder nodig heeft? Allemaal relevante vragen, waar ik hier ga proberen een antwoord op te geven.

Zijn we nog in gevaar als we gaan? 
Hoewel niks 100% gegarandeerd is, loop je nu niet meer gevaar dan voor de aardbeving. Eventjes technisch worden: de aardbeving werd veroorzaakt door de langzaam opbouwende spanning tussen de Indiaanse en de Eurazische tektonische platen (die ook de Himalayas omhoog duwden). Daarom ook dat wordt gesproken van periodische aardbevingen: elke 80 jaar vond in deze regio een zware aardbeving plaats. Nu de spanning tussen die twee platen weg is, schatten er veel experten dat het nu veiliger is dan voordien. Intussen werd ook duidelijk welke gebouwen en hotels een aardbeving kunnen weerstaan. De overheid deed inspecties om te zien welke infrastructuur niet geleden heeft van de aardbeving en alle hotels die veilig werden verklaard kregen een groen certificaat. Eigenlijk heb je nu dus meer garanties dan vroeger.

Wil en kan Nepal toeristen ontvangen?
Toerisme is heel belangrijk voor Nepal. Jaarlijks ontvangt Nepal, het land met acht van de tien hoogste bergen in de wereld, bijna 800.000 toeristen, enerzijds avonturiers aangetrokken door treks of bergklimmen, anderzijds spirituele zoekers die zich terugtrekken in het boeddhisme of hindoeïsme. Deze sector is jaarlijks goed voor zo’n 400 miljoen EUR inkomsten, 500.000 rechtstreekse jobs (3,2% van alle jobs in Nepal) en vormt de grootste industrie in Nepal met 8% van het BNP. En hoeveel Belgen dragen daar toe bij? In 2014 waren er 5.437 Belgen die gemiddeld 20 dagen in Nepal verbleven . Na de aardbeving meldt de pers dat 90% van alle boekingen werden afgelast voor mei en juni 2015, met grote vraagtekens bij de herfstboekingen. Als Nepal uit de assen wil herrijzen, dan gaat het de toeristeninkomens zeker nodig hebben.

Meer dan ooit zijn de Nepalezen blij om toeristen te ontvangen. Nepalezen stonden al bekend voor hun gastvrijheid, maar nu kreeg mijn familie geregeld felicitaties en blije welkomsten van Nepalezen die hun tevredenheid deelden voor hun komst, ondanks de aardbeving. En zo kregen we vaak ook belangrijke kortingen of zelfs VIP behandeling…

“Ik stond ervan te kijken dat alles nog te verkrijgen was van eten en water in de hotels waar we verbleven. De Nepalezen doen echt hun uiterste best om de weinige toeristen van alles te voorzien en zo goed mogelijk bij te staan.” Michèle, 61

Wat is er nog te zien na de aardbeving?
Natuurlijk toonde de internationale media enkel de chaos, de ingevallen huizen en tempels, wat de indruk geeft dat er niets meer rechtstaat. Dit is duidelijk een misvatting. Als je momenteel in Kathmandu rondrijdt kun je nauwelijks merken dat een aardbeving plaatsvond. Ik zou schatten dat 90% van de gebouwen nog steeds rechtstaan. In onze straat viel enkel een tuinmuurtje om. Wat betreft historische gebouwen en tempels, werden volgens de beoordeling van UNESCO sommige van de zeven erfgoed van de Kathmandu vallei getroffen , maar er is zeker nog genoeg te zien. De drie must-sees van Kathmandu (Boudhanath stupa, de Monkey tempel, Pashupatinath net zoals de backpakers wijk van Thamel) draaien volop en zijn nog steeds even indrukwekkend. Er wordt druk aan de restauratie gewerkt, wat soms unieke inzichten kan geven.

“Het was zeker een reis die we voor de rest van ons leven gaan onthouden, met bergwandelingen, een vlucht rond de Everest en de indrukwekkende tempels en geschiedenis.” Philippe, 61

Wat draait er nog in Nepal?
•    Van de 75 districten werden slechts 8 zwaar getroffen
•    Van de tien nationale parken, slechts één.
•    Van de acht UNESCO World Heritage Sites hebben er slechts twee zware schade geleden
•    Van de 35 meest gebruikte trekking routes werden er maar twee getroffen

•    De twee luchthavens draaien goed, net zoals de basis infrastructuur (water, elektriciteit, banken, internet)

Maken mijn familie en vrienden zich niet ongerust?
Misschien wel, des te beter dat je dus tijdens je verblijf foto’s toont op Facebook en mail om anderen te tonen dat je het goed stelt. En zo kan je ook bijdragen aan de online campagne met hashtags #StillNepal en #Stillsmiling om anderen te tonen dat Nepal nog steeds toeristen verwelkomt.

“In Italië was het eten wel lekker, maar Nepal is veel mooier en er is veel meer te doen. Ik heb hier voor het eerst de slurf van een olifant aangeraakt en ben er zelfs in een rivier mee gaan zwemmen. Mijn klasgenootjes gaan zo jaloers zijn!” Loïc, 6

Stories of Nepal

Let me also advertise a Facebook page I really enjoy and which often brings a smile to my face in these hard times: Stories of Nepal.

"The earthquake destroyed my house so I walked down to the market to buy a hammer and some nails to try and fix it. And I also bought this nice bag while I was at it."
(Jyurme Lama, Melamchi Bazaar, Sindhupalchok)
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You can help by donating to the Stories of Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund here.

DAY 18: Another quake

Another quake of 7.4 hit Nepal today... We're okay, so is our house, but dozens died and many more houses were destroyed... Sigh...

Though it looks like in Kathmandu, it will have limited damage, the effect was very strongly psychological. Where everybody had started hoping it was finished and winding down, we were suddenly thrown back. A lot of people were traumatized during the last quake and this brings it all back. I saw a little girl who insisted her parents carry her everywhere, she didn't trust the soil anymore. And who can blame her, if a big one could come now, why not in a week's time, or a month's time. Depressing thought.

DAY 14 after the Quake

I haven't been too great the past two days. With my life slowly returning to normal and daily routines settling in again, it seems my body or mind is sort of showing the strain it was under during the past two weeks. I'd be very emotional and get tears in my eyes quite quickly, for no big reason. And yesterday, I had this painful feeling in my chest, like between my heart and stomach. Nothing major, but still...

I've been trying to take care of myself over the past days, taking it a bit easier, not going on new missions, going back to the gym, do my yoga in the morning, get some of the guests out of our house so I can get some of my space back. I also had this urge to redecorate our bedroom, which is where we were when the quake struck. I spend a lot of time putting in these little lamps, changing some curtains and just generally cocooning. I guess part of it is attempts to make this little nest of ours feel safe again.

List of aftershocks from
Earthquake Alert App

Day 10 after the Quake

Life is seemingly returning to normal, while the extent of the damage is getting clearer. Kathmandu was relatively spared, despite the pessimistic warnings which saw most victims here, and it seems to be mostly rural Nepal that got hit. Many people have returned to their village.

Since Monday I also had to start working for my NGO, WSM, again, as internet was running again and work was piling up. I met with our two local partners, GEFONT and NTUC, who are organizing relief help to their members as well and both urgently welcomed any support from WSM. To my frustration, WSM requested additional information before being able to authorize any funds and I'm still awaiting news... Sigh...

On a more positive note, regarding the mission to Dhading our group organized: Jessica spoke to our team who travelled for 3 days to reach the final destination, including 2 days walking up steeply over landslides etc. to reach Ree Gauring VDC. They are now descending back down and we hope to have a full debrief in Kathmandu Thursday. I can't wait to hear their stories. But already, despite limited communications, they have been able to pass on vital GPS coordinates and details of the situation on the ground. All of which we have passed directly onto contacts at United Mission Nepal – the main NGO responsible for organising relief support to this area.
Our team have seen firsthand widespread devastation of homes, displacement of hundreds of local people into makeshift villages without proper cover, medical support or food with an example of a water source now half an hour’s walk away over a landslide. At least our medical supplies, tarps & food – carried by wonderful local porters – have made it through and the information gathered has been passed back to the organisations who are right now gearing up to provide relief via helicopter on a scale we cannot even begin to prepare. Good luck to them!

Stock waiting at Army base. Photo: Jessica Stanford

Wave 2: With the information gathered from our team on the ground, and speaking to United Mission Nepal on Monday afternoon, we realised that it would be a few more days before large scale relief could reach these areas. As a result we decided to quickly pulled together a wave 2. Special thanks to Frank of Precontec.com who through his connections arranged an Israeli military helicopter to support airlifting out badly injured people. The team in Kathmandu quickly arranged a substantial amount of food & supplies – rice, daal, powdered milk, sanitary pads and rehydration & diarrhoea medicine for adults & children etc – which were delivered to the BIR military hospital Monday night and delivered our support as well as more from larger organisations, which were flown out. It's amazing we could make this all happen, in such a short time, with everybody chipping in.

Though I'm having to take a step away from the volunteering, they are moving their focus to efforts to ‪#‎rebuildnepal‬, as the Nepal army and large NGOs kick into action on the relief front. A group has been started to look into techniques and ways of rebuilding more sustainable, quake proof houses, using simple and available materials. A couple of places are running workshops and demonstrations for volunteers and Shaun offered to demonstrated the dirt bag earth techniques at his house to villagers from the region.

We can also feel the media attention moving on. Less headlines, less calls from journalists. With great difficulties I drafted an article (in Dutch) for a media outlet in Belgium, MO*, which also inspired an article for En Marche (French). It is hard to know what to write. So much has appeared already, and I hardly recognize myself in anything. It always seems simplistic, or leaving too many things out that seem important to me, or too black and white, but drafting something myself made me realize how tough it is to share these things. Should I talk about the general situation, what I've seen myself, how that makes me feel, or give my opinion on what I think should be priorities? So hard to write anything I feel okay with, when you're submerged into it. Why do it then, you might wonder? Why spend precious time on writing anything that will be read (a bit anyway), by people in Belgium for away, who'll mostly glance over it and move on with their lives? Well, I suppose I see it as part of my role, to at least attempt to explain some of the realities I witness and experience here to people back home, to stimulate thinking globally, to use that cliche, to look beyond our own comfortable little world and borders. And it is also the opportunity to invite people to support us, the work we and our partners do here and which I strongly believe in, and that can make a real difference, in small and bigger things.

And for those who wonder, the updates to this blog are different, since I keep this blog mostly for people I have a personal connection with, so people who are interested can get an update on my life and how I'm doing. During these days, I received so many messages and questions from friends wondering how I was, without having the time to reply, it was easier to refer them to my blog, where I put efforts into drafting something each day. It doesn't have a huge following (around 200 views a day), but sometimes quality is more important than quantity, right? It's also nice to sort of have an online archive, diary, which I sometimes browse through, nostalgic and amazed at how much I've already forgotten. Though it seems hard to forget the last couple of days...

Day 7 after the quake

City is still stabilizing. More shops and now also restaurants are starting to reopen. You can find most anything again, like fruit and vegetables. Yogurt is bizarrely missing though. Still some shocks, but I hardly notice therm anymore.

We continue our volunteering with the Yellow House bunch, or, as they now call themselves The Himalayan Disaster Relief Volunteer Group. It helps to have a semi-official name when you're calling to ministries and other NGOs. The good news is the site they create to map reports and needs, is getting more and more attention, even in the NY Times. We are getting so many people at the 8am meeting (around 150 today), we're trying to reroute them to online register, to avoid having too many people cluttering the space. They put on signs with reported needs, resources that can be mobilized and it is up to the volunteers to organize themselves and plan missions, transport etc.

Day 6 after the quake

Today was a bit more quiet. Apparently, there were still two shocks during the night, one at 3.55 of 4.2 and one at 6.22 of 4.5 but either I was too exhausted or they were felt so mildly, I slept right through them. Though everybody agrees the worst is over, it is still disturbing to know aftershocks are still happening.

We had less supplies to distribute today, so Shaun went to survey in seven villages, near his home, in the mountains surrounding Bhaktapur. The villages visited vary a lot. Some have almost all houses destroyed and have hardly any shelters, while others had some better-off families with concrete structures that are now accommodating the villagers and they have already started rebuilding the houses. A lot of it seems to depend on their capacities to organize and get access to building materials... It'll be important for them to get their houses in shape before the rainy season.
Thomas did data entry. He's still busy doing so at this hour, so it has been a very long day.

The good news is that the website our group started from the Yellow House, which tracks reports and needs,  got accepted as official website to be used by the Ministry of Health and Interior, and even Google has dropped their own map and linked to ours.

I went looking to buy a motorbike, since transport remains a main issue, not for distribution but to head out to the mountains, to know where the needs are greatest. Unfortunately, all shops were closed so I went around for supplies. Tomorrow will probably be a bigger day, as quite some supplies came in, which can be dispatched tomorrow.

A lot of information is coming in, some of it disturbing. Apparently, the Nepali government wants to centralize all relief assistance  (good thing), but hence be able to capture all transfers done for earthquake relief (not so good).

We've also finally heard from three of our friends which were trekking at Everest, who were at Base Camp just one day before the earthquake. Clearly we were very concerned about them, but we just heard they were hiking back...

Offering help: what to do

Who to give money to: I had hoped to avoid giving direct suggestions on this issue, for the choices aren't easy. And there are ideological makeups as well as past experiences to consider. But many of you asked and therefore I'm giving my personal opinion here. I would advise to spread your donations over these, as they cover different types of needs and approaches.
If you want to go large scale, many donate to Nepal Red Cross, UNICEF World Food Program, or Doctors without Borders (and others here).

Their agendas and operations are straightforward, and their ability to mobilize resources in Nepal is dependable. I want to give a special mention for Habitat for Humanity here.  

The government of Nepal also created a fund, under the Prime Minister, which is criticized by some, cause they're attempting to take the monopoly for all relief funds, but I still want to mention. Anyone wishing to make contributions can do so by making deposits to any of the Relief Fund bank accounts:

• 00100105200270 and 00101102200012 at Everest Bank, 
• 002-11-053313 at Nepal Bank Limited, 0411010000005 at Global Bank Limited, 
• 18013243801 at Standard Chartered Bank and 035142 'C' at Nepal Bangladesh Bank limited

What I am personally involved with and can strongly endorse:

• For my NGO, WSM, which will be supporting our local partners, you can support by this bank account  BE41-8900-1404-3510 mentioning “Nepal” (here in French and here in Dutch).  
• One of them, trade union GEFONT, whom I really appreciate, here.
• With a bunch of people from our neighborhood, we've been doing outreach and created a group: Himalayan Relief Disaster Volunteer Group  which does fundraising through here.
• Closely related to this group and known personally to me, Clean Up Nepal Earthquake Fund here.
• And then our current housemates, CouchSurfers who had done great things in Ghana and are currently launching a project in Nepal, led by Allen Gula, here.
  

Day 5 after the Quake

Wednesday I went out with our volunteer group from the Yellow house to Kavre, out of Kathmandu, to distribute tarp, shovels, soap and other items that might be useful. The coordination is slowly getting organized, with a tremendous amount of people wanting to help, and everybody mobilizing networks and resources to gather stuff.

After a bumpy road, we visited a couple of rural communities in the mountains there. Some were affected more than others. The first village, of about 40 houses with maybe 200 people living there, had maybe half their houses partially or completely destroyed. Temporary make-do shelters had been built in place, cramming up to 17 people into one. Their main concern was how to stay dry with the rains that are frequently falling and stay warm. Luckily their drinking water was still available. Sanitation also remains a big problem, with water that can get contaminated, and livestock that starts to rot inside barns that collapsed.

As I had done some first aid training, I was put in charge of medical aid. Nobody was severely injured though and most of it was disinfecting cuts and bruises. It was greatly appreciated though and seemed to give people a feeling they were being taken care of, providing people with an opportunity to tell their stories and vent. Some of them insisted on showing their houses, the place they were when the quake hit, what happened to their personal belongs, asking we take pictures... Very sad...

Tensions rose a bit at dusk, when the last village started complaining about not receiving enough and argued with the assessments made. It just demonstrates how on the one hand you want to go quick, to help as many people as possible, to avoid having them sleep in the rain, and on the other hand, you want the stuff to go to people who need it the most.

On a personal note, some more people left from the house. There are less and less neighbors using our house to sleep over. Power is being loadshedded, and our inverter doesn't seem to be working properly. Still no internet, only through our phones. I did another interview, with Het Nieuwsblad, trying to highlight both my organisation, WSM, and our partners, GEFONT and NTUC, and how the solidarity is showing here and the most important thing.They didn't publish it however...

Day 1: The Qake

The three of us were in the master bedroom from our house, discussing color combinations for bed sheets when the earthquake hit. I heard some noise in the distance, a rumbling, everything started shaking and it took us a couple of seconds to realize. I first thought my blood pressure was low, or I was strangely drunk at 11.56 in the morning, but when it dawned on me, I shouted it out: “earthquake” but didn’t know what to do. Do you run, do you hide? Shaun, our visiting Australian friend who had been providing us with his opinion on color schemes, had better reflexes: he ran for the doorpost and stood under it. I belatedly remembered that was indeed the advised thing to do, as it is supposed to be reinforced, and so you’re less likely getting the ceiling on you. We squeezed in the doorway with the three of us, holding on to the sides. It kept going on, seconds seemed like an eternity. I heard crashing from downstairs and shouted to Scott, our intern downstairs, that it was an earthquake. Shouts and screams could be heard from the neighbors. It was very weird, the house wasn't bulging or cracking, it just seemed as if it as getting lifted up and put back down, or shaken from side to side.

Shining some light on the Nepal Tihar celebration

Yesterday was the third day of the Tihar festival, in which day Laxmi, Goddess of wealth is worshiped. This day is also known as ‘Gai Tihar’, meaning cow, which symbolizes the Goddess herself. Cow is taken as similar to mother in Hindu religion, as we grow up drinking her milk.

We were lucky enough to be invited by Niranjan to his family's house. On this public holiday, which has the same importance as say Christmas in the West, people decorate their houses with garlands made from marigolds or chrysanthemum.  In the afternoon, people clean their houses with the mixture of red mud and cow dung, and some footsteps are marked from the main entrance to the pooja kotha, which are believed to lure the Goddess Laxmi inside the house. Recently, they also trace these to their safe or place where they keep the money, so we joked that it would make a burglar's work quite easy during the festival. We helped place the candles, the lotus at the entrance (from which the Goddess had emerged) and trace the footsteps in the staircase.

In the evening, all the houses put out candles and electrified lights, similar to our christmas tree lights (though some come in the shape of banabas for example). These lights are put in the doors, main entrance, windows and roof, as it is the belief that the Goddess is also attracted by light and thus will bless the house and the people for the coming year.

A little bit later, a band from the region where Niranjan's dad originated started playing ‘deusi’ (which is sung mostly by boys) and ‘bhailo’ (mostly by girls). Fire crackers are also blown in the evening. Some people also play cards or gamble throwing cowrie shells as well, and can win (or lose) a lot of money.

Next, we went to our neighborhood, where the ethnic group of Newari's were celebrating new year's eve. The Pathan Durbar Square, lined with ancient buildings and statues, was all illuminated, with people carrying candles and a small concert taking place. Beautifully crafted mandalas marked the entrances to most houses and the entire town was lit up, with everybody enjoying electricity for once.



In short, one of the most lively nights we've witnessed in Kathmandu so far...

Gosainkunda and Helambu trek

Okay, this one is just temporary with some quick photos but more details will come later.


Agrandir le plan