There is no short, accurate way to sum up my last month’s
experience. I can toss words around the
blender, knead them into something that will build and become more active over
time, splash them around like a child’s first time in the ocean, or sit in this
room, unthink, and attempt uninterrupted flow between environment, mind,
fingers, and page - throwing in the variable of Time and Emotional state of author
and reader whilst engaging..
No wait time to climb this temple.
Being in such close proximity to monkeys lately, anywhere from 15 chewing on the freshly applied compost to working their way across electrical lines like trapeze artists, I reflect on evolution, what is a civilization, and how lucky we both are to have fingers!
Being in such close proximity to monkeys lately, anywhere from 15 chewing on the freshly applied compost to working their way across electrical lines like trapeze artists, I reflect on evolution, what is a civilization, and how lucky we both are to have fingers!
Walking with a friend to Swayumbunath at night, she kindly
and fiercely converses in Nepali to avoid paying for a ticket to enter, whipping
out the NGO card. We climb to the stupa,
walk around clockwise, admire the stones, the curves, the angles, the way the
monkeys climb up the prayer flags disregarding their ‘holiness’ or paying
respect in their own ways, and find our way to a vista of the city. 30 years ago this was a forest, besides the
very old temple that we stand on, and now we see it is developed with lights
and houses and people and thoughts from the outside. All these sounds, colors, shapes, smiles, then
and now, a feast for the senses. It
wasn’t long ago that Kathmandu and the whole of Nepal denied access from the outside
world. Now, the western world emerges
into this sealess region of Asia with tremendous water resources. It arrives and disrupts and blends what was
into what is. It has diverted and
confused some aspects of the culture, built, develop, change, help, and stirs
the pot on low heat and wonders what will come out.
This, of course, is not black and white. These concepts of globalization, development,
quality of life, poverty, growing your own nation, assisting other nations,
define the history of the world and its people.
We are shaped now by these actions of the past, when hunters and
gatherers ran out of food, when agriculture became a practice and settled
communities, when communities grew curious of the world outside, when we began
to no longer be satisfied with our needs of the present. Any graphs of population and development display
a slow steady growth line up a slightly bumpy desert trail over the last 10,000
years. The last 150 comparatively
display the Dead Sea to the summit of Mt. Everest. Check out the movie “Home” if you would like
to learn about the state of the natural world as a result of this influx in
ideas, people, greed, consciousness, diversity and belief.
What I am engaged in now is not “Saving the World” or
“Changing the Planet” on any scale. And
I wouldn’t be so arrogant to presume that my life isn’t being benefited by
these volunteer experiences. We are
coming into a country where opportunity simply stated isn’t the same. It is much more difficult for Nepalese to
leave their own country and it is fairly easy to enter here from the outside.
We are in a nation where there hasn’t been an election in
over 5 years, not from Nepal’s lack of trying (Maoists and other variables have
consistently disrupted this process), and there hasn’t been a clear ruling
party since the King died. There are
over 140 candidates of varying political philosophies being represented for the
next election, this November 2013.
In Nepal, there are over a million men working abroad in
gulf countries because of the western presence (or pressure) and its values
(without connoting good or bad) of money and development. As a result of this high population of
migrant workers (generally happening in poor conditions with little
compensation), an average of 5 to 7 Nepali’s day are being sent home in a body
bag. In Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city,
the main river was drinkable thirty years ago and is now filled with
garbage. We are in a nation where the
statistics of income, malnourishment, and abuse are shocking. The caste system is still in effect, though
becoming slowly more modern, and progressing still. I am no expert on Nepal. I am not even an amateur of knowledge. I’ve only been here a month and I’m relating
both facts and stories of those shared by Nepalis and westerners who have lived
here from 5 to 30 years. They speak
truths and you can see it in their eyes and hands and feet.
The boy on the street without family asks me not for money
but for a biscuit, as he gestures his hand to his mouth. He is not alone in feelings of helplessness. There are those who come to the
city for work as shopkeepers, transportation workers, stone breakers, brick
builders, most all of them leaving their family in the village. They are hoping to live a life where they can
strive for their dreams by making money or pursuing an education. The city life is very difficult and is without
the promise of making enough money for oneself to survive, let alone extra to
provide for their family back home. Those
who come to the city for work are not just men. I am speaking too of 16, 12, or
even boys under the age of 10 coming to the city alone.
Nepal is mostly Hindu with pockets of Buddhism throughout
the country. Buddha was born here, in
Lumbini, and offered his hand to a tiger, in Namo Buddha (where I was very
lucky to see a sunrise and explore the monastery earlier this week). Nepal is vivid in color, smells, and
life. Quality of life and eastern values
are different here, though we meet an interesting intersection.
The fact of the present is we are here, and we can openly acknowledge that we do not know the future. Are we supposed to change their culture? Take away traditions? Teach them English so they can function and
be successful in this modern world?
These are questions that the NGO I am working with asks. TBT does not enter blindly and it doesn’t
leave hastily. It works holistically
with social justice, from creating and establishing youth movements to be sustained
by the Nepali people and Nepali staff.
TBT also develops women’s empowerment groups, teacher’s clubs, and sets
up demonstrative organic farms to display methods of growing a diversity of
healthy, nutritious crops. The model of the demo farm is simple. Share knowledge of growing a diversity of
vegetables, practice crop rotation, and utilize all that the land has given us
without waste (making compost and biofertilizers from buffalo manure). It includes training, trial and research, and
a phase out period to help ensure its sustainability.
We aren’t changing the country. We are working in small villages and in the
cities, along with the thousands of other NGOs, and have been doing so for 6
years. The NGO is headed by an
incredible man, and staffed by extremely competent, professional and amazing
individuals. The group of 23 comes from
different walks of life, countries, and ranges in age from 22 to 51. The open discussions are stimulating and engaging. The videos, activities, trainings have been
exciting and challenging , both intellectually and emotionally. I could write pages about each day of the
last month, detailing stories of Shabbat dinners to microbus rides en route to
holy rivers where bodies are burned to guitar and songs on rooftops to the
amazing race in Kathmandu. I will
refrain for now, though the 3 days of living in a Nepali Village with a family
of women does deserve and will find its place in future writings.
I write all this now before I leave to Ramechhap. I will be living a simple life with 7 other
volunteers. We will be together for the
next 3 months, in the Nepal winter at 1900 meters without running water, heat,
and electricity, about an hour walk from a large vegetable market. We have great ambitions and I will update
what we build and grow in the future. As
well as documenting our interactions as a group and my personal experience with the Nepalis in the area. Our
understanding of the Nepali language is improving and we have many life
experiences that prepare us for this, though there are strong elements of the
new for all of us. There is a medical
student, a veterinarian, a public health graduate, a nutritionist, a social
worker, two teachers and leaders of communities, and myself. We are from Israel, California, New
York. We all have different reasons and
forces that drew us here and we will soon learn a lot more about each
other. Through this community of
orientation, the group I will live with in Helmo, and all interactions with
Nepal as a country and its people, I consider this:
What persists is the question of
giving and receiving, and how one gives and receives. As we enter this village that has never had a
large group of westerners enter previously into its existence, I will be
conscious of a negotiation of choices, this harmonious balance. I begin by listening, giving myself to the
culture, attempting glimpses of understanding.
I hope to be with the good intention of learning and living before
thoughts of changes or improvements or western values emerge. So here I go, walking humbly, open to
whatever may come.
And I end with what I wrote about Daisin, the 15 day
festival in October where a million people left Kathmandu to go their home
village to be with their family and
celebrate life.
It would be best to
first mention the row of taxis with the hoods all popped up, maybe 30 in a row,
all being blessed for Daisin (Hindu/Nepali nationwide festival). The incenses
are burning, the flowers are scattered helplessly across the engine, the
bumper, the earth. Elegant plates with
flower, herb, incense arrangements are placed as offerings for each one just
above the bumper. The bamboo swings are erected, children are flying 8 or more
meters in the air in pairs, and the kites reflecting the colors of Joseph's
dream coat are soaring with the eagles.
The streets are
crowded, to put it lightly. Music, chickens, goats, ducks, cows, buffalo,
pedestrians, cyclists, motorbikes, cars, tuk tuks, microbuses and buses are
making their way across town to the rhythm of Daisin. The Buddhist and Hindu
gods share history in specific regions and the integration of architecture,
art, temples, caste system are fascinating to me.
The colors of the
city are like the stimulation of the classroom, with passionate Israelis throwing
ideas around on topics of social justice, poverty, globalization like a food
fight in grade school. People amaze me.
I walked today by a
river where they cremate bodies. From there I walked up through a large temple
and into a forest and was surrounded by large trees and interesting looking
plants and wild smells. I sat for awhile watching the monkeys, either playing
or resting, or sleeping with their baby on its lap.
I sat with some holy
men from India. I took a microbus with 40 other Nepalis and found my way to my
present home in Swayambhu. Shabbat is just around the corner. I love these long
weeks knowing there will be a special day with a special meal, and great rest,
and laughing and sharing stories. This group is already more than friends with
each other.
There are holy
places, holy people and then there is us, living these moments. Life's only certainty is it is here in front of us, like morning winter breath, beckoning us not to miss it.
