A changing political landscape...

Another week has flown by! About an hour I left the office last Friday, I realized I had forgotten to post about exactly what I had initially intended on writing about: the interesting turn the political landscape has taken here in Nepal. Ever since I began my initial involvement with USD's IPJ as an intern over a year ago now (which is eventually what led me to the School of Peace Studies), it has seemed like every time someone affiliated with the Institute or School is planning a trip to Nepal, something interesting happens either right before they depart, or while they are here. Like in May 2009 when a group from the IPJ was here and the Maoists left the government...or just this past May when there was a week-long strike that took place right before a group from the IPJ departed San Diego, and now, the pattern has continued...I am here, and last Wednesday, June 30, Prime Minister Nepal, of Nepal (yes, his last name is also Nepal...confusing, I know!), resigned from his post as PM.

So far, there hasn't been any problems, at least from what I have read in the newspapers and/or from what I have experienced myself. But the newspapers have also not been completely free of warnings about the potential for the situation to bring an increase in tensions, especially among the three major political parties. All three of the parties are wanting and trying to stake a claim to the PM seat, and combined with other, ongoing disagreements about such things as whether a Parliamentary government or a Presidentially-led government is best, how many ex-Maoist combatants will be integrated into the Nepal Army and when, whether there should be a national consensus government or a majority government, etc., the country seems to be walking a thin line (though again, this is not the first time in recent months or years that this has happened). To reassure you, as I mentioned above, I have not been frightened or experienced/seen anything too much out of the ordinary here in Pokhara. From the sounds of things, it seems as though there are just a lot of 'heated talks' taking place in the capital at this point, which is also not anything extremely new for Nepal, since the ongoing pattern seems to be that a very few number of powerful people - the few leaders of the political parties - are the ones who make all of the decisions all the time (i.e., there is no sign of representative democracy here). Sabita and I regularly take both morning and evening walks these days, so one thing we have noticed is an increase in the presence and visibility of the army. We have noticed them just standing on street corners with guns almost every time we leave the house, and two times after being out to dinner past dark, we were waved through what I have termed 'informal military checkpoints' on Sabita's scooter. Cars and scooters ahead of us were stopped, though I'm not sure exactly what the military personnel were checking for, since again, we were waved through without being stopped; I've thought about this, and maybe it's because we are women, or maybe it's because I look like a tourist...these also might both be incorrect assumptions, as well, so maybe the checks are 'random' and we have just gotten lucky so far.

In relation to all of this, I have talked to Sabita a couple of times about the conflict that began in Nepal in the 1990s and ended just four years ago in 2006. She has said that the city of Pokhara, and the district we are in, Kaski, were not places among the most affected by the conflict. I have tried to push this topic a little bit, as I have begun to feel more comfortable with Sabita, but I still sense a reluctance to discuss the conflict and/or the possibility of the current rising tensions turning in to something more than what they currently are - maybe a reluctance to tread into a conversation that maybe seems much too familiar to past experiences and memories? I have thought about two possibilities that might explain this reluctance. First, I have thought that perhaps the reluctance comes from the fact that this area was truly not affected in the same way as others, so maybe there truly isn't much to say. But secondly, perhaps the reluctance has to do with the collective memory of the country's people. As I have learned about in my studies, in post-conflict communities and countries, sometimes people are anxious to tell their stories so that a collective history can be shared, recorded and reconciled, and so that reparations can be made where they are due, etc...and all of this is often done in the name of the society having the ability to begin to heal and 'move on, for lack of a better term. On the other hand, and in other post-conflict communities and countries, people are more anxious to 'forget' conflict and trauma...not that they literally forget what happened or what was suffered, but that it's, in some cases, 'easier' to not do the things I mentioned earlier - easier to not talk about and share experiences and easier to not relive them on a daily basis, as well. So again, maybe this reluctance I have sensed comes from a resiliency strategy - a strategy maybe many Nepali people have adopted in attempts to live lives closer to those they they lived prior to the conflict. I don't know, but I am going to keep exploring.

I also should note, though, that the above description/analysis is incomplete, and does not do the academic research that has been done on these types of issues in post-conflict situations any justice! This was simply a reflection on some of my experiences as they relate to some articles I've read in the past...which again, compared to the amount of material available, has been insignificant.

Well, that turned into much more of an 'essay' than I had intended, but I am glad because after looking at my previous posts, I seem to have been posting in a self-indulgent kind of way...only telling you about me and my feelings and forgetting about other important things at times. Very quickly, I am doing great...still loving spending time with Sabita very most of all, and still having improved experiences at CWES, as well...I attended a training with CWES staff members and HIV/AIDS community mobilizers for two days this week, which was insightful and made time fly by even more quickly. Something else I have been thinking about is how, long before I ever came to Nepal, I have been concentrating on trying very hard to simply 'live and be' in each present moment, rather than constantly thinking/worrying about the past or the future all the time. I have been trying to do this, here, as well - whether I am on a morning walk, talking with Sabita about something funny or serious, working on a project at my internship, or simply sitting on the porch watching children play below in the street. However, I have to admit that there is something that is somewhat hindering this 'practice of presence' for me, and it is the fact that I have, originally unconsciously but now more consciously, officially begun the countdown until the day when my Mom gets here (it's only 20 days now, by the way)! I seem to be distracted often thinking about the moment that I will get to see her face and give her a huge hug and kiss, and also thinking about and planning the wonderful things we will have the opportunity to do together while she is here...all things that will be once-in-a-lifetime experiences for both of us, together. I guess if I am distracted by anything, though, this is not the worst thing I could be thinking about :) I miss her so much...her and my dad most of all for sure...and am getting 'antsy' waiting for her to arrive!

Anyways, I'm so excited it's Friday and that tomorrow is a day off! I think I will be attending a rice-planting festival at a friend's house from CWES...which apparently will involved throwing mud and getting very dirty, bahaha, can you imagine?! I think Sabita is coming with me, and we have agreed it's a bad idea to wear white, but hopefully I'll have some great pictures! Miss you and love you all.