da United We Blog...THE WAR IS OVER, NEPAL DECLARES!
How it feels to see the end of the bloody war An emotional blog
By Dinesh WagleWagle’s Web Log
Less than a minute ago, amidst a grand and historic ceremony, Nepali leaders agreed to end the war that killed more than 13 thousand people in the last 10 years. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN Maoist Chairman Prachanda put their respective signatures in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that formally ended the bloodshed in Nepal. The signature ceremony is being telecast live and it has been reported that people have started celebrating the historic achievement. Honestly, my hands are trembling as I am typing these lines. I mean it’s kind of unbelievable. Who would have though about this day when Beni was attacked, when Madi was bombed, when operation Kilo Sera 2 was launched, when Holery incident happened, when Dang barrack was attacked?
Of course, I am being emotional because the continuity of war was certain to derail my personal life, my social life and my future; OUR LIVES AND OUR FUTURE. Like thousands of other families my family has also been displaced by the conflict. Life has become difficult. I am wondering how my mother, like so many other displaced mothers, would react if she goes back to her house in the near future after nearly 6 years. She says that she misses her house very much. She says she doesn’t really like the life in Kathmandu. She says she likes to live in village. In HER village, in HER house.
So who should be blamed for the difficulties my mother and thousands of women and children faced in the past several years? No one. Not Maoists, not Nepal government. I don’t want to blame any side for this as I understand the problem is larger than anything that could be fitted into a family’s case. I still feel the war wasn’t personal though, many a times, people were personally targeted. I am just thankful (to whom I don’t know) that my father wasn’t killed like his fellow Village Development Committee Chairmen and Nepali Congress activists were murdered in various parts of the country; he was just kicked out of his house and his village by the Maoists. I am thankful to God that my aunt wasn’t killed like so many other innocent housewives; she was just beaten up and tortured by the Maoists for three days. I am thankful that Maoists never blasted off my house in Ramechhap, they just came inside, forcefully though, with a few grenades and bombs and took away food. I am just thankful that my house where I was born isn’t totally destroyed, it’s just damaged partly because no one is staying for long period in the mud and stone structure. Though Maoists captured and cultivated the land for about 6 years and deprived us from the grains, I am thankful that our land is still registered in the name of my father and mother.
We, like so many thousands of other families, became what they call the ‘collateral damage’. I mean my family is still the privileged one, still being able to feed and have a place to live in Kathmandu. What about those who are living miserable life, forced to stay out of their homes and take refuge to others’ residents? What about those who were killed? What about some of my childhood friends who died (two of them as “terrorist”)? How are their surviving family members celebrating this day? I am curious to know.
After the celebration is over we must concentrate ourselves in institutionalizing this peace. We have known the price of this peace. Now is the time to talk about reconciliation. I wouldn’t be truthful if I say that I had never thought about taking revenge against those who forced my family to leave their house and village. But I don’t believe in revenge anymore. There is no use of that. Time will change everything. The Maoist cadre who came to my house with a few grenades and a gun one evening to demand ‘donation’ left the Maoist party years ago. He is now a columnist for a newspaper in Kathmandu writing against the party. The man who is primarily responsible in capturing our land and keeping our family out of village telephoned my dad a few days ago in Kathmandu. Time has definitely changed. So this is the time of reconciliation. We must be united at this hour to institutionalize the peace and democracy in this country.
Here we go, lets sing with Lennon. I am doing the same in loud voice:
A very Merry XmasAnd a happy New YearLet’s hope it’s a good oneWithout any fearWar is over, if you want itWar is over now
