Focus
on rural development in Maoist areas
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August
2005
From
Sankhuwasabha district
©
Naresh Newar/IRIN
Villagers
in a remote part of eastern Nepal sit down to hear the plans of an NGO
planning to introduce irrigation to increase farm production
It's
a daunting task for development worker Narab Bhupal Rai. Not only does
he have to walk for days to reach the remote villages where he works, he
also has to run the gauntlet of Maoist rebel leaders who regularly interrogate
him about his work and political affiliation. Despite the difficulties,
Rai continues to carry out his duties.
"What
choice do we have? The Maoists control 80 percent of the district and say
they have the authority to know all about our activities," explained Rai.
He
is employed by a local NGO, Sili Chong Club and works in nearly 11 Village
Development Committees (VDCs), located in the remote hills of Sankhuwasabha
district, in Koshi province, 200 km east of the capital, Kathmandu.
WORKING
IN REBEL AREAS |
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In
this area the nine-year-old Maoist insurgency means there is no government
presence outside the small district headquarters. The entire region has
been claimed by the rebels as their capital in the eastern part of Nepal.
It's a part of the country characterised by inadequate health facilities,
water shortages, poor agricultural production, low literacy rates and widespread
discrimination against women.
Despite
the hardships endured by the largely rural population, aid workers say
that the number of NGO programmes in the area have been drastically reduced.
Most are now confined to the district headquarters of Khandbari, the only
place in the region that remains well protected by government security
forces. The NGOs are tired of Maoist demands to pay 'donations' to the
movement and demands that they register with the 'people's government'
for permission to launch and maintain their projects.
"The
conflict has caused too many problems. We cannot work at the same pace
as before and it's the poor who are deprived of our assistance," said development
worker Durga Gautam.
MAOIST
RULES |
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Several
volunteers from remote community-based organisations explained that aid
and development work can continue as long as it falls within strict parameters
imposed by the Maoists: NGOs must be transparent and honest and must not
be funded by Washington or the Nepali government.
Programmes
related to women's development, irrigation, agriculture, health and water,
funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID), Germany's
GTZ and the World Bank, are all running smoothly. They add, however, that
road construction projects are sometimes closed by the rebels because they
are partially funded by Kathmandu.
Several
village-based community leaders told IRIN during a recent visit to the
region that no aid workers had been harmed, beaten or killed so far, but
the fear of attack remains very real for those at risk.
"The
Maoists often come to our villages and check our progress to ensure that
we are working according to our plans," said Mina Gurung, head of a women's
training group in Sitalpati, about six hours walk from Khandbari. "We show
them all our budget expenses and they also ask local villagers if they
are satisfied with our work," added Gurung.
Other
development workers are unhappy that the rebels are constantly looking
over their shoulders.
"Ultimately,
it's the people who monitor whether we are doing a good job or not. If
we fail in our work, then they are the ones who decide whether we should
stay or leave," said Rudra Thapa from Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN),
one of the few NGOs that works in the remote areas of the district.
CAUGHT
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE INSURGENCY |
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Aid
workers feel they are caught between the government and the rebels. Often
NGO staff are compelled to pay a monthly 'income tax' of 10 percent of
their total salary. The danger of being forced to do this is that those
who pay are then vulnerable to interrogation and arrest by security personnel
because they may be regarded as guilty of funding the insurgents with their
payments. Many of them have already been harassed by the local government
administration.
The
situation for NGOs becomes even more treacherous because there is no consistency
amongst rebel leaders, according to staff.
"There
are different sets of Maoist rules and policies in every VDC. The senior
leaders have given the VDC Maoist in charge, full freedom to introduce
any policy to suit their interests," explained Thapa.
Now
NGOs who are suffering under this difficult and dangerous system have had
enough and want the United Nations to take the rebels to task over the
issue.
"The
working environment is not safe for us. The international agencies, especially
the UN, have to really put strong pressure on the top Maoist leadership
to ensure that the junior cadres allow us to work without any threats or
pressure," said aid worker Srijan Adhikari.
Local
people, who are the ones with most to gain from the development work, are
also fighting back against the restrictions imposed by the rebels. Recently,
in the remote Jaljala VDC, villagers took on the rebels after a local NGO
was warned to stop work on an income generation project. They told the
rebels that they would be prepared to fight against them if the project
closed down.
"The
Maoists agreed not to create any more obstacles for the project and it
is now running successfully," said Prem Shrestha, a local village worker.
"The people will do anything to protect such a project that is really helping
them," added Shrestha.
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Credit
and Copyright © IRIN 2005
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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