Children in search of peace

Original Nepali version by Shanti Thapa Magar and Krishna Sarbahari
English translation by Shanti Thapa
Edited by Marty Logan

Table of contents

Foreword

Acknowledgement

1 Background
1.1 Orphaned children
1.2 Displaced children
1.3 Abducted children
1.4 Physical and sexual abuse of children
1.5 School closures
1.6 Conflict-affected children in Kathmandu

2 Children’s stories

2.1 Orphan Kishor’s life

2.2 Khagendra wants to be a teacher

2.3 Satan – Humla to Kathmandu
2.4 Reincarnation of Jaya
2.5 Prativa dreams of becoming a doctor
2.6 Raman’s memory of Mugu
2.7 City has touched Mukul and Shivaraj

3 Conclusion

Shanti Sewa Griha
Shanti Sewa School
Teaching methodology
Opinions of former students

Afterword: Following publication of the original Nepali version, “Shanti ko Khoji ma Bal Balika”

Foreword
This book is one of the products of the People’s Documentation Project for Peace in Nepal, launched by a group of individuals living in Nepal with the aim of documenting ordinary people’s lives from a variety of perspectives – from different genders, ages, classes, ethnicities/castes, religions and regions – in order to offer diverse views and to avoid domination of the perceptions of particular groups. In Nepal, very few stories and messages are documented by ordinary people, making it difficult to learn lessons from history through their perspectives. This project aims to empower the people by involving them in a documentation process, and to utilize the collected material to provide lessons for future generations. Participants choose the topics themselves, and can document them using any medium, including by writing essays, diaries and poems; drawing; and photography.

Shanti Thapa Magar, one of the co-authors of this book, is an ex-employee of Shanti Sewa School, a primary school which is run by an NGO called Shanti Sewa Griha (SSG). SSG was established to provide services to people affected by leprosy as well as to handicapped people. In March 2005, Shanti left the school for some months and when she returned at the end of the year, she was surprised to see many more students at the school who had been affected by the decade-long conflict between State security forces and Maoist rebels.

In the past, Shanti, like many other residents of the capital Kathmandu, paid little attention to the conflict because she believed that it only affected the remote areas of Nepal. However, after meeting with the conflict affected students and interviewing some of them, she could not ignore it anymore – the conflict became her own concern.

Yet Shanti faced difficulties interacting with the children, who were deeply traumatized after fearful experiences in their villages. She was often confused about how to conduct interviews and then how to use the information she had collected; it was painful for her to continue listening to the children’s stories knowing she had no plans for the information. Still, she used several methods to encourage the children to express themselves creatively, such as via drawing and writing poems.

By June 2006, when the group for this project was re-assembled in order to compile the collected information, Shanti understood well that documentation is important both for victims of conflict and for others who are unaware of it.

This book describes the lives of children who escaped the conflict in their villages, mostly in Mid-Western and Western Nepal. Shanti asked them to write about their experiences and conducted interviews to verify the information. Afterward, she selected seven stories that are typical about migration from villages during the conflict, such as losing a guardian to death by crossfire, abduction, displacement, sexual exploitation and the closure of schools. I hope that after reading the children’s experiences, readers will better understand how they suffered due to the conflict; how they are coping with their new environment in Kathmandu and how we can support them as neighbors, friends and citizens living in Kathmandu.

This modest work is a joint effort of the authors and children at Shanti Sewa School. Mr. Krishna Sarbahari worked very efficiently as an editor cum author. The sponsorship of the Niwano Peace Foundation, Japan, has permitted us to publish this book and to continue the documentation process. Last but not least, the patience of the management and children of Shanti Sewa School should be highly acknowledged.

Masako Tanaka
Coordinator
People’s Documentation Project for Peace in Nepal
September 2006

Acknowledgement
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work as a teacher at Shanti Sewa School from May 2001 to March 2005. I was able to share my knowledge and skills with my dear students and myself received valuable coaching and training from some extremely talented colleagues from different parts of the world. When at the end of March 2005 I had to leave Nepal for my personal work, I reluctantly left behind my adoring students and precious companions.

Although far from Nepal, I thought often about my students, friends, leprosy patients and all those people linked to Shanti Sewa. The children were especially very close to my heart; I felt that I had established a spiritual connection to them. I returned to Nepal at the end of October 2005 and during this new phase an honorable person in my life, Masako Tanaka sister, always encouraged my will and strength. She showed me how to always walk on a pathway of illumination. She also suggested that I write a diary, which I began to do.

One day after I returned, I went to Shanti Sewa School to meet my ex-students and friends and found that the numbers of students had increased. My colleagues told me that these students had been displaced from rural areas by the conflict. Masako sister and I discussed these children, and decided that we would keep records about them.

Although both of us were unsure how we would use this material, I started collecting information about these conflict-affected children and interviewing some of them. Whenever I heard a child’s dreadful life story I wanted to help them immensely, but unfortunately I was only able to share their sorrows. Although I was unable to help them economically, I think that they felt relief when they shared their hidden sorrows with me.

At the same time, Masako sister urged me to take photography training, which I did, thanks to her support. During this time, I encountered a group of boys who had become street children because of the conflict.

Masako sister and I had planned to visit Humla and Jumla districts to interview conflict victims, including children. But we realized it would be more effective if the people themselves wrote their stories. So, we began encouraging both adults and children to document their lives. We also taught children how to use a camera and encouraged them to take photos in order to further share their experiences with the world.

Because of my involvement in the People’s Documentation Project for Peace in Nepal, I got the chance to visit Dang and Surkhet districts with Masako sister, where we met conflict victims. During our discussion programs, we talked with children, women and youth. Most of the participants were very keen to cooperate in the peace-building project.

That visit to Dang and Surkhet gave me spirit and courage to complete the Project, and when I returned to Kathmandu I redoubled my efforts. While writing this book I learnt many things about my country, its places and the lives of its people; I had never seen Nepal’s map so clearly. Also, I used to think that because the place where I was living was safe, the rest of the country must be so too. I learned that the reality was different. The more I discovered about my country, the more curious I became and the stronger became the bond that holds me to it. Nowadays, if I hear any bad news about Nepal I feel pain in my heart.

There is a saying: “Today’s children are tomorrow’s future.” If Nepal’s children have seen their brothers, sisters and parents fighting and killing one another, what kind of future can we expect? What effect will this have on their innocent hearts and minds? We can only imagine. Thousands of Nepalese children continue suffering because of the conflict.

The lucky children get a chance to study at Shanti Sewa School. It is our duty to show them the path of light with lots of love and admiration, so they can start new lives. We must also help them realize their rights, including the right to an education.

This book is our contribution to creating peace in Nepal. In that vein, I would like to request that all readers begin to see children and schools as “zones of peace”[i]. Of course, it’s also our responsibility to speak up on behalf of those children who are displaced and deprived of education and proper care. As individuals we should all do what we can to create peace.

Finally, I would like to heartily thank the SSG family for allowing me to write about the School. I am especially thankful to Masako Tanaka sister for involving me in this project, to Krishna Sarbahari for editing my writings and to Prem Prakash Chaudhary for his help with typing.

Shanti Thapa Magar
Boudhanath, Kathmandu

September 2006

[i] Children as Zones of Peace (CZOP) is a campaign by Child Rights Organisations.

1 Background
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), or CPN (M), launched its “people’s war” (Jana Yudya) in 1996. In the beginning the party made great strides by helping ordinary people in the rural areas, but soon the situation in the countryside became unpredictable and frightening for villagers.

From the start, voices were raised to solve the conflict peacefully. Maoist and government leaders held peace talks but without positive results. In 2001, the Maoists broke peace talks by attacking the army barracks in Dang district without warning. The government led by the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declared a state of emergency with effect from 26 November 2001, labeling CPN (M) a “terrorist” organization.

King Gyanendra seized power on 1 February 2005 blaming successive governments for failing to end the insurgency, but on 24 April 2006 the “people’s movement” forced him to return power to the legislature. Since then, the Maoists have emerged from underground and joined mainstream politics but many people continue to live in precarious circumstances. According to reports, CPN (M) continued to recruit minors after it and the government declared ceasefires in 2006.

1.1 Orphaned children
No happiness results from conflict. In the past decade, thousands of Nepalese were killed. According to a report by a local NGO, Informal Service Sector (INSEC), from 13 February 1996 to 31 December 2006, government forces were responsible for the deaths of 8,377 people and the Maoists for 4,979 deaths[i]. At the same time, according to another NGO, CWIN, 8,000 children became orphans after their parents were killed in fighting between Maoist and government soldiers[ii]. Other children were as good as orphaned when they had to leave their village homes to escape the risks posed by the Maoists and government security forces which included disruption to schools. Of the children whose parents were killed, most seem physically and mentally distressed today, many after having eye-witnessed the killings. During the 11 years of conflict, 485 children lost their lives – including 134 girls – and 545 children were physically disabled (among them 152 girls), according to CWIN[iii].

Put simply: one year of conflict has repercussions for an entire decade while a decade-long conflict affects an entire epoch. For example, Japan is still experiencing the effects of the Second World War, which ended in 1945. Those Nepalese who were directly touched by the conflict will feel its effects till the ends of their lives.

1.2 Displaced children
According to CWIN’s survey, 40,000 children were displaced during the conflict. For most, that spelled an end to their studies. Many families migrated to cities to escape risks in their villages. Others thought that they were sending their children out of harm’s way but after arriving in cities in Nepal and India, the children were forced to work as laborers.

After the Maoists put pressure on children to become whole timers for the party, their parents started to send them to the capital with people they knew. These people offered to send the children to good schools in Kathmandu, and parents paid them Rs[iv] 10,000 to 20,000 per child, thinking it would be a better to send them away for a good cause than to let them remain unsafe in the villages.

A study was done in Humla district by the Women’s Law & Development Forum, with the help of UNICEF, from 29 December 2004 to 1 January 2005. According to one person involved, many children were sent from the district as orphans although their parents remained alive. The Chief District Officer did nothing to stop the practice, which further encouraged it. The fates of the hundreds of children who were lured to the city under false pretenses remain unknown.

1.3 Abducted children
Many people were forced to leave their villages and settle in cities during the conflict because of fear of abduction. Government forces took people who they alleged of being Maoists while the rebels seized those they accused of spying on them. According to INSEC, 63,985 people had been abducted by one group or another from 16th February 1996 to 15th September 2006. Many of those abducted were tortured severely.

According to CWIN, 31,087 students and their teachers were forcibly taken to attend Maoist programs of “people’s education” during the 11-year insurgency. The NGO reported that 254 were arrested by government forces.

International law prohibits the use of children under the age of 18 in any kind of war-related activity. While the Nepal Army does not recruit children, the Maoists have been accused of doing so. During the conflict, many people fled their homes because of the Maoist policy of “one house, one recruit”. From August 2005 to July 2006, 1,057 children went missing – 533 boys and 524 girls.

1.4 Physical and sexual abuse of children
On the one hand, the Maoists forced children to participate in their programs, while on the other, police tortured children for their involvement in Maoist activities. Usually police arrested children to try to get information, and then tortured them both mentally and physically. From January to August 2006 police arrested 19 children, according to records[v]. One girl committed suicide after she was tortured and raped in police custody.

Uma Chaudhary[vi] of Tikapur in Kailali district was arrested five years ago when she was 15. For five years, she worked as a domestic helper in the home of Colonel Ajaya Singh Thakuri in the capital Kathmandu. In a statement Uma gave after she was released, she said, “Some army personnel blindfolded me and took me to the Teghari ground in Kailali. They made me alone. At night they tried to remove my clothes and touch my body. At a time like that, I had no choice but to scream, and they gagged my mouth with their hands every time I screamed.”

There were many other cases of sexual harassment of young children like Uma during the conflict.

1.5 School closures
According to government statistics, there are 35,000 schools across the country, both government and private-run, where about 500,000[vii] students are studying. During the conflict, many schools were disrupted and nearly 200 private schools were forced to close by the Maoist-affiliated student union, which accused private schools of turning education into a business.

The primary victims of such closures were children. Schools should open a minimum of 185 days every year, according to the government’s work schedule, but in Nepal in the last five years, they have run barely 150 days annually. After the success of the second “people’s movement” in April 2006, the number of strikes has actually increased.

According to CWIN, 3,735 schools countrywide were closed from time to time for a period of 18 months in 2005 and 2006. Similarly, 3,838 schools were directly affected by the conflict.

Although it is generally accepted that children as well as schools are zones of peace, both the Maoists and the government acted otherwise. It’s reported that by August 2006, Maoists had built bunkers at 56 schools while the army had erected security posts in eight schools. Despite the political changes in the country, security posts have still not been removed from these schools.

Many students were affected by the clashes between the Maoists and security forces which took place at three schools. On 13th October 2003, Sharda Higher Secondary School in Mudvara of Doti was attacked by government forces while the Maoists were organizing a program there. Four students died and nine were injured, in what is considered the deadliest incident in a school during the fighting. Also, six Maoists were killed in by the security forces in the same incident.

The concept of “Education for All[viii]” by 2015 has been introduced in Nepal. But according to government statistics, given in the August 2006 edition of Prachi bimonthly, 20% children who have reached school-going age are still unable to attend school. The school drop-out rate is also very high because the conflict.

The Millennium Development Goals report mentions that by 2015, 50% of the children admitted to Class 1 will have reached Class 5. At the moment, 63% of Nepalese children leave school without completing primary education.

The study shows that military activities conducted by both the State and Maoist rebels in the school premises have traumatized the students. At a time when the Maoists have laid down their arms and participated in the peace process, the students in heavily affected areas like the Mid- and Far-West have experienced serious problems, such as trembling, being constantly frightened and unable to concentrate on studies, which are some indications of such trauma.

1.6 Conflict-affected children in Kathmandu
Most victims of the conflict, including children, were from remote parts of Nepal but Kathmandu was not untouched. On 18 September 2006, the Maoist affiliated student union forced children to take part in their national conference. Many of these children were too young to understand the politics involved. During the day, all schools in the Kathmandu Valley were forced to close and the union forced local buses and some from private schools to carry children. Because the buses were too few in number, they carried children on their roofs. The slogan of the event was: “Janatako chhora chhori sabai akhil krantikari”. (“All ordinary people’s children are Maoists.”)

Not only that, these children were asked to head bands bearing the red star logo[ix] and chant slogans. Maoists in other parts of Nepal also used young children in their programs. The party created a children’s union that included students from Class 1 to Class 10. As such activities affect children mentally as well as interrupt their studies, education officers and human rights representatives asked the Maoists to stop the practices, but they were not taken seriously.

There are many examples of the Maoists vandalizing and setting fire to schools in Kathmandu. By 15 September 2006, security forces had set up posts on the roofs of half a dozen schools in the capital.

Because of the conflict, thousands of families migrated to Katmandu, in many cases to live in a single cold dark room. In such places, without fresh air and in dim light, it’s very hard for children to study. They get sick for lack of a healthy environment.

Conflict-affected children, as well as those associated with armed forces and armed groups, must be reunified with their families as soon as possible. The commitments expressed by the government and responsible political parties in relation to the protection and development of these children, must be implemented as soon as possible.

[i] INSEC 2007. Human Rights Yearbook 2006. p 10.
[ii] Source could not be found
[iii] Source could not be found
[iv] Rs (or NRs) is short for rupees, the national currency of Nepal. 1 USD is around 77 NRs. Live rates are available at www.xe.com.
[v] Source of records not specified
[vi] Real name changed
[vii] This figure is quoted from the original Nepali text. The given number of students is too small. It should be 5,000,000.
[viii] Education for All (EFA), http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=46881&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
[ix] Red star symbolizes the Maoist party

2 Children’s stories

During the course of this study, we came across children who had their own stories of misery and suffering. After being forced by the Maoists to cook for them, pay donations and to join their party, many parents fled their villages and took their children with them. It was also found that many parents sent their children to Kathmandu with people they knew because their education would be at risk if they remained in the village. At first, we wanted to include eight of their stories, but because the reasons for their displacement seemed similar, we decided to include only seven stories in the end. These children have faced various problems. For instance, they have been orphaned as a result of atrocities by the Maoists or security forces; they have been caught in crossfire; they have been displaced because of the conflict; they have been subjected to the ill-practice of untouchability. In order to protect the children’s identities, their real names have been changed in the following stories.

2.1 Orphan Kishor’s life
Kishor was only 7 years of age when his mother died from lack of treatment and medicine for her cancer, depriving the young boy of his mother’s love and cozy lap. Kishor and his elder brother Suresh lived with his father Motiram Nepali, a woodcutter, in their home on government land in Chitwan. The family was very poor.

A few months after his wife’s death, Motiram was cutting wood in the jungle one day when suddenly some soldiers came and arrested him. They accused him of being a Maoist and kept him in prison for two years. Kishor and Suresh appealed to many people for the release of their father but no one heard them. When they went to police stations seeking help to free their father, they were called “a Maoist’s sons” and sent away.

Because the brothers are from a lower caste, their neighbors and the larger society hated them. Without a father and mother, Kishor forgot how to smile. Suresh, who was then 20, struggled to provide the brothers with two meals a day.

After two long years, Motiram was released from prison. Meeting him again was the happiest moment of Kishor’s life; both brothers cried to see their father again. Quickly, Motiram resumed making a living for his family – cutting wood in the jungle to sell in the city. However, one day he was again arrested by the Army, but unfortunately this time they did not imprison Motiram; they shot him on the spot after accusing him of being a Maoist.

Kishor and his brother had to face another tragedy. After the funeral ceremony, the brothers realized that they couldn’t stay in the same place: most people hated them because of their caste and they were scared that the soldiers would also label them Maoists.

The brothers left their hut in Chitwan and came to Sundarijal in Kathmandu. Suresh got work as a laborer and soon after heard about SSG. He went there for help and got a job and a room where the brothers could live. SSG gave Suresh work on their land in Sundarijal, and Kishor was admitted to the Shanti Sewa School in Budhanilkantha.

In Chitwan, Kishor had studied till Class 1 but no further because of his family’s poor economic condition. Now 10 years old, he is studying in Class 2. When he was younger, he had an accident that damaged his left eye. Again for lack of money, it was not treated and today his eye is damaged. He says, “When I was in my village most of the people used to humiliate me and insult and hate me because of our poverty, low caste and my physical appearance. But now in Shanti Sewa no one laughs at me. Instead, everyone loves and cares for each other. I feel very happy to be here.”

Kishor says he feels like he is living a new life in SSS. Sometimes Suresh comes to meet him at the school. According to Kishor’s class teacher, Rabina Shahi, the boy’s behavior towards his friends is very good and he is very polite but sometimes he seems upset. He is good in all subjects except English. Kishor hasn’t forgotten his mother’s death by cancer and wants to be a doctor so he can serve sick and poor patients. May his dreams come true.

2.2 Khagendra wants to be a teacher
Khagendra Bahadur Shahi is studying in Class 5 at SS School. From Darma village in Humla district, Khagendra wrote this diary describing the effects of the conflict on Nepal:

“Our country’s situation has put many Nepalese people in critical condition. People are in a dilemma over how to live their lives. People are wishing for peace. I am also wishing for peace; I want everyone to live their lives happily. I want all the children who are deprived of an education to be able to go to school.

I wish the Maoists had not made the poor people in the villages suffer. When I was in my village, Maoists used to take away people’s assets. If people resisted giving up their property, the Maoists used to burn it. They used to throw away students’ books and take the students with them. With their frequent strikes, they stopped people from buying and selling rice. This forced some people to starve to death.”

Khagendra also wanted to study in his village but because of the Maoists’ activities, his mother sent him to the city where he could live with a relative while studying. It was a very sad moment when he left his mother, sister and brother, but with the hope that he could soon be getting a good education, he started his journey. After walking six days from Humla to Surkhet, he took a bus to Nepalgunj, where Khagendra’s mother believed that he would be safe. Instead, the person who accompanied Khagendra from his village did not enroll him in school but had him do the housework for someone else.

Khagendra had to do all the chores, such as clean dishes, wash clothes and sweep. He missed his family very much, and cried often remembering his mother’s cozy lap and his friends. It was hard to adjust to Nepalgunj, which is much hotter than Humla. He missed the Karnali River, which flows near his village. He constantly prayed to God to send anyone from his home, and one day his elder brother Rajendra came to see him. Khagendra told his brother everything and soon his journey to Kathmandu began.

Rajendra had a friend in Kathmandu who knew about SSS, and with his help, Khagendra got a chance to study there. He is much happier there, although he says sometimes memories of his family and village are very painful. “My place is very poor. Sometimes we cannot buy salt in the market so we have to eat sisnu (stinging nettle) without salt. During the conflict, the villagers faced many problems from the Maoists but they never forgot their rituals and culture. They have faith in God and they prayed to God for peace. My villagers are very innocent.”

Khagendra’s father died when he was very small but he does not know why. His elder brother Rajendra left the village four to five years ago because he was frightened of the Maoists. He moved to the district headquarters, where he continued to study.

This is how Khagendra, who loves to write poems, expresses the suffering of the people of Humla, in his own words:

In spite of all the misery, I kept enduring the pain
I always protected my culture and heritage
No matter how many times I was beaten up, I endured it
No matter how much I suffered, I put aside my suffering

In spite of the pain, beating and suffering that the people of Humla have to bear with, as expressed in Khagendra’s poem, they have been protecting their culture and heritage.Khagendra is surprised and happy to be learning at a school that uses a practical teaching method. He says many children in his village who were affected by the conflict do not get the chance to go to school. “I want to be a good teacher and want to teach children in the village,” he adds.

2.3 Satan - Humla to Kathmandu
Sanu Bhandari could not sleep the entire night after the Maoists abducted her 18-year-old son. Satan Bhandari, who was just 7, could not control himself and began to cry when he saw tears in his mother’s eyes.

Satan’s father died when he was very young. As a widow it was very difficult for Sanu to look after her two sons and her household, but whenever she gazed at the boys she felt relief and forgot all her pains and sorrows. So when the Maoists kidnapped her elder son, she could do nothing except cry day and night.

Fortunately, after two days Madan escaped from the Maoists and returned home. Sanu was very happy to see her son return safely. Madan told her the Maoists were also taking young children and that he worried about his younger brother Satan. The two of them decided to send Satan to Kathmandu with a man who often came to their village from the capital.

Satan was still very young and liked to play in his mother’s cozy lap. It melted her heart to send him miles away, but conditions in the village were so critical she convinced herself that it would be better to send him to a peaceful and secure place.

When Satan left home there were tears in the eyes of all his family and friends. The boy also cried a lot.

Satan was born into an average farm family. His mother worked the whole day on the farm, helped by his brother Madan. His sister studied in a government school in Humla. Satan’s eight-day trip to Kathmandu was his first long journey. When he arrived in the capital he felt that he was in a big new world, everywhere full of lights. The person who brought him from Humla knew about SSS and had Satan admitted in Class 2.

Satan does not know the address of his village, otherwise he could send a letter to his mother. He has already prepared the letter and photo to send to her and is waiting for the man who brought him to Kathmandu to come again so he can give him the letter. Satan knows only that the man’s name is Nandalal Bahadur Shahi. But he doesn’t know where he stays or what his occupation is.

Satan has visited many places in Kathmandu during class picnics, like Sankhu, Godawari, Thankot, Sundarijal and Bhaktapur. Now he lives in the SSS boarding house. His accommodation, food, clothes and all his school materials are provided free of cost by the school. His face bears a bright smile and he is friendly. But sometimes, he seems quite upset. “His seriousness also makes us feel sad,” says his teacher Rabina.

Satan says, “I want to be a doctor, because in my village there are very few health posts and doctors, so most people use herbal medicine and believe in jhankri (traditional healing). I want to become a doctor so I can serve the poor and sick people of my village.”

Satan is grateful for the help he receives from the SSS family. It is one reason why he has so much empathy for poor and sick people. He thinks often of his village and friends, how if conflict had not affected his village he might still be there in his mother’s cozy lap.

2.4 Reincarnation of Jaya
“There were rumors that the Maoists were going to attack the police post in Charikot, the district headquarters of Dolakha, where we had a small hotel. We didn’t have our own home so were living in a rented house. Although we knew the Maoists were going to attack, we could not leave that place because we didn’t know where to go. I used to help my mother with her work in the morning and evening and in the afternoon I went to school. My school’s name was Pasupati Kanya Mandir.”

The above statement was given by Jaya Khadka, who is originally from the Guluppa village in Chilankha of Dolakha. To reach her village requires a full day of walking from Charikot as there is no good road.

The night of 9th April 2005 marked a huge shift in Jaya’s life. She was asleep with her four brothers and mother; her father had gone to cut bamboo. Suddenly, at midnight, she was awoken by tremendous explosions. People were shouting and running to and fro. It soon became clear that a battle had broken out between the Maoists and security forces. Jaya recalls, “We were so scared at that time. Then a bullet came and hit my foot. I think I said something to my mother and then I fainted.”

Jaya’s mother, Durga Khadka, recalls that night, “Jaya was shouting ‘Mommy, I haven’t got one leg’. I pushed my five children under the bed. When I realized we couldn’t stay in such an unsafe place I picked my two sons and asked Jaya to carry her other two brothers, but she was unconscious. It was dark but I could feel that her clothes were wet. I thought she must have peed herself because she was so scared, but later she again said ‘Mother, I really lost my leg’, so I checked; I got a shock when I saw that her dress was soaked in blood.”

“I think my heart stopped beating for some seconds. That night passed so slowly that it felt like a hundred years. I couldn’t wait for the morning so I carried my children to my friend’s home. I wasn’t conscious of the risk of crossfire; I just walked, carrying my children for about 20 minutes until I reached my friend’s home.”

They bound Jaya’s leg with a scarf. The next morning, Durga went to the army camp to ask for help. The Army took Jaya to Kathmandu by helicopter, where she received good treatment in the Army hospital in Chhauni.

That was the start of Jaya’s new life.

After the incident Jaya’s parents decided to leave their village. On 5th June 2006, Jaya and her family moved to Kathmandu and rented a room in Tilganga.

With the help of Jaya’s uncle, the girl got a chance to study at SSS, where she does not have to pay for tuition and lunch is provided. At the time of writing, she was in Class 6. Her brothers were studying in another school in Kathmandu.

At first, Jaya’s parents earned money collecting and selling sand from the Bagmati River but it was seasonal work so Jaya’s mother started a small street shop. Her earnings must cover all their expenses, including the monthly rent of Rs 1,200 for the one dark, narrow room that is home to the family’s seven members. But as she can earn Rs 100 - 150 a day, it is enough.

As the eldest child, Jaya carries heavy responsibilities. She wakes up at 5 am and washes all the dishes and makes breakfast for her brothers before getting ready for school. After school she prepares the meal and helps her brothers do their homework. Every Saturday she bathes her brothers, and in her free time visits the Pashupatinath temple.

Jaya had dreamed of becoming a doctor, but when she was injured and stayed in the hospital she realized that being a doctor is not easy. Now she wants to be a good teacher, like her teacher Miss Sajana, and spread the light of education to every uneducated person.

Jaya says the day she lost her leg is the most unforgettable moment of her life. But after hearing the sad stories of other students at SSS, she feels relief about her injury. She is very happy to study in SSS, which has a more practical approach than her village school, and pleasant surroundings.

When she was in the hospital Jaya thought that her life was bleak but when she got admitted to SSS she became very happy. She says, “My new life is much brighter than my previous one. I am not alone – many children are victims of crossfire during the conflict. I sometimes wonder how many displaced children have the opportunity to study like I do.”

2.5 Prativa dreams of becoming a doctor
Prativa Luitel is 13 and from Morang district. Today she lives in Gaurighat in Kathmandu in a rented room with her family, and studies in Class 4 at SSS, along with her sister Balkumari.

We were waiting for Prativa’s school bus on a rainy day, on 17th August 2006. When she got off, she started walking very fast as she had no umbrella. We wanted to know more about her family and were going to meet her parents.

“How far is your home, Prativa?” we asked her, as we were walking.

“How far should I say, Sir?” she answered. “We always feel it’s very far.”

When we reached her home, after walking for half an hour, only her mother Indira was there; her father, a laborer, was still at work. Thanks to a big window, the room was bright, but Indira’s face wasn’t.

We asked her sister, “Tell us, Balkumari, what you want to be after you finish school?”

“I don’t know,” answered Balkumari. “I have not thought about it.”

Then we asked Prativa, “What about you?”

“I want to be a doctor,” she answered without hesitating, adding, “In our school most of the students have leprosy and are weak, so I want to be a doctor and serve those sick people.”

Prativa’s mother let out a big sigh. She had just come from work, washing clothes in the neighborhood. “My daughter wants to be a doctor but here it is very difficult to provide food for them in the morning and evening,” she said. “We cannot even manage books, a pen and notebooks for them; I don’t know how I can fulfill her dream of being a doctor.”

Prativa’s parents used to send their three children to a government school in Kathmandu. But when they were unable to pay the admission fees, they were not allowed to continue. Their mother worried about how they were going to educate their children. Then one of her neighbors told her about SSS and she applied. Luckily, her two children were accepted.

She likes the school’s teaching method and is planning to send her younger son to SSS next year. She feels that the children are getting a good education, along with their morning meal.

Prativa’s family owned just a small straw house in their village, so her father and mother lived in Urlabai, Morang, where they went to find work. Her mother collected wood from the jungle and sold it in the market while her father worked as a laborer. The parents spent 13 or 14 years in that place, but because the market there was very small, and there were frequent strikes, it was very difficult for her father to get jobs. After some time, authorities no longer permitted people to collect wood in the jungle. When the Maoist activities increased, Prativa’s parents decided to leave.

This is how Prativa described the Maoist activities in her village: “The Maoists came at night and asked us to cook for them. Many times my mother cooked for them. We were so afraid when they came and threatened us by showing weapons. So, I asked my father and mother to leave that place.”

Prativa’s uncle lived in rented accommodation in Jadibuti in Kathmandu. He worked as a laborer, and with his help, the family moved to the capital in December 2004.

Says Prativa’s mother, “For poor people like us everywhere is trouble. But in Kathmandu it is not difficult to get a job. I can earn Rs 100 a day washing dishes and clothes. The children are much happier here than they were in the village; they can often meet their uncles. Now we are feeling comfortable in this new place.”

Prativa remembers her village school: “We used to study in a government school. The education system was not good, so we often failed exams.” Her sister Balkumari added, “I like the schools of Kathmandu and also the system of teaching. Shanti Sewa School is very beautiful and decorative and has a playground and beautiful flowers.”

A girl named Kanchan Pokharel from Arghakhanchi is a tenant in the same house as Prativa and helps her with her homework. Says Kanchan, “Their English is very poor, maybe it is because they studied in the village.”

“No, no,” says her sister. “She is spoilt because she watches the TV.”

The family does not have a television and when their neighbor turns on the TV they peep from their window. “If we had enough money we would also buy a TV,” says Prativa’s mother. “It is very hard to fend for the family of six. How to afford a TV?”

However, when her daughters sing and recite poems they have learnt in school she becomes very happy. “The school did not provide any textbooks,” Indira expressed her grievance. “I don’t know what to do.” The school administration said that textbooks could not be arranged for because they were enrolled late. After returning from Prativa’s room, I kept wondering if her dream of becoming a doctor would come true, in a life so filled with crises.

2.6 Raman’s memory of Mugu
Raman misses his father so much. He was only six years old when the Maoists killed his father because he refused to join their insurgency. The boy remembers only his mother’s crying face from that time. He was born into an average farming family, where his father bore all the responsibilities; his death created a great trauma.

“After my father’s death my mother had to bear a lot of hardship,” said Raman, now nine. “It was very difficult for her to look after the farm, animals, household things and us. My mother couldn’t send us to school because of the lack of money. My father’s death really damaged my mother’s mind and heart. Most of the time she worried that the Maoists would take away her children too.”

Raman still remembers how badly Maoists treated the villagers. He describes one incident: “One day me and my friends were going to school. On the way we met a group of Maoists who told us our school was closed and we had to go with them. They kept us the whole day, lecturing us about their activities. The night felt very long. I was so afraid, but the next day they brought us back to our village.”

Other people in the guise of being Maoists also created many troubles for the family. Raman’s mother wanted to keep him away from the frightening conflict, in a peaceful environment. She decided to send Raman away. He didn’t want to leave his mother and his village, but she told her son that if he didn’t go he would not get a proper education. So, she put him in the care of a man from the village who was going to Kathmandu, and the family said tearful goodbyes.

When they arrived, the man was able to have Raman admitted in Class 3 at SSS. In the beginning the boy felt that the school’s environment was strange but slowly he became accustomed to it. Now he enjoys being a part of SSS, where he has lots of friends and his teachers love him very much.

Raman always wishes and prays: “All children should live with their father and mother. They should not live away from their parents like me.” He wants to see all people living together in peace. He likes to play football and is very happy when people come to visit him from his village.

2.7 City life has touched Mukul and Shivaraj
“My brother and I were studying in Class 3 in Kavre district. But the school was not good; because of the Maoists we could not get a good education. They used to come into our classroom and deliver their nonsense speeches. They even asked our teachers for donations.”

“One day, one of my teachers defied the Maoists; he was beaten very badly in front of us. I was very afraid at that time,” explained Mukul Sharma, now 12. Today, Mukul lives in Gaurighat in Kathmandu with his family in a dark, narrow room where there is not much space.

The situation was bad in the village, and Mukul’s father had already left for Kathmandu four months ago. His mother Shova said, “It was very difficult to stay in the village, so I packed my bags and took the children to their father in Kathmandu.”

The day they left their village there was a nationwide strike, called Nepal banda. She woke her children up at 4 am and they followed their mother. They walked until 8:30 at night when at last they reached Kathmandu. When Mukul got his first glimpse of the capital he felt very happy, like he was in a dream. But the boys were so tired from their long journey that they fell sick.

Mukul was very animated as he described their journey but his brother Shivaraj seemed lost somewhere in his imagination. Shivaraj has only one eye, so he is not so active.

Mukul continued, “Our house in the village was broken down so we stayed in one of our neighbor’s sheds, but after a few months it also broke down. Then we started to live in another neighbor’s shed. Soon after, my mother brought us here to Kathmandu. City life is better than the village, isn’t it brother?” Mukul asked Shivaraj, who just smiled.

The boys’ mother couldn’t help laughing when she heard her son’s speech. She added, “Maybe you don’t believe these children but it is true – we really don’t have our own home in the village. Mukul’s father had three brothers, and when we asked for property, my father-in-law said we had to clear a loan of Rs 75,000[i]. We decided to leave that house, and we worked very hard to save Rs 9,000. With that money we brought 3 ropanis[ii] of land and my uncle helped us to build a small house. Unfortunately, after 11 years the previous land owner took back the land. We had to beg people for shelter.”

Mukul’s father went to the Maoists for help in getting the land back from the cheating landlord. But instead of help, the Maoists forced him to join them. That is why the family had to leave that place to come to Kathmandu.

In Kathmandu, Mukul’s parents worked in the Pashupati Development Fund office as laborers. One day, Mukul’s mother met a teacher from SSS and shared her story with that teacher, who suggested she send her children to SS School. In that way, they got a chance to study at SSS.

Satan Bhandari became Mukul’s best friend at the school. Says Mukul, “When Satan remembered his family and began to cry, I also felt very sad and tears came into my eyes too. But I comforted him by saying that not all children are as lucky as we are; we have got a chance to study in a beautiful environment but many kids don’t even get the opportunity to study in an ordinary village school.”

In his own way, Mukul convinced his other heartbroken friends too. He is a very clever boy, but he still doesn’t know what he wants to be in the future.

Mukul often thinks about his village and his friends but he prefers life in Kathmandu to his village, because educational opportunities are better here and secondly he doesn’t have to fear the Maoists. “I don’t want to return to my village,” he says.

Mukul’s mother said, “What to do, Sir? When one doesn’t have their own house, it’s enough to simply have shelter. Now we are paying Rs 1,300 per month for this small room. We wouldn’t have to pay if we were in the village. But here I can earn Rs 100 per day, whereas in the village we rarely got work and when we did we earned only Rs 30. My villagers want to help us and they want us to go back. But now I don’t want to return. I will educate my children here by hook or by crook.”

Mukul asked his teacher Sabin Khadka, who had accompanied us to his room, “When is our school’s birthday, Sir?” It was very new for Mukul to see his friends celebrating their birthdays at school. In his village, no on celebrates their birthday.

Mukul’s mother insisted that we drink tea. Unfortunately, Mukul’s younger brother broke the glass. But his mother said, “It does not matter if one glass is broken; I only wish and pray to God that my children’s luck won’t be not broken.”

[i] Mukul's grandfather had taken a loan, which he divided among his three sons, and each son had been asked to bear Rs 75,000, one of them being Mukul's father.
[ii] Ropani as defined by http://www.sizes.com/units/ropani.htm: a unit of land area, = 5476 square feet or approximately 608.44 square yards, approximately 508.74 square meters. A square 74 feet on a side is 1 ropani, 1 hectare is about 19.65 ropani, and there are almost exactly 8 ropani to the acre.

3 Conclusion
Life for many children was pathetic during the 11 years of conflict between Maoists and government forces. Even if we just study the condition of students at Shanti Sewa School in Kathmandu, we can get a sense of how children were affected.

The conflict disrupted the education of thousands of students. Many moved to cities in search of a suitable environment to study, and some lived lonely lives without their families. Some of those who went alone were burdened with household work rather than studies. Often they were easy victims for sexual harassment by soldiers from both sides.

The Army killed double the number that the Maoists did. But Maoists often forced villagers to cook for them, give ‘donations’ or, especially, participate in their programs. Those activities forced many people to flee their villages. Some villages were left with almost no men, which made their wives’ lives very miserable. Migration to cities often seemed to make life harder, with some families of up to seven people forced to live squeezed into small rooms.

The students were full of fear when they saw their teachers and relatives being mistreated. Many carried these traumas with them when they moved to cities, and till today cannot concentrate on their studies. Those students are not getting proper psychological treatment in all of the schools. Unfortunately, instead of resuming their education, some of those former students were found working as laborers, ignored by their neighbors and at risk of further mental and physical abuse.

Records reveal that many of the students are falsely designated as orphans and taken to cities in the name of education, the government remains quiet. The schools however, should ensure that when students apply they provide them with essential information, like name and address. Schools also must keep proper records.

Psychological counseling is necessary for the orphans, and education is necessary for children who have been displaced due to various reasons. People tend to ignore small children working as laborers, which is making their future bleak. Instead of ignoring, they should be informing such children about their rights.

It has been revealed that some children were trafficked. Their families were convinced that they were being taken to the city to study, but instead they were sold. In the future before parents put their children in the care of these ‘guardians’, they must know what is planned for their children.

After the ceasefire, it is necessary for both sides to comply with the Ceasefire Code of Conduct. Children should not be permitted in any political meeting. We must reinforce the concept that children are zones of peace. Efforts should be made to rehabilitate displaced persons in their own villages rather than allowing them to migrate to urban areas.

Shanti Sewa Griha
Shanti Sewa Griha (SSG) is a non-government organization situated at Gaushala, Kathmandu. It was established in 1992 for people with leprosy and for others who are poor, helpless, handicapped, mentally challenged and orphaned. Till now in rural areas, leprosy is considered a curse of God rather than a disease, so that people with leprosy are humiliated and unaccepted by society. Believed to be carrying a curse from a previous life, lepers are not allowed to touch or come near anyone. Some people with the disease have even committed suicide because they couldn’t tolerate the insult, hatred and discrimination.

Leprosy is a normal disease that can be cured by regular use of prescribed medicines. People with leprosy can live normal and respectful lives like other people. With this vision, Mr. Krishna Gurung and Dr. Rameshwor Man Singh established the Shanti Sewa Griha. German citizen Marianna Goshpriye helped them in this project.

Besides assisting leprosy patients, the organization also helps handicapped and mentally challenged people. SSG has also provided living space and work for displaced people.

About 1,200 people from rural areas have become independent due to the organization. They include Indian and Bangladeshi citizens. At SSG help is their religion; they believe that it must be given where it is needed.

SSG gives different kinds of vocational training to increase patients’ independence and boost their self-esteem. It makes a wide variety of products, including Nepali paper, jewelry, necklaces, Dhaka topi (traditional Nepali hat), carpets, handicrafts and furniture. Organic vegetables and honey are also produced at SSG. Its products are sold in and outside of Nepal.

SSG also has a clinic that provides free medical check-ups.

SSG believes in building esteem rather than just consoling victims. Their duty is to help financially backward individuals; their aim is to make them independent.

The SSG child care center at Gaushala houses 65 children. There is a separate classroom for physically challenged children, where 11 students are receiving care. 90% of the laborers at SSG are illiterate. Believing that their children should not be deprived of education, Shanti Sewa School has been set up at Budhanilkantha, which includes a health clinic. A modern hospital is being built at Tilganga.

The SSG philosophy is that only when there is peace in a person’s mind can there be peace in that person’s family. Peace in one family will flow to another family, then to a group, society and finally the whole country will be at peace. SSG appeals to everyone to help to develop these children and their families so that they can live in simple and safe environments.

Shanti Sewa School
Shanti Sewa School (SSS) was established in 1998 at Lipikot, Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu, under the management of Shanti Sewa Griha. At first, it was established only for the children of leprosy patients but today it also admits students who are victims of the conflict and poor children whose families are economically not able to send their children to school.

The school is in a walking distance of 25 minutes from Budhanilkantha, nestled among trees and other greenery in a very calm and beautiful environment. When new students see the setting, they forget their troubles.

88 students – an equal number of boys and girls – attend the school. There is an infant care unit, which cares for 14 children. The school has also established a special class for physically and mentally challenged students, who now number 11.

Although the school was initially established for children of leprosy patients, today these students number only 10. Children admitted on the basis of economic hardship number 17 and there are 13 students who are conflict victims. According to Mr. Krishna Gurung, chairman of SSG, increasing emphasis has been given to children whose families are financially unstable and/or conflict victims. They are admitted based on their personal accounts of their situations; no proof of their stories is required.

The students also include six physically handicapped children, nine who are victims of domestic violence and five orphans. There are seven teachers. Most of the students are from rural districts, including Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk, Humla, Mugu, Nuwakot, Janakpur, Dolakha, Makwanpur, Bara, Baglung, Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Sarlahi, Dhading, Khotang, Bhojpur and Solukhumbu. Some are even from India.

Mr. Krishna Gurung aims to make the school a pollution-free area, which is why they use only simple cloth bags rather than polythene bags. Three dozen leprosy patients and their families live in the school compound, about 100 people in total. SSS provides lunch to all the students, using solar power for cooking.

Pencils, pens, books, notebooks and other stationery items are provided free to the students, along with school uniforms. The money for these items comes from foreign aid agencies. Vice-Principal, Mr. Sabin Khadka, says, “Foreigners who have a keen interest in the children do their best to support the school.”

Teaching methodology
Since 2001, the school has followed a new concept of teaching based on Waldorf Education[i]. Its philosophy is that practical knowledge leads to genuine knowledge. SSS believes that students will succeed only if their minds are at peace and so it is the teachers’ duty to provide education in a peaceful environment. Waldorf Education stresses that a pure soul, cool mind and strong bond between teacher and student are necessary for the proper sharing of knowledge. These are all found in Shanti Sewa School, where classes are offered from kindergarten to Class 6.

Before starting the day’s classes, teachers and students cheer and welcome each other and thank nature for a new dawn. The children help to create their own world inside the classrooms, each one of which is decorated with different materials related to natural seasons.

The knowledge that SSS provides can’t be found in other schools. Each subject is taught in a practical way. For example, if the topic is irrigation, they build a dike, sow wheat and observe how the water helps it to grow.

SSS believes that too many people are leading hedonistic lives, fighting for artificial things. Therefore, it provides students with knowledge about such artificial things, as well as about the natural and spiritual worlds. Teachers enlighten their students about human beings’ relationship with the soul and with all living things, animals or plants. They teach that we are all human beings, whether we are black, white, Buddhist, Hindu or Christian. After all, we are the creations of God. Using poems and stories, teachers emphasize that life is beautiful.

Children at SS School learn not only from books and lectures but from hands-on experience, where they see, feel and do. Such first-hand learning remains with us forever. The students are given not only intellectual exercise, but also learning for their souls and minds, which helps them discover their potential in all facets of life.

SS School teachers have been trained in different parts of India and Nepal. They teach painting, sketching and clay modeling. Children also learn dancing, singing and drama and use these skills as tools in studying other subject matter.

One teacher, Mr. Kesab Rimal, used to teach at a boarding school in Kathmandu. He sees a vast difference between that school and SS School, and no longer feels the need to carry a stick to the classroom to discipline students. He says that if the students are finding it hard to understand his teaching, he finds another way to whet their interest. When students are taught according to their interests, they find it easier to realize their mistakes.

SSS celebrates different festivals, such as Dashain, Tihar and Shivaratri. That way, the students learn the value of Nepal’s traditions.

Opinions of former students
Ganesh Pradhan and Sanju Majhi studied up to Class 6 at Shanti Sewa School and are currently studying at Sunlight School in Kathmandu. Their fees are still paid by Shanti Sewa. They say they greatly enjoyed studying at SS School: “When we joined the new school, we found we had less book knowledge but more knowledge outside of books than other students. At SS School, our teacher used to teach according to the needs of students. But these days, we have to focus on studying and homework. We can talk only in English; we have to pay a penalty if we talk in Nepali. We were never punished at SS School.”

Suman Sigdel, 17, spent four years at Shanti Sewa School. A former street child, he says the school provided him with love and care, just like a family. He is also glad to have learned so many things there, and sees a vast difference between it and his current school: “We never learned from our mind; rather we used to learn by playing, painting, sketching and entertaining. This kind of environment is hard to find in other schools.”

Suman says the rules and regulations at his present school are very strict. Students have to do lots of homework and rote learning. They prepare well because they are afraid of punishment, whereas in Shanti Sewa, children were treated as friends. He can’t forget SS School’s decorated classrooms and the weekly nature walks to different villages and forests.

References:
Community Study and Welfare Centre (CSWC). A Decade of Disaster, Human and Physical cost of Nepal conflict, 1996-2005, research report. Kathmandu.
INSEC. 2007. Human Rights Year Book 2007.
Shrestha, SK. 2004. Print Media, Coverage on Children’s Issues: A Report. Hatemalo Sanchar, Lalitpur.
नेपाल शान्ति संस्था। आन्तरिक व्यवस्थापनसम्बन्धी वकालत पुस्तिका २००५। ललितपुर।
नेपाल साप्ताहिक। २०६३ असोज ८।
प्रधान, गौरी। २०६० माघ। युद्धको भुमरीमा बालबालिकाहरू। सिविन, काठमाडौँ।
प्राची द्वैमासिक। २०६३ साउन।
हिमाल पाक्षिक। २०६३ कार्तिक १६-३०।

[i] Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_Education) on Waldorf education: Waldorf education (also known as Steiner or Steiner-Waldorf education) is a pedagogy based upon the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy.