Sunday 7 June 2015

When it is okay to go back to Nepal?

Here's the dilemma ...

I'll not repeat myself - you know my thoughts about the earthquake in Nepal. But what can we do - from the comfort of our sofas - to help?

We can give aid, of course - and millions have. The international agencies are all there, with their relief supplies and expertise. And they are needed - families are still living in tents and the monsoon looms. Yet the Nepali don't want to rely on handouts to sustain them for a generation or three. They are an independent people who need to reboot their own economy. Once that is up and running many of those currently rebuilding the schools and temples can go home.

Much of the Nepalese economy relies on tourists. Tourists bring money enabling people to sustain their lives for themselves. And for tourism to reclaim its place in the economy the walkers and climbers and temple-visitors and those who, like me, just love the place, must go back.

For those wondering - the sun still rises over Everest. It stains the snow pink and slides warm fingers into the dark Himalayan valleys. The air at daybreak is sweet and clear. Everest base camp is still closed, but Annapurna is waiting. Machhapuchhare (the Fish Tail Mountain) stands guard over Pokhara.

Buddhas still watch from their stupas. Kali enfolds the faithful in her many arms. Prayer wheels rattle on their axes. Monks wander in their flowing robes. Children always ready to play.

The monsoon will make things more difficult - and Nepal does not expect visitors when torrential rain brings floods and landslides. But by the autumn the sun will shine again - and the hotels and restaurants will be waiting.

But ... is it really that easy? Temples have crumbled. Some families will still be in tents. This was a poor country before the earthquake - many will be destitute now. Might tourists be seen as 'cashing in' on their trauma?

I have a problem with 'poverty porn.' I flinch at such a pejorative term, but I am deeply discomforted by those who visit developing countries and gawp at the poor. I've seen tourists taking photographs of women washing themselves at communal taps, ignoring the reality that these women would choose privacy if they could. Others smile at barefooted children, as if they are cute, as if the lack of shoes might be appealing and not evidence that the family cannot afford shoes. Destitution should never be a tourist attraction.

It will be impossible to visit Nepal and turn blind eyes to the destruction of the earthquake. Some people have lost everything. I cannot build their homes. I'm not qualified to teach the children nor administer medical help. I will not take their photographs, but if I do nothing is that no more than passing by on the other side?

I have friends in Nepal. I know they need visitors. But do I go soon, and remind you what a wonderful place this is, tempt anyone with time to buy a flight to Kathmandu and discover the place for themselves? Or do I wait until the tents are back in storage and families all have somewhere dry to live?

14 comments:

  1. Not got an answer for you (I'd go back)...but I recall reading that people visiting Brindisi and other Italian resorts who have been housing boat people have been complaining that their holidays have been ''spoiled'' by seeing refugees on the street. Awful. I'd think your friends would want to see you..and you could be an ambassador ( as you are being) even more.

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    1. Thanks for a thoughtful reply, Carol - it's a thorny one, isn't it (though you're right, I know what Tika wants me to do.)

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  2. I think I'd take my lead from what the people I know say. But I would also be prepared, if I go back, to become very uncomfortable if many people there didn't agree, and did feel I was coming to gawp. It is very hard to know what to do. I suspect those who relied on tourism will have to find some other way to survive until the infrastructure is back. As well as this, I feel that few people will want to visit Nepal after seeing such terrible sights - in case they get caught up in something similar themselves.

    So perhaps the answer is to try and find some work you can do to help them get back on their feet - perhaps volunteering to assist those who need help in some ways. You have professional skills with children that might well be of some use.

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    1. I think those who rely on tourism in places like Pokhara and Chitwan have very little to fall back on - I see them on Facebook asking people to come back as soon as possible. But I agree that I want to do something to help - and playing with children comes easily. It will take a lot of thinking about. Thanks for your thoughts.

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  3. Jo, it's a predicament isn't it? In your shoes, I think I'd go back. You have friends there who might value your help, even if it's to write about how this terrible earthquake has affected them. I cannot imagine you would be considered a disaster tourist...you would get stuck in and be a welcome and valued pair of hands. You would not take photos. You'd be there washing babies and organising children into play, leaving their poor parents time to regroup. I'm guessing Tika has said as much too...or something along those lines.

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    1. Oh yes, Tika has been very clear ...

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  4. Good questions you ask. I am afraid I have no answers. I sympathise with the Nepalese. I think it's a tough time they are living through and any help will be welcome. But the help is for the Nepalese not for the conscience of better-off Westerners. I agree with everything you say in your post and the doubts you have. I would have the same doubts Ultimately it is up to the individual's morals and social conscience. As a Cuban, I get what you say about people gawping at poor children and romanticising poverty.

    Thanks for writing such a brilliant post. If you want to go, go. You know your conscience is clear.

    Greetings from London.

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    1. Thank you. You can speak from experience about the contradictions of tourism in poor countries. It is oddly reassuring that you, too, don't have a right answer.

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  5. I think you should go, definitely. Because it would be for all the right reasons. What you said about people taking photos of the Nepalese washing from a public tap - it reminded me of a scene in Treme, about which you commented on my blog, when a tourist bus drove up and people were taking pictures of some people getting ready for the Mardi Gras parade/rituals in awful circumstances. Ghastly ghouls.

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    1. Thank you - for recognising that my reasons for going would be the right ones, and not to gawp at Nepal's misfortune.

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  6. My reaction would be to not go. I would worry that I'd only 'get in the way'. I'm probably wrong and everyone's comments here uging you to go are no doubt correct so I'm afraid I can't advise. Good luck with making your decision.

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    1. Thank you, Ros - It's really helpful to have someone disagree in the middle of all this encouragement to go. It reflects the fact that this really isn't a straightforward decision.

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  7. I have a Gurkha friend in Pokhara who owns a hotel there. He is very anxious that the tourist industry is maintained for the sake of the country's economy. Meanwhile he is constructing corrugated iron houses for those whose houses were destroyed. Why don't you write to the place where you want to stay and ask their advice.

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    1. Thank you - I think you've nailed it. Ask the Nepali what they want me to do. It's impossible, from this distance, to know what's right for them - but they can tell me if I ask.

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