|
Post-earthquake Peace and Solidarity Visit to Nepal
The Christian Conference of Asia organized a two days consultation on 'Asian Ecumenical Response to the Nepal Earthquake,’ for the Asian Churches and Church related organizations in Bangkok from the 29th and 30th of June 2015. There were 14 participants from all the Asian regions.
Some Asian churches and councils including NCC-Inida, NCC-Korea and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan had prepared a visitation to Nepal on July 2nd-4th immediately after the CCA Bangkok consultation. During the Bangkok consultation it was suggested that a report on the Nepal visit be shared widely among the CCA member churches so that the report can be a good reference to an official CCA visit to Nepal scheduled in early August. The purpose of the visit on July 2nd-4th was to understand the 'ground zero reality' on post-earthquake peace and solidarity with the people of Nepal and to express our prayers and to register the solidarity of the Asian Churches especially the CCA. The NCC Nepal hosted and facilitated this visit.
The team reached Kathmandu on the 2nd of July. After a preliminary discussion with Dr. R B Rokaya, General Secretary and with other officers and staff in NCC Nepal, the team left for Champee village in the Lalitpur District. Champee was one of the most affected areas in the regions. Over 90% of the houses in the Champee village had collapsed and several hundred people died including the collapse of the Zion Salvation Church when 75 people were gathered there. According to the villagers still several dead bodies are yet to be recovered from the debris.
The survivors narrated their first ever earthquake experience with tears and panic. The team especially noticed that the children could not even open their mouths while recollecting their memories when the stories were narrated. The people were found with the suffering of trauma and heavy stress in every affected area.
The team also visited areas such as Bhugamati near Kathmandu City, the Sera Thimi Village in the Bhaktapur District, the Sakhu Village where again 90% of the houses and other buildings had collapsed, and other areas within Kathmandu City such as Gongabu New Bus Stand, where the dense population of the city also fell victim to destruction. The team was also taken to the world famous heritage site of 'Dharbar Square' a religious site with temples and religious structures, where they saw that the 'Kathmandu Tower' had completely collapsed.
On the 3rd of July evening the NCC Nepal organized a 'Community Conversation' with 20 leaders from different faiths including, Islam, Hindu, Bahai, and other ideologies such as rationalists, intellectuals, academicians, and journalists for the team to converse with in order to understand the 'ground zero' realities. This group also shared some criticism toward the work of the State and other state-based international volunteer agencies. They also expressed that “some of the international agencies are arrogant and treat the survivors with condescension despite the fact that we (Nepalis) are not beggars.” So we look for a partnership based on better ethical grounds according to their interests.
| 
