Civilians concerned over deteriorating situation

Depressed with his lack of income over the past week, Kiran Josi is equally worried how he will pay for his children’s school fees and run the household. “If this situation continues like this, my family and I will end up in the street as beggars,” lamented Josi, who runs a small earring shop in the middle of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu. He is not alone in his concern. More and more shopkeepers and small traders are voicing their concern over the impact the deteriorating political situation in the Himalayan kingdom will have on their daily lives. In the once bustling capital, shops have remained closed for the past 12 days following a nationwide strike called for an indefinite period by the country’s seven main opposition parties to protest the absolute rule of King Gyanendra. Since February 2005, the king has ruled the country directly with a handful of royalist ministers after suspending the democratic government citing their failure to contain the Maoist insurgents, who have been waging an armed rebellion against the state for over a decade. On Sunday, the political parties announced through a joint statement that they would continue with the strikes and their nationwide anti-king demonstrations until the king was forced from power and democracy had been completely restored. In return, the party leaders have called upon ordinary citizens to be patient with the anticipated hardship and join in what they call a ‘decisive movement’ for a new Nepal – something many have done. Already professionals from every sector have joined in the demonstrations. Journalists, medical workers, engineers, lawyers, civil servants, hoteliers and tourist entrepreneurs have been organising various protest programmes in a united front to voice their discontent. Additionally, schools and colleges have also announced their participation and there is now growing concern over a recent announcement that schools would close for an indefinite period beginning on 28 April unless the government failed to solve the current crises. “We will announce various protest programmes to show solidarity with the ongoing movement for peace and democracy soon,” said Umesh Shrestha, president of the Private and Boarding Schools Organisation (PABSON), justifying that teachers and their institutions cannot remain quiet during such a time. But not everyone welcomed the move. “Many parents are now very worried about their children’s education. Closing schools does not solve any problem,” asserted Simla Subba, a parent who is now planning to send her children to India for her schooling. Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also expressed its concern over the impact of the strike on children’s education. “The problem with strikes that close schools is that the main cost is borne by the children,” remarked Suomi Sakai, Nepal’s representative for the UN children's agency.