May 2005
Dear All,
Renu is 17 years old and is from Mugu, a remote hill district
of Nepal where we work. Six months ago, Maoist insurgents came
to her village and abducted her into their army. She spent three
months with them, being indoctrinated with Maoist dogma, learning
how to use a rifle, and her major job was to cook food for the
regular troops and to carry supplies. She also was raped on several
occasions. One day, during an attack, she was left behind by her
cadre, and she was captured by the security forces and brought
to the Army barracks at Gamghadi.
For the first month, she was kept at the barracks, accused of
being a Maoist by the Army and was multiply raped on several occasions.
She was then allowed to stay in the bazaar but was frequently
called in for questioning and further abuse, including rape. Two
weeks ago, we were able to get her out of Gamghadi and into Kathmandu.
She is now settling in at a rehabilitation centre for women who
have been displaced due to the fighting. Here she will receive
counseling, schooling, and some job training. Her life is changed
forever. As she looked out over the Mugu hills, her first time
in a helicopter (There is no other way out. There are no roads,
and the insurgents control the entire countryside.), Renu, wise
beyond her years, said: “I can never return.”
Our staff is training our partners in Mugu in trauma counseling,
which is increasingly needed, as more women and children flow
into the district headquarters, driven there by the insecurity
in the countryside. Insecurity due to fighting between the security
forces and the insurgents is only a small component. In areas
that change hands frequently or are not securely in the hands
of one side, the people suffer especially hard. As patrols from
either side come through, they demand information and allegiance
from the villagers, and if the information is not forthcoming,
they are accused of being spies for the other side. If the villagers
do give information, the other side often finds out about it,
and then the accusation becomes valid. Another problem is the
abduction of children by the insurgents, as illustrated by Renu’s
tale. Children as young as 8 or 10 years are sometimes abducted
to be porters. School children are often abducted en masse for
several days to a few weeks at a time for training in Maoist philosophy
and fighting methods.
So far, our work in Mugu and another district, Sunsari, is going
well. And this month we are beginning work in two new districts,
Dhading and Rupendehi. In fact, yesterday we had a commissioning
service for the staff moving to Dhading and Rupendehi. We prayed
especially for their safety and effectiveness in these turbulent
and difficult times.
On February 1, the King unconstitutionally took over direct control
of the government. He is now in the process of consolidating power.
For example, a few days ago he declared himself the chancellor
of all of the universities in the country. The people of Nepal
are being squeezed by three entities: violent insurgents promising
a “people’s” government, a king who seems to
want to bring back absolute monarchy, and a bevy of political
parties that are corrupt and ineffective. None of them seem to
have the interest of the people in mind. Please pray for the people
of Nepal, and also for the peacemakers.
Our organization, the United Mission to Nepal, is at a critical
juncture. Our five-year Project Agreement with the government
expires in November. We have been working on a new agreement for
over a year. The difficulty is that the officials to whom we relate
keep changing, and all officials are hesitant to make decisions
for fear it will be the wrong one. So please keep us in your prayers.
Beverley
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 203
|
