Dispatches: Report from the People's War in Nepal
Part 5: The City Squad
By Li Onesto
Revolutionary Worker #1018, August 15, 1999
On February 13, 1996, a new People's War was launched in Nepal, led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), aimed at sweeping away imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. Thousands of men and women participated in coordinated armed raids and attacks throughout the country. And for over three years now, the revolution in Nepal has continued to spread, sink roots and accomplish a lot. All this is a truly inspiring and significant development in the world and for the international proletariat. But it has remained a hidden story for most people in the United States and around the world. And for those of us who have been following the people's war in Nepal, there has been precious, but far too little news of this important struggle.
Now, the Revolutionary Worker has an exclusive story. RW reporter Li Onesto recently returned from several months in Nepal, where she traveled throughout the country with the people's army, meeting and talking with party leaders, guerrillas, activists in mass organizations and villagers--those waging this genuine Maoist people's war and beginning to exercise new people's power. The RW would like to give a "lal Salaam" (red salute) to all the people in Nepal who made this trip possible.
This is the fifth article of a new series of dispatches from this exciting trip. (See RW #1014, #1015, #1016 and #1017 for Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.)
The Inequality of Lopsidedness
Living and learning from the people in the countryside and seeing the daily life of the peasants is giving me a vivid and so-real understanding of the severely lopsided state of the world. Rural life here is so hard and primitive, the people must work so hard, and still they remain so poor. There is a high rate of illiteracy, especially among women--60 percent of the population cannot read and write. Only 10 percent of the country has electricity. Conditions of life, even in the city, and even for more middle class people in Nepal, are so hard compared to the U.S. where there is so much wealth and technology and a huge section of middle class people live in such luxurious conditions. Even the basic masses in the United States commonly have so many things that 90 percent of the Nepalese people, who live in the countryside, would only see if they went into the city--like cars, TVs, radios, refrigerators, running water, electricity and houses with floors that aren't made of dirt. And in the cities of Nepal, the conditions of life for the masses is deeply scarred by high unemployment, crowded and substandard housing and intense poverty.
In Kathmandu, I see how hard the common people must work to survive. When I go out early in the morning, laborers working at building sites are already hauling heavy baskets of bricks--their backs slowly being twisted by primitive methods of construction. Vendors, who lug their goods to the main squares and sidewalks, sit in the hot sun from early to late in the day. Childhood is robbed on the streets where youngsters battle among themselves to find customers who will buy a trinket or offer their shoes for a shine. Women begging in the streets often do double duty, tending to several children while trying to ensure they will all eat that day.
One day we visit someone in a neighborhood where the masses live, and we end up hanging out in the street waiting to hook up with a friend. It's the middle of the day and people are going about their daily lives--small shops everywhere are selling various foods, vegetables, chickens and other meats, which will never experience the science of refrigeration. I notice two sidewalk tailors sitting on the ground with what look to be turn-of-the-century (1900 not 2000!) sewing machines--set up to do mending for people. The main streets and side streets are full of small dark cubicles, about 10 feet by 10 feet, where people are trying to make a living selling different services or merchandise. Across the way there's a big pile of garbage--and a woman is picking through it, looking for anything that could be of value. It strikes me again how, for the masses, the daily struggle to survive here in the city is so intense and unrelenting.
Nepal has no auto industry and most of the trucks and cars on the street of Kathmandu are made in India. There are very few privately owned cars, but many forms of transportation to choose from--taxis, bicycle-rickshaws, small motor-cabs, buses, and bicycles.
Everywhere you go there are rickshaws, all driven by men. I am amazed at how they maneuver their bikes through the crowded streets--in between other bikes whizzing by, past cars and trucks that come within inches. Somehow, they manage to seriously threaten, but avoid running down pedestrians. Most of these men look to be under 150 pounds--very small and skinny, by American standards. But they have amazing strength. They can pull their own weight, plus another 400 pounds (three passengers, plus luggage) through streets of unpredictable ruts and bumps. Sometimes, on an incline, the rickshaw will come to a complete stop and then the driver will stand up on the pedals and use all his weight, rocking back and forth to get some momentum to start moving again. Sometimes he will have to get off the bike altogether and put his shoulder into pushing-pulling the load up the road.
From the first day I arrive in Kathmandu, I immediately dislike the inequality of the social relations between the Nepali people and tourists. The poor migrate into tourist areas every day, to try to hustle enough to put food on the evening's table. People are forced into this subservient position where they are constantly asking anyone who looks like a foreigner if they can serve them in any way. Children work the tourist areas, approaching people with the few words of English they've learned--"five rupees, please."
The Thamel, tourist part of Kathmandu is different and more distorted than any other part of the city because everything is geared toward the tourist industry. For instance, there are only a few restaurants here that serve Nepali food. The restaurant signs here beckon those who travel to "exotic places" but want to maintain all the comforts of home. They're meant to entice hungry foreigners who have lots of rupees in their pockets, people looking for Italian, Mexican, Indian, Japanese or American cuisine. The American bacon, eggs and toast breakfast is standard fare here and I even come across a café that plays jazz and blues and serves Starbucks-type coffee. The price of a dinner here is, by American standards, very cheap--you can get full on a very good meal for 200 rupees--about $3.00. But such prices are totally out of range for local people. A laborer who works on the roads may get 60 rupees for a whole day of backbreaking work, from which he must feed his whole family.
There is a weird mix here in the city of overwhelming poverty and lack of infrastructure, dotted with spots of high-tech development that has been brought in to cater to tourists and foreign business. Most of the Nepalese people in Kathmandu are forced to live hand-to-mouth in impoverished conditions. Meanwhile a rooftop sign on a fancy hotel, perched next to a big satellite dish, advertises "sauna, massage, restaurant and bar." Most Nepali homes don't have telephones. But a homesick American in Thamel can send a message half-way around the world in a matter of seconds. When I walk inside a small office that advertises "E-mail," there are five up-to-date computers with Windows 95 and a couple of Americans busy sending e-mail messages for six rupees a minute. Travel and trekking agencies have computers and hotels to keep their clients happy with air conditioning and cable TV. But high schools and colleges in Kathmandu don't have access to this kind of technology.
Unemployment in Nepal is very, very high, and many Nepalese masses, especially young men, are forced to go to other countries to find work. Most of them go to India or countries in the Persian Gulf. It is estimated that around 100,000 Nepalis work in the Gulf countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.
An article in one of the English-language newspapers informs me that the Nepalese government has just signed an agreement with Qatar (in the Persian Gulf) to supply workers. Qatar will now take in 15,000 Nepali workers a year in Doha. According to the article, nearly 6,000 Nepalis are currently working in Qatar--and this figure only covers those registered with the government. There are thousands of other unregistered Nepalis working in Qatar with fast food producers, metal works, security agencies and construction.
Mainly, I've been trying to avoid the touristy sites because I feel creepy in a situation where the Nepali masses think I'm some kind of rich foreigner. But from an artistic and architectural point of view, I'm interested in the ancient temples, so one day I just walk around the city for a couple of hours and end up in Durbar Square.
I have an interesting conversation with this one young guy who approaches me to hire him as a guide. He asks me a lot of questions about the U.S. and tells me he wants to go there to work. Hardly anyone in Nepal has the money to travel to the United States. Still, there is a myth perpetrated around the world that America is a place where immigrants can easily make lots of money. So even though it's almost impossible for most people in Nepal to go to the U.S., many of the youth dream of going there. And the pull of this false dream is reinforced by the desperation of not being able to find work in Nepal.
When I ask this young man what U.S. city he would go to, he says he wants to go work on a farm in Virginia or make money parking cars in Las Vegas. Compared to life in Nepal, such a job seems like a wonderful opportunity. When I tell him how hard it is for poor people in the U.S., especially immigrants, and how there is a lot of discrimination and police brutality, he tells me, "The police here are no good too. They're very corrupt, involved in drugs, and kill a lot of people. Sometimes the people like to have `barbecue police."'
Revolutionary Work in the Cities
The government is consumed with preparations for parliamentary elections, and city streets have been clothed in campaign paraphernalia. Everywhere you go posters intrude, the faces of politicians promising all kinds of things they will not and cannot deliver. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) which is leading the People's War here, has called for a nationwide boycott of the elections, and in the countryside there have been escalating military encounters between the police and Maoist guerrillas. Things are heating up in the cities as well.
I pick up a Kathmandu Post and read a report of two bomb explosions at the residence of Home Secretary Pdam Prasad Pokhrel in Sinamangal--no one was killed, but a vehicle and motorbike were destroyed. According to the Post, the Maoists were responsible for this action and "the valley police chief reported the bombs were very powerful." Today the Post has a follow-up article about the bombing which reports that the police are "clueless" on who did it. But this hasn't stopped them from random arrests of over 500 people--in Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu. The Post reports: "Madhav Nepal, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Lalitpur district, confirmed today that police arrested 400 people suspecting their involvement in the blast in Lalitpur district alone until Wednesday morning. And of the 400 arrested, 129 people have been sent to Mahendra Police Club for necessary interrogation. Likewise, hundreds of people have been arrested in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur district following the incident." The article goes on to talk about how many of the arrested were youth, between 15 and 25 years old, and that lots of them have complained about being treated inhumanely.
While in Kathmandu I have the opportunity to interview several leaders of mass organizations, people doing work among women, intellectuals and professionals, students, and workers. And this gives me a picture of the revolutionary movement in the city and how city people are being mobilized and organized to resist the government and support the People's War in the countryside. Everyone I talk to is so dedicated and strong in their commitment and in their belief that the present political system must be gotten rid of if there is to be any real solution to the people's problems.
These mass organizations see their work in terms of short-term and long-term goals. They are leading the fight for better living and working conditions for the masses. But at the same time, they are waging these struggles from a revolutionary point of view. These mass leaders were very clear--and many of these mass organizations make this point in their Constitution--that the people's problems cannot be solved until the present feudalistic, corrupt system is overthrown and the people build a New Democratic system. These mass organizations educate their members in this way of thinking and openly declare that they "morally support" the People's War in the countryside.
These organizations are all open and legal at this point, but they are all facing increasing and brutal repression. Many people are being arrested, jailed, and killed. But this has only made people stronger in their resolve to fight the government. There is a real struggle for these organizations to remain legal and not be driven underground--which is what the government is trying to force them to do. They have already suffered the loss of many comrades, but they remain very confident and high-spirited in their evaluation of the ability of the People's War to continue to advance and gain support from people in the cities. They tell me that the broad masses of people really consider the People's War to be the only ray of hope for real change.
There are also organized armed manifestations of the People's War in the city. And one day I get the chance to meet with some members of a squad that carries out guerrilla actions in the city. All the people in this group are very young--they look to be in their early 20s. There is one woman in the crew. The squad leader does most of the talking and starts off by saying: "We thank you for coming and hope you will be serious in spreading the news of the struggle in Nepal. We express solidarity with all the national movements and people's wars going on throughout the world. The People's War in Nepal is part of the world revolution."
He explains how the squad operates: "Mainly we work according to the party's plan of organizing armed struggle and legal struggle. We select the target by collecting the views of the people. It is their views that lead us to make certain targets. There are three types of main targets: 1) people supporting reactionary bureaucrats; 2) people who are a barrier to the class struggle; and 3) people who support and/or work for the feudalistic order. A major target is the multinational companies like Coca-Cola which are symbols of bureaucrat capitalism. Other targets are police officers and top bureaucrats and ministers who are involved in massacring the people and attacking the People's War.
"After we determine a target, we organize the action. We make a survey many times, figure out what kinds of weapons are needed, complete the survey and verify whether the person, factory or target is an enemy of the people. An armed action cannot be done without good mass organization and there must be mass support for armed actions. Mass organization is the main basis for armed actions.
"Various actions are determined by the plan of the party--for the different regions, the East, West, Central or Valley. In the Valley there have been about 150 actions since the initiation including sabotage, bombings, gasoline bombs to vehicles, and attacking the houses and stores of bad elements. Urban guerrilla actions include publicly humiliating officers, police, and bureaucrats involved in corruption and exposing them to the masses. The response of the masses has been a lot of praise. These are very popular actions."
I tell the squad members how the U.S. media tells people that such actions taken by revolutionaries are "terrorist," and the squad leader responds by saying:
"As far as U.S. imperialism is concerned it is the leader of imperialism and uses its media against the people. So they don't understand these actions. Actions like this are very popular in Nepal and welcomed by many sectors of the people because the government doesn't work according to the law and the police brutalize the people. The people say they support these actions and want to see more. We always explain to the masses why these targets are enemies of the people and why such actions are necessary. And the revolutionary papers also explain why such actions are taken and expose the crimes of the person or company to make clear to the people why they are being targeted. And the people get inspiration from these kinds of actions. These actions are not done randomly but with careful selection. They are done with the release of a press communiqué to the people."
When I ask the squad leader to explain the relationship between these type of guerrilla actions in the city and the People's War in the countryside, he says:
"These kinds of city actions have helped to strengthen the People's War and play an important role in: 1) international propaganda; 2) diverting the attention of the enemy; 3) developing organization in the city; and 4) demoralizing the enemy and uplifting the spirits of the people."
He also tells me about how they are working to develop more sophisticated weapons:
"The number of actions are increasing and we are developing different kinds of creative technology to carry out these actions, like new ways of making and detonating bombs. The enemy can't understand how we made certain weapons. And we are trying to develop our own technology even further so the other side can't use it or understand it. The government thinks this technology is coming from outside of Nepal, but this is not so. We are developing mass technology in weapons that the masses can create and use. And we name these new weapons and methods after martyrs who have given their lives to the revolution."
At the end of the meeting, the squad leader says: "We are honored to have you here and have heard of the revolutionary work being done in the United States. We have heard of the work of the Revolutionary Worker and the RCP and express solidarity with this work. It is hard to get the Revolutionary Worker here. But when we do, we read it and get very inspired by it. We would like to send a message to the comrades of the RCP--to overcome all kinds of difficulties and fight boldly and fully against U.S. imperialism. What we hope for is the defeat of U.S. imperialism as one of the most important parts to the success of the proletariat. We give a red salute to the comrades of the RCP and the revolutionary masses in the United States."
To be continued.
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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