Nepal Unites, an activist group, organized an event at the Khullamanch on May 20th, 2011, which they promoted through Facebook. I am currently in Kathmandu and decided to support the cause by showing up in a white t-shirt as called for by the organizers. As most Nepali, I share their frustrations with the current state of affairs and wanted to support their noble effort to get the youth engaged. However, when I got there it was disappointing to see only a small percentage of people with white t-shirts on. Most people just seemed to wander in to see what the fuss was all about--or, as for a group of people behind me, to listen to their favorite artists- which was OK, as it provided Nepal Unites with a golden opportunity to reach more people and spread their message. However, it also meant that the program be of high quality and effective in delivering its message.
The program started with a call for the youth to unite and partake in cleaning the Khullamanch (which was full of garbage from the Nepali Congress' event the day before). I did my part, as did many others who had gathered, by picking as much garbage as I could with my bare hands. This is when I started to notice the flaws in organizing. If the group was planning on cleaning the place, they should have either brought brooms or asked the participants to bring one--I would have gladly brought one with me. This would have expedited the process and would have increased the participation from the elite kids who seemed unwilling to touch the garbage with their bare hands. It was impressive how most people got engaged and cleaned up the area. This was definitely the most impressive and the highest point of the event for me.
The program then continued on to the stage that was built off of the main concrete stage. This, the organizers explained, was to symbolize a move away from the practices of the political parties who frequently use the existing stage to spill false promises and empty rhetoric. I commend Nepal Unites for coming up with such an inspirational idea to show a clear break from current practices.
This is where the program took a weird turn and exposed the hasty organization and lack of thoughtful planning. Any random person was invited to come up on stage and voice their concerns about the current stalemate in the constitutional process. This opened the flood gate. One after another youth took the stage and complained about the incompetence of the political leaders. This seemed like a good idea --giving an opportunity to the common citizen to express their discontents-- however, the organizers didn't seem ready for what could happen in an open forum.
After a few people took the stage and complained about the current state of political affairs, a young girl went up on stage and promised to kill each and every politician if they do not complete the constitution on time. Her exact words were "ek ek lai chapkaidinchu," which was met with loud praises and applause, even though some of us in the crowd were taken aback by her words. After all, most people including myself, were there because of the group's stance against violence and its chosen path of good citizenship which they summed up as "leadership" on the pamphlet they passed around. Now, I understand that the girl probably went into a trance and yelled out stuff she probably does not condone.
We are all aware that even great orators misspeak in the heat of the moment. But, what surprised me the most was that the MC let her comments stand. He thanked her for her words and moved on with the program. This delegitimized the event for me. If I wanted to chant along with a loud and obnoxious activist and applause calls for harm to the individuals that I disagree with, I would have joined any other political rally. I am sure that the participants in other political rallies are no less patriotic than the ones in this one; I picked this one because it seemed to promote the principles that I value the most, one being non-violence.
I agree with and support the philosophies and principles promoted by Nepal Unites. Since the movement is in its infancy, it is particularly important for the leaders of the movement to thoroughly workout the details of any programs they organize and to firmly condemn any deviations from their core principles. Failing to do so gives an impression of passive acceptance of such actions, reduces future participation, and decreases the legitimacy of the movement, which will be unfortunate!
I will post the videos of the event soon, including the performance by Mr. Yogeshowar Amatya soon.
The program started with a call for the youth to unite and partake in cleaning the Khullamanch (which was full of garbage from the Nepali Congress' event the day before). I did my part, as did many others who had gathered, by picking as much garbage as I could with my bare hands. This is when I started to notice the flaws in organizing. If the group was planning on cleaning the place, they should have either brought brooms or asked the participants to bring one--I would have gladly brought one with me. This would have expedited the process and would have increased the participation from the elite kids who seemed unwilling to touch the garbage with their bare hands. It was impressive how most people got engaged and cleaned up the area. This was definitely the most impressive and the highest point of the event for me.
The program then continued on to the stage that was built off of the main concrete stage. This, the organizers explained, was to symbolize a move away from the practices of the political parties who frequently use the existing stage to spill false promises and empty rhetoric. I commend Nepal Unites for coming up with such an inspirational idea to show a clear break from current practices.
This is where the program took a weird turn and exposed the hasty organization and lack of thoughtful planning. Any random person was invited to come up on stage and voice their concerns about the current stalemate in the constitutional process. This opened the flood gate. One after another youth took the stage and complained about the incompetence of the political leaders. This seemed like a good idea --giving an opportunity to the common citizen to express their discontents-- however, the organizers didn't seem ready for what could happen in an open forum.
After a few people took the stage and complained about the current state of political affairs, a young girl went up on stage and promised to kill each and every politician if they do not complete the constitution on time. Her exact words were "ek ek lai chapkaidinchu," which was met with loud praises and applause, even though some of us in the crowd were taken aback by her words. After all, most people including myself, were there because of the group's stance against violence and its chosen path of good citizenship which they summed up as "leadership" on the pamphlet they passed around. Now, I understand that the girl probably went into a trance and yelled out stuff she probably does not condone.
We are all aware that even great orators misspeak in the heat of the moment. But, what surprised me the most was that the MC let her comments stand. He thanked her for her words and moved on with the program. This delegitimized the event for me. If I wanted to chant along with a loud and obnoxious activist and applause calls for harm to the individuals that I disagree with, I would have joined any other political rally. I am sure that the participants in other political rallies are no less patriotic than the ones in this one; I picked this one because it seemed to promote the principles that I value the most, one being non-violence.
I agree with and support the philosophies and principles promoted by Nepal Unites. Since the movement is in its infancy, it is particularly important for the leaders of the movement to thoroughly workout the details of any programs they organize and to firmly condemn any deviations from their core principles. Failing to do so gives an impression of passive acceptance of such actions, reduces future participation, and decreases the legitimacy of the movement, which will be unfortunate!
I will post the videos of the event soon, including the performance by Mr. Yogeshowar Amatya soon.
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