Crash into hope

Depending upon how on the international-news radar you are (and on how far this news spread – I’m not sure that the globe pays that much attention to Nepal events), you may or may not have heard about two incidents that occurred here last week. On Wednesday or Thursday there was an avalanche in the Annapurna range that killed 8 people. The Annapurna range is very popular for international trekkers, and so it is very likely that at least a few of the 8 were internationals. An accident of a very different sort occurred on Friday: a small plane crashed shortly after taking off from the Kathmandu airport. All 19 occupants were killed. 12 were tourists: 5 from Chinese, and 7 from England. The plane was run by a small Nepalese company. (here’s a link to the BBC report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19754351)

I am sharing this news both because I want to reassure you all of my safety, and also because they demonstrate the reality of conditions in a developing country. First, when I go on my own treks, know that I will do a hefty amount of research regarding the best time of year to go and the safest routes to take. As far as I’m aware, tourist season has just begun around here.  As for flying, know that: I simply plan to avoid it altogether. Of course, crazy drivers taking over-loaded buses along windy roads cut into steep canyons can be equally dangerous – but we’ve been well advised on what to do to reduce risks: which buses to take, when, and other signs of potential to look out for. So – I hope no one (ahem – mom!) worries too much because of this news.

Now – for the reality check. The truth of it is, these sorts of accidents aren’t uncommon here. But it’s also true that both of these accidents could have possibly been prevented in a number of ways. While no, no one could have stopped that avalanche,  a more advanced information sharing system could have warned people of the risks – of which slopes to avoid. I’m not sure why the plane crashed, but I know that a large number of the small planes in this country were built in the early 80’s, and thus are probably in questionable working condition. There must be some way (stricter safety standards paired with higher enforcement maybe?) to force these planes to either be heavily retrofitted or taken out of the air. Their must. The underlying issues are common in many developing countries: need for better information collection, greater information sharing, stricter policies, (or at least) better enforcement of those policies.

This – circles back to me. I suppose a person in my position – a person who has volunteered to move herself to the complete opposite side of the planet in order to help to improve overall living conditions of the people – could easily use this sort of thing either to feed cynacism, or to feed hope. The cynical mind says: what the heck could I do to actually help when there are so many bigger issues in this place than I could possibly begin to address? The hopeful mind says: I am here as an agent of change – as a catalyst – to help the people empower themselves, and thus to make their own changes – small and large.

I’m not a fool; I know real change takes a long time. I like to think I’m a realistic-optimist, who believe that change is not only possible – but inevitable. It has long been my strong belief that change is the only true constant in this world. I’m bent on spending my life nudging it in the positive direction.

– A