In the two months leading up to our departure I have made it my one of my goals to watch as many documentaries and programs focusing on Nepal as I can.  On Saturday night I watched “Frames of War,” a documentary about the civil war in Nepal through the eyes of the Nepalese people.  “Frames of War” told stories from both the Maoist and Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) perspectives.  I would like to share and reflect on three stories in the documentary: the first of a Nepalese youth crippled by the war, the second a man trying to provide for his family after the fighting has ceased, and the third a mother looking for her lost son.

The youth, who appeared to be in his teens when this movie was made, was hit by a bullet as a young child during the war.  The bullet entered the front of his neck and exited through the back.  The trauma caused nerve damage throughout his young body including his legs, which are now only partially functional.  During the interview the boy’s mother began to explain that he is now looked down upon in the village for being crippled.  She said that the other villagers often taunted him as he walks down the street and do not like to be around him.  His story really struck me because he was just a small child, neither a Maoist nor a RNA soldier, and he will have to pay for the rest of his life for something he had no control over.  I hope that when we get to Nepal we can work with a program that works with Nepalese youth and organizations like the Nepalese Youth Foundation or Youth Action Nepal.

The second story was of a man who worked as a rickshaw before the war but was wounded badly and could no longer walk.  He was so worried about how he would provide for him family and where he would find work.  In my Women in War class this semester we spoke of the importance of the reintegration of combatants into the post-conflict society.  From what I understand thus far about the situation in Nepal is that it is very hard for soldiers to do just this.  It seems to me that, while there are a small of NGO’s and programs working to help these combatants reintegrate, the need is very great due to the sheer number of soldiers and the resources being few and far between.  This ties in with the third story of a mother searching for her son who is one of the thousands of Nepalese citizens who went missing during the war.  The mother said that her son was “taken” by the Maoists and forced to fight, she has not seen him since.  The mother was completely distraught and had walked for days to Kathmandu to try and find answers.  She did not but continues to hold out hope that one day she will find some answers.  This is a topic that I hold to research further before we get to Nepal and while we are there.  I would like to know what is being done to try to find the missing and who is helping the families.

The documentary “Frames of War” was a good jumping off point to better understand the situation in Nepal and to start to think about what parts of the story I would like to delve deeper into.