Arriving in Kathmandu at night, our first views of the city were limited. The city was asleep – a few honking cars, motorbikes and even less people (although the chaos of the airport was an exception: people asking for “American money”, airport security blowing whistles to hurry people along, etc.)
Our first real sense of Kathmandu came the next morning when we ventured out after breakfast for out first meetings of the trip. The busy morning bustle was a huge contrast from the relative calm of the previous night; the roads were a giant moving mass of cars, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, and a variety of brave pedestrians. People warmed themselves by small fires outside of shaggy-looking buildings while stray dogs sniffed around in rubbish piles on street cornes.
There was also a heavy presence of uniformed and armed police forces who congregated on street corners and in empty lots, or who drove by in trucks.
The streets were also congested with lines of motorbikes and vehicles that wound for blocks in front of petrol stations. Apparently, there is a petrol shortage and although prices are high, people still need to fuel up to get around.
Our first meeting of the day was with Peace Brigades International (PBI), a global organization who uses the method of “protective acompanyment” as a way to ensure the safety of local human rights defenders and activists whose lives would otherwise be in danger.
Next, we met Advocacy Forum who is working towards sustainable rule of law and the reduction of impunity, as well as the general advocacy for human rights. When asked what was the biggest challenge to peacebuilding in their opinion, they stated that it was the fact that everything in Nepal was so heavily politicized.
Our third meeting was with the Lawyers’ Forum for Human Rights; they are playing a role in the peace process and advocate transitional justice as a means to peacebuilding and stated that a sustainable government is essential to this process.
The final meeting, and probably my favorite, was with Alliance for Peace, an organization who works with Nepali youth in 10 districts to promote dialogue and to train young people to be peacebuilders rather than resort to violence. I really enjoyed talking with the members of Alliance for Peace because they had some great ideas as well as effective methods for carrying them out. After all, the youth are the future, and if a whole generation can learn to work for peace and use non-violence as a avenue for change, then a country like Nepal can have a better chance of rebuilding.