| 2006 was a crux year for Nepal. It will be forever remembered as a significant historical moment in Nepalese political history. Those 12 months saw the theatre of a people's uprising and the establishment of a fragile peace, after 10 years of internal conflict, which had left nearly 13,000 dead. The people's movement and mass protest in April 2006 eventually succeeded in bringing down the institution of the monarchy; the King. Gathered for a common aim, the Nepalese people made the authoritarian power of the King a history. On the 24th of April, King Gyanendra was forced to reinstate the Parliament.
On the 21st of November, the Government of Nepal and the Maoists signed a comprehensive peace agreement to end more than 10 years of fighting, rewrite the country's constitution (which will determine the future of the monarchy), and the establishment of an interim government. On that day, the Hindu Kingdom of Nepal became a secular democratic state.
Nepal received its interim constitution and a new parliament with the Maoists on the 15th of January 2007. The old parliament that King Gyanendra was forced to revive in April 2006 has been dissolved. This was a big leap forward in Nepal's history because it completely denies any power to the king, which signals a virtual end of the 239 year old feudal Shah dynastic rule in Nepal. This has facilitated Maoists, who used to act clandestinely, to come into the front of the political arena. An interim government (including Maoists) was formed.
The peace building has begun, and if the election to Constitutional Assembly is scheduled for next November, it will take a long time for the people to feel relieved.
As so often in conflict situations, children have been the first witnesses and victims of brutality. Although a new stage in Nepal's history has started, these children still suffer mentally and physically from this decade of war. The Maoists typically recruited child-soldiers from the poorest classes of the population. Now that the fight is over, these children have been left to face a reality where they have lost members of their family and sources of income generation among other things.
Many of them flee to Kathmandu, searching for a parent, a home, a way to survive…
These children deprived of their family have no protection and cannot make their rights respected. Their heightened vulnerability and isolation put them at a greater risk of being trafficked.
Moreover, all the education systems in place before the conflict were left severely damaged. In the land, schools have been occupied, destroyed, or closed by the armed forces. Today, if the buildings are still there, many teachers are still absent. They have been persecuted by the Maoists in many causes.
Some figures at the end of the conflict
More than 4,000 dead
More than 8,000 orphans
Some 40,000 child IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)
About 29,000 children kidnapped
(Dear friends, is it possible to put the source from which these data are obtained)
In order to rebuild the socio-economical background, there is much work to be done. The sector of education appears as a key in this process. Without it, the next generation won't be able to maintain peace in the Land of smiles… |
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