Theraputic Hospitality



A community member takes you to see his house and meet his family. You walk past toppled stone houses. Navigate the meandering arrangement of tied-up goats and water buffalos. Duck to miss a low hanging tin roof under which the displaced family sleeps in between days of field work. You are asked to sit on a wood bench next to grandfather as the rest of the family sits on woven ground mats.

 



On the right, remains of mud and stone houses. On the left,
a maze of shanty shelters made of tin and low stone walls. 

Whatever tin cups owned by the family are taken out and filled with room-temperature curdled milk. It has large lumps of fat and a probably some stray water buffalo hairs. A smoky scent comes off of it from the fire it was at one time heated over. Taking all that in, you can feel the family watching as mother insists you take part.

This has been a typical experience. First, it's humbling to be offered anything by someone who's lost so much and still wants you to be comfortable at their expense. Then, you wonder just what will happen to your stomach. It might have been a tough decision at first, but I've seen how much it means to families and what it can do for the relationship. It can be subtle, but I often notice a tension dissolve and a relationship begin once hospitality is accepted.

 

Hospitality is foundational in a South Asian culture. The saying goes that 'Guest is god' and its a shameful thing to not bring honor to a guest. It can visibly tug at a host when they don't have what they normally have to offer a guest. When there are road blocks to addressing a root problem in community development, sometimes the best way to start a relationship is to accept that cup of milk and help a family feel like they are getting back to "normal". To a westerner, it's profound to think that accepting hospitality can actually soothe a family in a post-disaster setting.

 

 









Fuel Crisis at 2 months

Overloaded busses lumber by throughout
 the day as I work in villages

For many villagers who's only felt effect of the fuel crisis is public busses packed to double capacity, life in general isn't being affected too greatly. If they went to the valley to find hospital care they might be turned away due to low supplies.

Down in the Kathmandu Valley however, the situation is getting more dire. Few private vehicles are on the roads, schools have started discontinuing busses and closing, hospitals have delayed some surgeries and started turning people away due to low supplies. Electricity feels no worse than normal for lighting and some cooking while many city dwellers are cooking with wood. When rumors of LP gas or petrol deliveries come up, people camp out in lines where their car or home fuel canister may have been parked for days.

Here is a good article for understanding a bulk of the situation. It doesn't specify the grievances of the Madhesis towards the constitution, but it does show where international camps stand on it. I won't attempt to list their grievances exhaustively, but two major objections on the constitution are the clauses on a more or less secular state as well as stricter law on the citizenship requirements of individuals running for certain public offices.

Time- India and Nepal Have No Choice but to End Their Border Dispute and Move On
 

Hill Pickin'

I came overseas with a banjo just to have something to learn besides language, but it's ended up being something to connect with nationals over.

As I entered the field, a seasoned worker impressed on me that, 'If you don't learn the songs of the people, you to should be strung up for malpractice.' I've done what I can to pick up local songs to gather people around and to put myself in a position to learn from them. I've seen how being willing to learn is a good way to be given the privilege to speak into lives.

Here is a cellphone-recorded song that is very dear to the Nepali people. It doesn't carry a clear meaning in translation, but there are little bits of a love story, old proverbs, and being free-spirited. It's recognized as just an old song which families sing as they walk along.