2017-12-19
Niki MacLennan
Nepal has long been on my list of 'go to countries; in the 60s and 70s it was a popular place to hang out. The opportunity to visit came with the World Gathering of Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) World Gathering in November.
In the 1960s many people took the overland route from London to Australia in a 'combi that they shipped on from Bombay, now Mumbai. The road was open through Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush and India, and many travellers included Kathmandu on their journeys. Freak Street runs south from Basantapur Square in the historic centre of Kathmandu. During the overland days it was one of the gathering places on the 'road east. It was here that people came in search of spiritual enlightenment, the hotels were cheap and hash was available. In 1972 when King Birendra succeeded his father, visa laws were tightened up and the hippie era ended. Many of the old temples and palaces in the UNESCO World Heritage precinct were damaged in the 2015 earthquake; it is a huge task to complete the restoration.
AVP Nepal hosted the World Gathering during 5-10 November; previous world gatherings have been in Guatemala and Ireland. This gathering was held at a resort hotel on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu in Budhanilkantha. There is a Hindu sacred site close to the resort, focussed on a large reclining statue of Vishnu, the creator of all life, who floats on the cosmic sea. This 5m long image was created in the 7th or 8th century from a monolithic piece of black stone. A short walk further north is Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. This remaining woodland and forest protects the main water source for Kathmandu valley.
During morning walks towards the park, I encountered the contrasts of this developing country. There are comfortable and substantial houses including a diplomatic compound. The air is considerably cleaner in this area than in the centre of Kathmandu. Side by side with new developments are shacks with no facilities, washing is done in streams or with water collected from taps beside the road. Many roads are in very poor condition and are still undergoing repair from damage sustained in the 2015 earthquake. It was not unusual to see monkeys on the electricity and telephone wires.
AVP is a multi-cultural volunteer organisation that is dedicated to reducing interpersonal violence in our society and present workshops on conflict management skills. The programme was developed from an initiative in 1975 in the New York State Prison System. An inmate group felt the need for non-violence training, in preparation for their roles as counsellors to assist younger offenders, and they asked a local Quaker group to provide the training. The programme spread from Greenhaven prison to other prisons, and AVP became an independent private non-profit educational corporation funded by private sources.
About 160 delegates from 38 countries attended the AVP World Gathering. There were reports on the activities and initiatives in different countries. All continents were represented. In Indonesia AVP methods have been developed and used as a teaching method in schools and pre-schools. Workshops are held in prisons in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, USA and Australia. In Guatemala police attend AVP workshops. Some of the most valued facilitators have been prison inmates themselves.
Workshops are held in Nepal for teachers and community members, in part this is to address violence in the home and in schools. Nepal AVP has been supported strongly by members of AVP Australia. Participants who have completed a basic workshop follow up with an advanced workshop, then training for facilitators, and after that they may facilitate workshops. In WA, AVP are providing workshops in many prisons in Perth and rural locations. AVP facilitators work on a voluntary basis.
AVP Kenya was represented at the Gathering, and they told us how their facilitators run a specialised workshop for trauma, developed by AVP facilitators from Rwanda and Burundi. Help Increase Peace Programme (HIPP) was introduced to secondary schools in 2015; it is a training programme that equips young people and teachers with skills and learning tools to cope with potentially violent situations in a non-violent and practical way.
Travelling around Nepal after the conference, I noticed many flags and banners for the upcoming elections. Elections are now being held for the first time in 20 years. Political rallies were held in town centres, and there were a few new white 4WD vehicles flying the party flags and taking electoral representatives to country areas. Nepal has a history of political instability; it became a secular republic in 2015, after many years as a Hindu monarchy. The three main parties are the central left Nepali Congress, and two Communist parties, Maoist Centre and Unified Marxist-Leninist.
There is continuous work on repairing roads that suffered in the earthquake. In general roads are in a poor state; a 200km journey on a main road can take up to 6 hours. The main road from Kathmandu to the Indian border takes most of the imports and exports to Nepal, which is a land locked country with no railways. While held up on this road, our Nepali guide said progress on fixing it was slow and would not improve until after the elections.
The backdrop of the Himalayas is stunning, looking north from the plains in the south, hills are viewed in the near distance then, providing that the skies are clear, the snow -capped mountains emerge in the far distance. Trekking is an important tourist activity. Chitwan National park was created in 1973; it had been a hunting reserve, now it is closely guarded by the army. Poachers severely reduced rhino and tiger numbers selling animal parts to middle men in China and Tibet.
Further information on AVPAVPWA.org and WWW.avp.international/2017nepal
Header photo: The Himalayas, Nepal. Credit: www.nepalhikingteam.com