Friends of Nepal

Some hurricane!  We came out the other side of the eye, and, other than a few scattered showers, there’s no sign of a second half of the hurricane.

In fact, the most striking feature of the landscape is how remarkably smoothly the election went.  It was hardly perfect; there dozens of cases of individual polling stations having been sufficiently bolluxed to require a rerun; undoubtedly more than a few constituencies where voters were terrorized into voting for Maoist candidates; and two or three cases of individual (non-Maoist) candidates being murdered.  But in the cold light of day, frankly, it’s easy to imagine a Continue Reading »

Tansen, April 11

Hello, Nepal IV and friends from the front lines.

We’re in the calm of the eye of the hurricane right now.  The violence and disorder of the past months (or years, depending on how you count) wound down exceedingly quickly in the past several days as closures of government offices and schools and businesses, then a cessation of political campaigning, then a suspension of sales of alcohol, and finally a ban on operation of motor vehicles went into effect.

The very heart of the eye was yesterday–the actual day of the election.  Deckie and I have maybe had a skewed view of the atmosphere, since Tansen’s district (Palpa), Gulmi (next door, to the west) and Okhaldhunga were Continue Reading »

Executive Linguist Agency 

A language company in LA for one or two interpreters who would be willing to work with the immigration department - through their agency.  …

The work may entail interpreting for individual during interviews and also during immigration hearings.

The assignment would be in the downtown area of Los Angeles. The fee would be court rate of $165 for half day, which we would pay the interpreters on a bi-weekly basis.

If you have more specific questions I would be happy to answer them, if you are sure you can help me with my search

Helen

Executive Linguist Agency

www.ExecutiveLinguist.com

800-522-2320

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT

Kathmandu/Brussels, 2 April 2008: Elections for Nepal’s Constituent Assembly on 10 April could be marred by political violence, but if all parties cooperate, it will open the next stage in the peace process.

Nepal’s Election and Beyond,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the positive signs and challenges in the run-up to the elections and calls upon the current seven-party coalition, including the Maoists, to prepare for difficult negotiations in the post-poll period in order Continue Reading »

You might be interested to look at just another example of why we went to Nepal. Tune in to David Branccacio’s NOW program on Public Television this coming Friday evening, April 4th [with repeats at other times] - check your local PTV listing for specific times.

NOW will take you out to the far western Dang region to see the Indentured Daughters Program which is sponsored by NYOF  [Nepalese Youth Opportunities Foundation] out of Sausalito, CA [founded by Olga Murray]. Your guide on the trip will be Som Paneru, Director of NYOF programs in Nepal. In the past eight years NYOF has almost completely eradicated in Dang the inhumane custom of bonding little girls away to work as servants for families in distant cities.

I first noticed Som in 1981 when he was a student in my 8th Math class at the High School in Ghympesaal jilla out of Gorkha where Peace Corps had just assigned me to begin my service. Som drew my attention because in that sea of 70 or 80 wiggly students he  stood out by his eagerness to learn. Placing himself in the front row among the girls – while bedlam reigned all around him — Som literally hung over the bench trying to follow my Continue Reading »

An International Day of Action has been declared for Monday - thousands of people in cities across the world will march to Chinese embassies and consulates to deliver our petition!

SIGN TIBET PETITION - CLICK HERE

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Dear friends,

After decades of repression, the Tibetan people are crying out to the world for change. The Olympic spotlight is now on China, and Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama is calling to end all riots and violence through restraint and dialogue.

China’s hardliners are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but many Chinese leaders believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. The government is right now considering a crucial choice between Continue Reading »

The first RPCV presentation at the Rubin Museum will take place next Friday, April 4th at 7.30pm. The speaker will be Rajeev Goyal, with whom I Continue Reading »

Fellow Nepal RPCVs,

There has been some discussion on the RPCV leaders’ listserv recently about a website that was started several years ago to honor PCVs who died while serving (http://www.fpcv.org/fallen_pcvs.htm). Some of the stories about the PCVs there are very moving.  I noticed that there are several Nepal PCVs on the list, but unlike some of the PCVs who served in other countries, none of the Nepal PCV entries currently include a bio:

If you have something to share with our Friends of Nepal community - a rolodex of group members … a funny story … events of interest to us … insight from a recent trip to Nepal… please contact us and we can sign you up as an editor after an extensive background check (ha ha).

Also, if you would like to start a page for your group let us know. You can have your own designated group page on the site to post updates about members, reunion plans etc. Its REALLY simple and takes only minutes per week.