The 'day after' of Nepal’s GenZ revolution
A journey among the expectations of young people who, in the name of fighting corruption, forced to the departure of Sharma Oli's government. “Deep inequalities” are at the root of the protests, said Sister Durga Shrestha (Caritas Nepal). Now the challenge is to generate “structural changes.” For Jesuit Father Ekka, the education system must be a priority.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – A few weeks after what has been labelled the "historic revolution" of 10 September, the streets of Kathmandu seem to be back to the usual chaos of daily life.
Nepal is half the size of Italy, a country of 30 million nestled between India and China, venue of the usual coming and going of Buddhists and Hindus, on the "roof of the world", the Himalayas, where many aspects of daily life are evocative of rural subsistence.
After three or four days of setting the country on fire (literally, with the parliament and the private homes of several government members torched), the protagonists of the uprising, Nepal’s GenZ, found themselves on the streets two weeks later for a day of civic cleanup.
The urgent mantra, addressed to tourists and hikers, was "Don't miss the season, the country is safe, welcome, and namaste!"
Travelling in the capital as well as the much more isolated Everest region, I tried to get a feel for the country through the voices I met: a 26-year-old hiking guide, a young worker at an environmental education centre, an emeritus university professor of applied natural sciences, the nun who runs Caritas Nepal with a staff of lay people, and the head of the Jesuit Social Institute.
Not long ago, I saw firsthand the reality of a country with deep internal inequalities, visiting a region of farming villages five hours by dirt road from Kathmandu (Timal), and a similar area of different ethnicities much closer to the new suburbs of the expanding capital (Balthali).
Isolated, these areas lack most government services, and prone to earthquakes, floods, and drought, their residents still shackled to day-to-day survival. Even the Annapurna hiking area, in the northwest, has experienced severe erosion and flooding of the only roads connecting the villages.
Even then, there was a growing outcry against "a government that profits from tourists but fails to develop the regions that welcome them."
The September revolution did indeed pass like a meteor, but it also has much to say to the world, as some international observers have noted.
In a young democracy (the king ruled until 2008), suffering from widespread political corruption, caught between India’s interference and China’s subtler ways, two things have changed in recent years: the rise of a first generation of young, university-educated people (Tribhuvan University has some 400,000 students) and the arrival of smartphones and internet connectivity, which allow – in a country with poor roads – a level of mass communication, information, and organisation that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago.
While everyone I spoke to agreed that widespread discontent with the country's mismanagement was evident, no one expected GenZ – the very ones glued to their phones – to make such a striking statement in a revolt that in just a few days forced Prime Minister Sharma Oli's government to flee, strike a deal with the military, identify through social media a popular transitional prime minister (former Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki), and set the stage for fresh elections in a country that has clear demands that can no longer be postponed.
“In two days,” said Laxman Lama, an environmental educator at Sagarmatha National Park, “something unprecedented for Nepal happened. The international media associated the protest with the social media ban, but the real target was corruption, the unbearable luxury in which certain politicians live while the population survives in poverty.”
Sister Durga Cecilia Shrestha, the first woman to lead Caritas Nepal, which works closely with the government to tackle the country's climate and social emergencies, expressed to me her satisfaction at seeing young people call upon a woman to lead the transition as prime minister.
“Inequality in the education and healthcare systems are pervasive. Only the rich, only politicians and their children (dubbed 'NepoKids') have access to quality education abroad. This has fuelled widespread anger among young people, but I don't think even the protest groups expected such an outcome.
"The army played an important role; during the chaos, it killed dozens of young people, but then it realised it had to focus on ending the violence and the arson, and listen to protesters' proposals. It wasn't easy to maintain a middle ground; the risk was to cause more massacres or allow the capital to burn down.”
For Sister Durga, “Now we'll have to see if GenZ can express their representation and form alliances to truly implement structural changes."
Ram Prasad Chaudary, professor emeritus at the Research Centre for Applied Sciences and Technologies, confirmed to me that many of the groups protesting were made up of university students.
“Despite the great confusion it has caused, and the multiple, not always transparent, interests at play, the results have been encouraging," he said. “We all want to see corruption gone, good governance, with the right people in the right places.
“Politics shouldn't compromise the education system by handing out positions based on party affiliations. Teaching and research should be free and take place without interference. GenZ also demands access to studies abroad, for many reasons.
"Among the latter are the lack of merit and opportunities. Even those who demonstrate extraordinary abilities don't get a good position. And when they try to make their mark abroad, they have to wait in line for days just to hope to get the necessary papers. Inequality in the country is reaching unsustainable levels. I see it even in the most remote regions, which I travel to for research”.
“Our role is to support young people who are studying,” noted Father David Ekka of the Jesuit Social Institute. “Right now we must insist that burning the symbols of the state and democracy is not a fruitful path, while the demands they advance are valid and must be implemented.
"In recent years, we have invested in training teachers and principals in public schools, as well as in the socio-political education of young people, to ensure that over time a potential governing class develops, a critically minded group capable of navigating fake news and mass distractions.
“There is a great deal of work to be done to make education inclusive for the most vulnerable groups. A major reform of the school system would be truly desirable.”
While Catholics are an active minority in the country, committed to outreach and education, albeit constantly at risk of accusations of proselytising, Hami Nepal, the platform founded by influencer and entrepreneur Sudan Gurung, is claiming a leading role among younger generations in bringing change to Nepal and encouraging peaceful and deliberate protests. This platform is spearheading civic projects and perhaps hinting that it can represent (directly or indirectly) the dream of Nepal's GenZ in the upcoming elections in March 2026.
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16/01/2023 13:47
07/01/2020 09:36
