Received: from mp.cs.niu.edu (mp.cs.niu.edu [131.156.1.2]) by library.wustl.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) with SMTP id RAA23226 for <huestis@library.wustl.edu>; Thu, 20 Oct 1994 17:06:49 -0500 Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA23084 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for nepal-dist); Thu, 20 Oct 1994 13:34:27 -0500 Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA23080 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for nepal-list); Thu, 20 Oct 1994 13:34:26 -0500 Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 13:34:26 -0500 Message-Id: <199410201834.AA23080@mp.cs.niu.edu> Reply-To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu> From: The Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu> Sender: "Rajpal J. Singh" <A10RJS1@cs.niu.edu> Subject: The Nepal Digest - Oct 20, 1994 (17 Kartik 2051 BkSm) To: <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu> Content-Type: text Content-Length: 39136 Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 41
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The Nepal Digest Thursday 20 Oct 94: Kartik 17 2051 BkSm Volume 32 Issue 5
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* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
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**********************************************************************
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 94 16:42:17 CDT
From: Rabi Burathoki <CCRABI@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu>
Subject: Re: News and Digest...
To: The Nepal Digest <nepal@cs.niu.edu>
Dear Mr. Editor,
This is in response to Mr. J. R. Joshi's letter that appeared in the
Nepal Digest (Oct. 17, '94). He says that he is "getting increasingly
disgusted and restless about the inclusion of the pointless, never-
ending, poorly-edited, self-promoting, and oft-repeating philosophical
exchanges of the selected few in each and every issue of the Digest".
What exactly did you find pointless and disgusting? The articles on
"Women in Hinduism" by Mr. P. K. Mishra? The articles on "Contributions
of Female Authors to Newari Literature" by Mr. Amulya Tuladhar? Or was
it the many, many articles on the Arun III project?
Joshiji, there is more to life than just the "current and unbiased news"
from Nepal. What is wrong with intelligent people having philosophical
discussions? It may not interest you, but there are many others who
enjoy these discussions. At the very least, its shows that the authors
(even if they are self-promoting) care deeply about Nepal. And, please
I do not believe that anyone is trying to "push" their views "down my
throat".
Personally speaking, I found the articles on "Women in Hinduism" quite
eye-opening. After reading them, my wife and I had long and deep
discussions (more like arguments) about the treatment of women in Nepal.
I also learned a lot about my religion which I did not know about.
Joshiji, if you do not care about some of the articles in TND, why don't
you contribute some that you believe are more relevant to this forum?
All you are doing with your criticisms is just scaring away potential
contributors. That surely will not help the Editor nor us, the readers,
on the long run.
But not to be overly critical of your letter, you do bring up some valid
points. There are some articles in TND that are irrelevant to me
personally. But I do as you do, just skip over them.
I also agree with you that Mr. Rajendra P. Shrestha is doing a fantastic
job with the news from Nepal and the WWW page at Dartmouth. I do not
receive his list but I catch his postings on soc.culture.nepal on the
Usenet. Thank you Rajendraji.
I also must thank the editorial staff of TND for their effort on keeping
it going. To be honest, I did not believe that TND would last for this
long. I am glad that my predictions have not come to pass.
Thank you and a Happy Vijaya Dashami.
Rabi Burathoki
ccrabi@mizzou1.missouri.edu
**********************************************************************
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 11:19:05 -0500 (CDT)
From: RKP6723@UTARLG.UTA.EDU
Subject: Freedom to wear purple underwear?
To: Nepal@cs.niu.edu
Hello everybody!
It' good to back on the info superhighway of electronic journal, TND.
I am enjoying American Freedom, mostly individual freedom. I recently learned
from my own experience freedom cost responsibility. I have lived in the States
few years. I have received a B.S. from Northern Illinois University in EconomicsI am currently doing Master of Science at University of Texas at Arlington.
I used to watch Family Matter in aregular basis, now I watch it when my time
allows me. I like it because I was somewhat like Erkel, when I was a kid, and
Erkel is himself although he is clumsy, and nerdy, and so forth.
Hello Mr. Neupane I ask you if you watch David letterman and listen the stuff
he says about Bill and Hillary Clinton. You amused me when you brought up this
stuff about purple underwear. What's wrong with coloful underwear...Although, I
do not have purple underwear, I wear colorful underwears. If Prince of Nepal
wears a purple underwear, how do you see that to be inferior...is that because
they made a joke out of it....well, Mr. Neupane, take it easy, and learn to
enjoy the freedom of speech, and American Freedom.
Robin Pandey,
Arlington, Texas.
****************************************************************
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 15:30 EST
From: ATULADHAR@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Oct env update
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Nepal Environmental Update (Oct, 1994)
======================================
Exceprts from the regional environmental update of ESCAP Aug issue on Nepal:
1. VEHICULAR POLLUTION: Of the 6331 vehicles tested between april to
Aug 5, only 3437 (54%) passed. The pass mark was 65 "hartrige smoke unit (HSU)
"forsmoke density and 3 % for carbon monoxide emitted. TRests are carried out
at the Thapathali Auto campus, the Baghbazar and the ram hah path police
offices.
There are plans to test at least 50000 of the 80000 vehicles plying in Bagmati
alone. No action has been taken against those flunking the pollutioon test
yet.
2. RELOCATING POLLUTING INDUSTRIES? Industries in Kathmadnu valley
have been blamed for the pollution and congestion. the author, Suman Rai,
wonders why this is so. he recommends that only polluting indrustries should
be singled out and that even if all industries move out, less than 6% of the
industry dependent population can be expected to move out and there will no
reduction of congestion. he recommends incentives for industries to not locate
here and allow those that pollute to remain here with pollution abatement
devices while warning that this will make Nepal less competitive in the export
market.
3. PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION CAN SOLVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS tthat
is the official line. Honchos from National Planning commission, IUCN/Nepal,
Ministry of Agriculture are preparing educational materials for this purpose
for use by Nepal Adminstrative Stfff college, Small Farmers Development Proj,
Min of Forestes, Women's training scenter, and Hotel management and tourism
center.
***************************************************************
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 19:15:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ashutosh Tiwari <tiwari@husc.harvard.edu>
To: The Nepal Digest <nepal@mp.cs.niu.edu>
As a TND reader, I thank J.R. Joshi for his (a he, I presume!)
for his thoughts. As a postscript to Rajpal's explantions, I would add
the following points:
Regarding "Unbiased news": More and better news is always desirable,
of course. Still, even in the face of limited time and efforts, TND is
already doing a commendable service in providing whatever pieces of
news on Nepal it finds. If anything, readers like you and me should be
thankful for even that, for we very well know how HARD it is to come by
news from Nepal in (at least) the American media.
Regarding "Meaningless discussions": I spent seven months in
Nepal from Feb. '94 to Sept '94, and the BIGGEST frustration I had had there
was the LACK OF PUBLIC DEBATES on anything. Sure, there were
controversies about this and that, too many of them, in fact; but, let's
face it, controversies never equal debates. At a very simple level,
passion fuels controversies; while, knowledge drives debates. And, these
sort of debates, the ones powered by knowledge, are what that give vigor
to democracy.
I would argue that since there take place very few
debates, if any, on public issues in present Nepal, the greatest threat
to democracy comes not from Girija, not from the communists, not too from
India, but from ourselves -- the "elites" by virtue of our education
and training outside of Nepal -- who seem to resent the very idea
of debates and dialogues by calling it "meaningless and unnecessary" and
so forth.
I don't mean to say that all debates are equally
important or even equally interesting. They are not. Some are good ideas
worth defendng and some are bad. But we are never going to find what is what
unless we allow BOTH the bad and the good ideas to circulate on this wire.
The rest of us are not so dumb as to accept every idea uncritically.
Indeed, to borrow from J.S. Mill, in this marketplace of ideas called TND,
let some ideas beat out other ideas, and let the best ideas emerge from the
collective knowledge,intelligence and wisdom of us 750+ members. To that
end, let there be vigorous disagreements, engaging kura-kanis, and so on
on this net, -- in the name of "those are good things to pursue in and of
themselves" and NOT necessarily because they would also help "Nepal ko bikas
maa . . "
Re: "Green cards" : Just because someone talks about "nepal ko bikas"
on this net, that DOES NOT, SHOULD NOT mean that he or she will be going
back to "develop Nepal" per se -- though, that would be great! I would
think that Nepalis who have green cards are as concerned and respectful of
Nepal as Nepalis who do not.
And that for both, this TND is a medium to express
their concerns and feelings and thoughts and what-have-you about/on Nepal.
I think that's pretty reasonable or even normal to do that. After
all, I am sure that those who talk about Nepal ko bikas are so dumb as to
believe that development is a simple function! So, what they are doing,
as it appears to me, is putting their thoughts on the screen, and that's
worthy of praise in and of itself. [For the record, I do NOT have a Green
Card; and, also for the record, I do NOT intend to apply for one.]
So, let me conclude on this note: We do not pay for TND; (maybe
those on AOL or compuserve pay!). It is, what economists would say, a
good example of "public good". Rajpal is already a busy full-time
professional who has devoted substantial amount of time to the growth of TND.
So instead of complaining about this and that, yo bhayena tyo bhayena
type of complaints, let us ask, to paraphrase one of my heroes, JFK, "not
what TND can do for you, but what you can do for TND."
Second, let there be debates. Good debates and bad debates.
Because, remember, at the end of the day, you are intelligent enough to
distinguish between the two. Bad debates, I am confident, would slowly
drop out as more people like you -- intelligent, concerned and well-informed
take part in, what I hope goo debates and lively kura-kanis. Come on, we
are not wasting our time -- but challenging ourselves with this incredible
resources that TND has drawn for us.
namaste
ashu
*******************************************************************
Date: 18 Oct 94 19:56:36 EDT
From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
Subject: KURA_KANI
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
This is from Hridaya Bajracharya.
--- Forwarded Message from "Hridaya Bajracharya"
Subject: Time:12:28
OFFICE MEMO KURA_KANI Date:10/18/94
Comment on Women and Hinduism
I have been reading with great interest the articles by Pramod Mishra on
Women and Hinduism and Tilak Shrestha's commentaries. Invariably, Mishra's
articles drew lots of supports from female sector and critical male sector.
Shrestha drew appreciations of purist sector. I lack an experiential feeling
of the grip of the social structure and the drive of the cultural dynamics to
put myself firmly behind the proposition that women are persecuted in Hindu
society. So I sometimes tended to doze in purist stand. And perhaps the
dogma of an ideal "hindu" is lacking in me to feel strongly against the
culmination of social negativity attributed to the social groups under the
word. I feel both stances have strong points that we cannot ignore and both
have weaknesses too. And except for the etimological feud over the use of
the word "hindu" -- owning or disowning its connotation of the positive and
negative aspects of social norms, values, and enigma -- there is no principle
disagreement between the two. Regarding what one is saying "yes it is
happening in the world" and is being denied by the other, the disagreement
stem not from what should or should not be happening but from a lack of
realization that there are multiple realities each are unable to unfold in
their respective perceptions. To be specific, I feel Tilak is missing the
lived realities of a major section of the people who are identified under the
word "hindu." Whether he likes it or not, evidently there are sections of
hindus who are heavily suppressed by the plight of male favored rectified
views and attitutdes. He cannot simply blanket off the word "hindu" from
such sections. So far the understanding of the word, or say getting an
imagery connotation of the word is concerned the visibility of the exemplars
will always have a prominent place. Who are in the visibility as the
"hindus"? I think this question cannot be resolved decisively for there
cannot be a way to quantify the traits nor the traits could be singled out
for definitions. The only alternative is to enhance the image as Tilak would
like to have, and I think Promod also wanted to boost by attempting to disect
the negativity.
Pramod on the other hand, seems to forget that he is diagnosing the larger
and complex "hindu". At places he tended to think as if performing
postmartem. The hermeneutic meaning of "hindu" is not to be seen in his
arguments while Tilak sometimes gets lost in the historical/ideal precepts.
I have profound respect for them both -- a good match (minus the personal
stinging) to look into the contemporary issues of "hinduism," if I still have
to use the word to connote the social dynamics of Nepal and the adjoining
region. I don't have, as I mentioned above dogma for words for the words get
borned, killed, defiled, famed, defamed, reincarnated, and converted to
ghosts. It is a matter of with what power they are being handled. And as a
person affiliated with the word, I would certainly like to see the word
handled carefully. Though respecting the passions towards viewing each had,
I would appreciate articulations on the perceptions as well.
With due Namaskar
Hridaya
***********************************************************************
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:20:56 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu <Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa>
Subject: Position open--Sakhi for South Asian Women
From: Jacob Levich <jlevich@delphi.com>
PLEASE RESPOND BY POST OR FAX TO ADDRESS BELOW
SAKHI FOR SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN:
FULL-TIME PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Sakhi for South Asian Women is a non-profit women's
organization that
addresses the issue of violence against women in the South
Asian
community (Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan)
in New
York. The organization has a large volunteer base and advocates
on behalf
of battered women. Sakhi also engages in community education
and in
legislative and policy debates on behalf of immigrant and
undocumented
women.
RESPONSIBILITIES: The program coordinator will be responsible
for
overall coordination of the following program areas of Sakhi:
community
outreach and organizing, operational and administrative work,
fundraising
and financial management, media relations, and
coalition-building. It will
necessitate close working relationships with other staff and
active
volunteers. The job requires fostering strong relationships
with all women
in Sakhi.
QUALIFICATIONS: The candidate must have a college degree and
either
a graduate degree or significant work experience. The candidate
must have
an understanding of issues concerning violence against women.
The person
must possess excellent writing, speaking, and organizational
skills. Strong
inter-personal and leadership skills and the ability to work
and
communicate with diverse groups of people are necessary.
Fluency in one
or more South Asian languages is necessary. The job requires a
high level
of initiative and energy. Knowledge of fundraising and
community
organizing required. Computer literacy is required.
Relevant degrees such as women's studies, social sciences, law,
psychology
or related fields is a plus. Knowledge of advocacy work
preferred.
SALARY: Mid to high 20s. Commensurate with experience.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: ASAP!
MAIL OR FAX RESUME, COVER LETTER AND WRITING SAMPLE
TO:
Search Committee
Sakhi for South Asian Women
P.O. Box 20208
Greeley Square Station
New York, NY 10001
Fax: (212) 564-8745
Phone: (212) 695-5447
*****************************************************************************
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:27:16 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu <Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa>
From: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Smuggler Sherpas
I am disheartened to learn of Ngmima Sherpa and several other nepalese getting
caught for heroin smuggling in LA.
There are several issues that disturb me.
1. The image of a Nepali passport holder is blacklisted for some time and
we can all expect to be rudely searchedc and presumed guilty until proven
innocent at all points in the travel abroad beginning from the US consul,
airport authorities in transit and of course port authorities in US. Needless
ly all those with Sherpa will suffer even more and gradually their positive
mystiquewill wear off to that of wretched criminal.
2. I am worried if the Sherpas will get due justice. For once, the news
media alreaready noted how they had hard time finding a Nepali interpreter and
eventually settled for a the San Franscico Nepali community. That still
guarantees any protection. I am quite sure there are no Nepalese who are so
welll versed in both American law and can translate complicated, nuanced
american concepts in Nepali law when Nepali law and custom does not have
several of the protections available in American law. Look how Shapiro is
defending Simpson by trying to debar blood eveidence in Bronco by pleading
that it was not adequately cordoned off and protected against contamination.
Who would take care to introduce the benefit of doubt to these Nepalese.
Moreover Nepali is still a second language to the Sherpas and even more will
be lost whne the nepali is translated to Sherpa language.
3. The Sherpa will probably resign himself fatalistically to his "karma"
as they accept death from falling down from mountains and this may be
interpreted as the Sherpas willingness to admit guilt. We all know that
Sherpas in general are a poor community who with the dint of hard work and
some opportunity have pulled themselves out of their economic marginalistion
much to the chagrin of many sections of nepalese comunity who did not have
this break. There must bne many{whoare saying "kuchin" they deserved it. I
appeal to all nepalese to do whatever they can to make sure they get the best
protection available under the law and pay only the punishment due to them
after being guilty after due process of law.
*************************************************************************
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 18:24:52 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
Subject: homosexuality in Nepal <Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa>
From: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
In a previous article, blasofsky@college.antioch.edu (Brian Lasofsky) wrote:
>I am currently doing a study on homosexuality in Asia. I just returned
>from a trip were I only had the chance to spend a week in Kathmandu. I
>would of loved to spend more time but other thing called. I am wondering
>if anyone out there can let me in on the aspects and culture of
>homosexuality in Nepal.
>
>Thanx-
>-blasofsky
=========================
I have often wondered if homosexuality is a capitalist disease unique to the
west.
In US, if one accidently brushes a man's hand or butt or shoulder in a cinema
hall or any crowded place, one must immediately apologize lest one is taken
for a homosexual male which may invite appropriate response from homophobic
harrassement to homosexual seduction.
I have had many women of US who asked me in Nepal if Nepalese young men were
gay because they were going around with much physical contact, holding hands,
holding shoulders, embracing and jsut a lot of horsing around. Of course, the
public is cultural.
Whhile in America, a woman need not be married to kiss a man on the street, in
Nepal, even the queen has to walk ten steps behind her king.
As a kid in school, I have noticed a lot of horsing around among boys but I
have always wondered if there are those who never gets excited by a woman
and would prefer men or boys as sexual and social partners. Of course since
there is no such thing as a homo-marriage, such homosexuals can hide their
proclivities behind the cultural shield of a marriage as they do in US till
now.
I have also heard of women horsing around as adolescents exploring each other
sexually in the context of strict social sanctionsa agaist premarital sex in
Nepal but I have never heard of mature women, both married or unmarried
horisng around or indulging in sex with other adult women. Either th4e
sancitons must be extraordinarily stiff or the phenomenon just does nto
exist., I am inclined to believe the latter because if it were the former at
least we would hear of locker room gossip and snid remarks which are forms of
social sanction. Inf fact this is a har to concept to even translate just like
we cannot translat ethe computer and telphone to Nepal much that our
Sanskritized Gorkhapatra try to conjure up words such as "Dur darshan TV" or
"Dur byasan" drug abuse, or etcx. Can anyone else enlighten us?
**********************************************************************
Date: 19 Oct 94 15:15:48 EDT
From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
Subject: Article for TND
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
This was written by Alok Bohra.
--- Forwarded Message from Alok Bohara ECONOMICS <bohara@unm.edu> ---
A Political Economy Approach to a Free Market
Economy in Nepal Part II: A Possible Solution
Alok K. Bohara, Ph.D., University of New Mexico
In my earlier article with the similar title, I argued that there is a well
functioning hidden economic market in Nepal which is a major roadblock
for the country to becoming a free market economy. This market is just
like any economic market where traders --policy makers, bureaucrats, and
businessmen-- engage in a profit maximizing activities. The valuable
tradable commodities such as licenses, quotas, and rules and regulations
are auctioned in this market. The policy makers and the bureaucrats are
the suppliers and the businessmen are the demanders. I also argued that
this market has been there for decades, only it is more vibrant and
possibly more blatant now, because of the increasing international trade
and commerce.
Using a political economy model, this article proposes a few steps that
the Nepalese leadership can implement to make this underground market
less active, and possibly make it disappear eventually.
First, one could argue in favor of tougher laws to prevent this market
from functioning, by taking actions against those who participate in
buying and selling of these commodities. However, the government has
to come up with resources to enforce the law, and which could be a very
costly proposition. In addition, these side transactions can be carried out
in various disguises, making the enforcement effort quite difficult.
Furthermore, the get-tough policy will simply drive the price of those
commodities high, making it more lucrative and hard to resist.
Consequently, the players will continue to engage in these transactions.
This approach has not worked even in the communist countries. In
Nepal, various Commissions and enforcement agencies have come and
gone without making a dent to this problem.
Instead, I would propose a policy that is based on the basic economic
principle of supply and demand. In particular, the proposal is to lower
the price of these tradable commodities--licenses, quotas, and rules and
regulations. A lower price will result in a thin profit margin which will
make the trade of these commodities unattractive. A threat of a strict
prosecution will also help make it a risky venture. The price of these
commodities can be lowered by increasing the supply. That is, the
rationing of licenses should be stopped and the quotas should be
abolished.
If the tradable commodity --license or quota-- is easily available, the
transaction cost of obtaining it will also be low. For example, as a profit
maximizer, a businessman will never pay an exuberant amount of money
for a license knowing that he has to enter into competition with another
businessman who is also guaranteed the same license. Because of the
free competition and lower price, these businessmen have to survive on a
thin profit margin. Neither can afford a huge side payment. With
reduced returns on these transactions, policy makers find these activities
less profitable at least as compared to the cost of possible apprehension.
Similarly, the bureaucrats generate rents by selling their rules and
regulations to the businessmen. That is, the businessmen pay these
bureaucrats to lower the regulatory barriers. The tougher the regulation,
the higher the price to evade it. A tougher regulation is quite costly for a
businessman to comply with, making the business venture costly. So,
through a side payment in this underground market, the businessman
simply attempts to make a bigger profit margin by not complying with
the regulation. He shares the potential cost with the bureaucrat. The
transaction cost is simply then passed on to the consumers in terms of
higher prices. Over-priced public projects become economically less
efficient, and will eventually have to be subsidized by the public through
higher taxes.
Although I do not have the empirical data, but I am willing to make a
guesstimate that of the total $800 million price tag for the Arun Project, a
substantial amount is due to the massive transactions that took place in
this hidden market. We, the public, is going to subsidize this overhead
cost through higher prices. Furthermore, the artificially inflated loan has
to be paid through higher taxes as well. This shows how the public is
unknowingly baring the burden of financing this hidden market through
higher prices and taxes, diverting the scarce resources that could have
been used to create jobs.
The political economy model presented in this article will also predict
that the various new interest groups --politicians, bureaucrats, and
businessmen, will collectively lobby to reopen the Arun Project. This
takes place especially when there is a change in the administration, for
example, through new election. Ironically, this is a perfectly rational
behavior on their part to maximize profit by generating new rents. In
this process, the public will have the weakest voice because they are not
as well organized as the other groups. These interest groups are much
better financed too. Again, the public will be the ultimate looser.
The government should adopt rules and regulations that are not counter
productive to a healthy business environment. That is, the government
should propose a fewer regulations not more. A fewer regulations result
in a fewer side transactions. Similarly, a policy of less restrictive
regulation will drive down the price of bureaucrats' services, forcing them
to go out of business eventually. Projects with lower transaction costs
will mean lower prices for the consumers.
Such a hidden market is a roadblock to a free market economy. Because,
licenses, quotas, and unnecessary rules and regulations make cost of
doing business in Nepal artificially high. As a result, the country fails to
attract international investments. The public end up bearing the cost of
over-priced projects through inflated prices and higher taxes, not to
mention the inefficient use of national resources. High prices and high
taxes result in a lower saving rate and low investment, which ultimately
fail to create jobs. This is one of main reasons as to why Nepal does not
have a sizable middle class, which is the backbone of any growing
economy. Furthermore, many of these projects may not even be
economically viable or socially desirable. So, it is in our national
interest
to inactivate this underground market to clear the road to free market
economy. I strongly urge the Nepalese leadership to consider this issue
seriously.
***********************************************************************
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 1994 16:55:44 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu <Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa>
From: rshresth@black.clarku.edu (Raj Shrestha)
Subject: Nepaliaitian Human Rights Activist Among Reebok Award Winners
BOSTON (Reuter) - Four human rights activists from Haiti, Brazil, Liberia
and Nepal were named winners of the 1994 Reebok Human Rights Award for their
efforts to promote greater rights and freedoms in their countries.
The award was created in 1988 by Reebok International Ltd., the athletic
shoemaker based in Stoughton, Massachusetts, to recognize the human rights
work of people aged 30 and younger.
The award, which provides a $25,000 donation to a human rights
organization named by each recipient, will be presented to the winners at a
ceremony in Boston Dec. 7.
Rose-Anne Auguste, a 30-year-old nurse in Haiti, was named one of the
winners for seeking to promote justice against a background of widespread
violence and repression in her country under the military junta, recently
forced from power by U.S. pressure.
Former President Jimmy Carter, a member of the Reebok Human Rights Board
of Advisors praised Auguste's work on behalf of her countrymen as
``inspiring''.
``I join Reebok in celebrating her courageous spirit, and that of the
other recipients of this year's awards. These individuals who risk everything
in the pursuit of human dignity, represent hope for the future of human
rights and democracy.''
``She has toiled to improve the chronically insufficient health care
available to Haitian women and children in a country which has known extreme
human suffering,'' the advisory board said in a statement.
Auguste founded a private clinic in one of the poorest and most dangerous
area of Port-au-Prince, offering free health care to anyone who needed
medical care but could not afford it. The clinic, which now treats more than
200 people a day, became a haven for many victims of Haiti's political
violence.
Brazil's Adauato Belarmino Alves, 29, an internationally known gay rights
activist who is also prominent in the promotion of AIDS education, won his
award for his work in a country where homosexuals and transvestites are
routinely murdered by paramilitary groups.
Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, 25, of Nepal won the award for his fight against
bonded slavery among native Tharu people. From the age of 15, Chaudhary began
teaching the Tharu to read so they could better understand their legal rights
and fight to overcome their status as bonded laborers.
Also honored was Samuel Kofi Woods, 30, from Liberia, who monitors and
investigates human rights violations through a network of organizations in
his homeland. Woods serves as director of a commission which seeks to raise
public awareness of social justice and provides legal aid for people arrested
arbitrarily.
Reuter/Variety
Transmitted: 94-10-17 20:42:33 EDT
*********************************************************************
From: neup2011@mach1.wlu.ca (Bhanu Neupane u)
Subject: Nepali Movie
Recently, very unwillingly, I have signed up for an extra curricular
activity to be organized by the Student Union of my university. We
are planning to organize a mini-international film festival. Obviously, I
also have been told to look for a Nepali Movie having English sub-titles. To my
understanding most of the Nepali movies are filthy and substandard copies
of "Indian" Movies. Showing these would not have been a problem, if these
film at least presented a bit of Nepali culture. The real dilemma is now a
days, "pelvic gyrating" and "real hard core smooching" stuffs are
shown more in Nepali movies than in any rap-music videos or Hollywood movies.
If any of these would be shown, it would be in a poignant contrast to how I
have been presenting Nepal in front of the people around here. It would
rather be a shame in itself if a "drag" like Bhuvan KC would be shown as a
perfect Nepali man or a "pink" like Karishma KC would be shown as an ideal
Nepali women.
Once, I had an opportunity to watch "Ujeli", which is more like a melodrama
than fiction, the actors and actresses are all real villagers and its story
revolves around one of the social evils in our part of the world. I would be
very obliged, if any of you having an access to this documentary movie,
suggest a way to obtain a copy of it. I am prepared to pay for a blank and
necessary postage.
You could also suggest me of any other movie besides 'Ujeli', provided it
views Nepali and presents a Nepali culture. I would not mind if it
won't have English subtitles. Please, suggest something "Two Thumbs Up".
I will appreciate if you will use my email to communicate.
Thank you
Bhanu
<neup2011@mach1.wlu.ca>
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