A Real Story: Earthquake Victim of Nepal
SUFFERED EARTHQUAKE, THE STORY
भाेगेकाे भुंइचालाे, एक कथा
The story was collected by Damodar Acharya and Pusp Raj Bhatt from the Chautara, Sindhupalchowk District of Nepal after few months later than the devastating earthquake on 25th April 2015 to know how has the disaster affected the life of local people. The understanding of disaster resilience of the community was the motto of the collection of the story.
A true story told by Mrs. Hira Kumari Kunwar, about her experience is included here. She was found to be preparing for the kind of ritual namely Sharaddhya for the next day at her own temporary residence at the time of our visit to her shelter. We introduced ourselves as the students purely visiting the site and no one to support in economic or any other way to them. With a warm gesture the team members visiting the site were welcomed and asked to sit down on the Bed as a chair. She offered an apple sometimes or glucose sometimes showing her gratitude to the us visitors, though we accepted it but took none. The story telling was started with a long whisper by her regarding the earthquake scenario as a whole.
We were twenty students in a class who had decided to visit the Earthquake Devastated area. Our journey started on Shrawan 29, 2073, as we departed from Koteshwor at 7;00 in the morning. After having tea at Dhulilkhel we moved onwards towards our destination Chautara. As our travel continued from Kathmandu-Bhaktapur-Kavrepalanchowk-Sindhupalchowk, we passed along the quake damaged buildings and settlements making story plots and imaginations what our study area will be like.
At Chautara Bazaar, on 25th of April 2015 Mrs. Hira Kumari Kunwar was with her daughter in law when the earthquake occurred. She felt nothing but heard her daughter in law saying आमा हुलाक तिर भाग्नुस् Then after she found herself in the temporary tent in the ground of Chautara where she lived for 15 days. She was injured and it was not possible for her to go to Kathmandu for proper treatment as the whole district and the whole country was in the same terrible situation which she get informed in the camp. She was physically present at the camp where she got support from various organizations, some provided food, some medications and some with required utensils but mentally she was in her house at Pipaldaanda where her two sons two daughter in laws, her grandchildren and her husband were there. Her husband had two wives and she was the youngest. The first wife had passed away but her sons, daughter in laws and grandchildren were nearby her house. So, she was always thinking about her near and dear ones and her cattle. She remembered the grains which they had stored for the whole year and cried if they are still there at her store or not. If the grains were buried inside the house during the quake how will they feed their grandchildren?
She had one residential building at Chautara, the district headquarter of Sindhupalchowk District. Which was of two and half story in her language. We predicted it to be the two storey and Buingal? And she replied, “Yes Yes”. Continuing the story, she had one Residence of similar story at Piapaldanda (A place where we found her in a temporary residence). All turned into the dust in just few seconds, no shelter belong to them afterwards. But she is happy only for being survived. She did not believe how she survided being in a building in Chautara, which got completely destructed in just few seconds. They also had small cattle sheds which were also completely destructed in earthquake near the site where we visited. A shop used to be on the ground floor of that building and it exists no more. No goods remain in hand but all turned into dust. The story begins very haphazardly as if she wanted to tell every destruction in a single sentence. Again we reminded her that we are just students !
An old women was singing a song in her own way at her shelter, she was the respondent to our survey. Her name is Hira Kumari Kunwar. She is sixty six years old. She was injured during the earthquake at her own home at Chautara Bazar and had undergone the medical treatment at Kathmandu for a month. Her husband, retired police (Hawaldar) government officer of Government of Nepal, Mitra Bahadur Kunwar was not found at home at the time of visit and he is one year older than her wife. He had two wives, Mrs. Hira is the first one and his second wife has already dead before the earthquake. Hira Kumari Kunwar has two sons and five daughters. Both of the sons are married and they live with their wives and offsprings.
The first son works in an NGO and his wife works in the fields with agriculture as profession. They have a daughter who is going school regularly. Second son is in Dumre, who used to work in the Shop at presently demolished shop at Chautara. They have a son who is also regularly going to the school. All five daughters are married and in their own homes. First daughter is in Kathmandu, Second one was in Sukute but has died, Third daughter is in Kathmandu, Fourth daughter is in Kathmandu also and the Fifth daughter is in Dang. No family member has gone for job to abroad country.
Though none of her and her husband are even literate, they had managed their childrens to go to the school.
There are three temporary tents provided as a relief after the earthquake where three families are residing together. First family residing in the tent are the old husband and wife. In the second tent, there are Mitra’s second wives (who is already dead before the earthquake) family. And in the third tent, the first son’s family live there.
She claims to be fateful. Not only she survived alone but all of her family members survived in the earthquake. Though the Buffallo and few Chickens died no human loss occurred. All the foods were mixed to the dust. All grains turned into something with no value except some stored in the Plastic Bages. She claims that the grain in the Plastic Bag is safer than in the Bhakari during earthquake.
She told us that, immediately after the earthquake they collected at a safe place on their own and waited for no any signal from any government or non-government agency. Because they knew how to tackle with the disaster with their natural inheritance. They all were frightened for the aftershocks. But kept patience. Few people were saying the larger earthquake will occur again and was spreading rumors but nothing happened like that again before Baishakh 29. The environment was very threating. No one can do anything in front of God, she says. He gives and he takes, all is in hands of God she sighs!
After the earthquake for few days, they just live in threat. But, after few days the people arrived with some helping materials. These people provided different food items as relief to the people in village along with the family of Mrs. Hira. They also provided the relief materials like Utensils, Bucket, Clothes, Blankets etc., she remembers. Afterwards the agencies provided Nrs. 10,000 and Nrs. 15,000 for the relief. The tent was provided for shelter by the similar people coming from somewhere, she says. The tents provided once are being out of date due to being in a long rain and sun over a year but there is no alternative solution seen even far in the twilight.
After few days of relief materials provided to them all, the different types of people came to the village. They were the engineers and other technical persons who told about making the earthquake resistant buildings and told many things to the people in village, they are even unable to remind the topics raised by the technical visitors. They were the Earthquake Damage Assessent Survey team member engineers allocated to different earthquake affected districts by Government of Nepal.
After long time the government called upon the people in village for relief fund. She also applied for the same and has got amount of Nrs. 50,000 as to reconstruct their shelter. The amount is just an installment of the larger amount of Nrs, 2,00,000., she shows her awareness on the matter. The mechanism to get the money from the government is very difficult and she complains about it. Though we were not the right place to be complained we accepted the complaint.
The festivals became just strange after the earthquake strike because of the very common reasons. They had not even celebrated the largest festival Dashain and no other cultural celebrations have occurred after the earthquake.
Finally, it was the time to return after a long discussion. There were many remembrances on the mind among which the most satisfying was one where she asked for any medicine to put on wound on her head to make it recover faster, which was a fresh wound scratched by CGI sheet during the work just two days ago. Fortunately, we had the medicine and put on her wounds. The smile of happiness on her face was amazing as if she has forgotten all the pains from the past. But the time has forced us to move out of her home, her village… to the Kathmandu for continuing our study with high motivation.
Note: There is no any Direct or Indirect intention of the author to disclose the privacy of the people mentioned in the story. The author wants to share the real happenings and situations after the devastating earthquake. The greater intention is just and just to know the situations and make plans for the future disasters as a resilient communities in Nepal. Apologies for any discomfort to anyone.
