War with Nature
Anuja Khadka, from Nepal, was a participant in the 2014 FIUTS Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders in Journalism and New Media. Along with millions of others, Anuja has been affected by the recent devastating earthquake in Nepal. She sent us this post with photos of the camp she is staying in to share the current conditions that she and her neighbors are facing in Kathmandu. We strongly encourage donations to organizations that are providing direct relief to earthquake victims - please see the end of this post for suggestions.
Guest Post by Anuja Khadka
It was nearly 12 noon when I felt the tremor. My bed was shaking scarily. I controlled my feet keeping in my mind that I shouldn't panic. I thought I was trapped and walls were broken outside. With some courage I ran out of the house. I could hear people screaming, dogs barking, birds flying all over and electricity poles moving. It existed for like 5-10 seconds. Gosh! It was a huge relief.
All my neighbours and me could do was to rush over to the open places. Kathmandu is so crowdy and houses are unplanned that we don't have open spaces to protect us at times of earthquake. 7.8 Richter scale is devastating of which we became victim.
We, around 70 people have been sharing safe roof of tent since 25th of April till today. Other people are spending nights on roads. We don't have a proper camp where we can protect ourselves from bad climate and heavy rainfall. First night outside home was really scary. Aftershocks were continuously terrifying us. Elderly people were brought to our camp. Some with broken legs, some with oxygen, children who are ill, crying of the tremor and adults panicking. Aftershocks are breaking our hearts and covering our minds with deep tension. Why wouldn't it when we are frequently being hit by aftershocks. Dozens in a day....
The conditions in the camp became worse when heavy rains began to fall in the days after the earthquake.
We have little space which is not completely away from buildings. People have fear that buildings can break down any time and earth can crack anytime. We are spending days and nights in chaos. I am trying to control the situation with my family, calm down my neighbours and take care of children and pets. I'm well aware about the cleanliness of the surrounding and diseases that can harm all of us.
We all are facing hard times to cook food and find clean water. It's tough since we don't have adequate lantrines. We don't have electricity and proper phone networks. It's a huge lesson that no money is going to overcome the natural disaster... No rich and no poor... No diamonds and no golds...my home is safe but I cannot get in because I'm afraid of aftershocks. So is the other sides story of many Nepalese whose houses are safe. The tale of the ones who have lost everything is tough to be expressed.
Situation in my country Nepal is worse. People are dying and they are starving for food, water and fuel. Thousands of people are no more and lot more injured. We have lost our important heritages those hold history and attachment with us.
We have no other instant options for news than radio and internet. All of us are sharing radio to listen to news and spend our nights. I convey messages to my people using 3G service but its hard to trust news on internet since most of them are just rumours and have gone wrong.
I personally feel like Nepal is going through huge war. I can see numbers of airplanes of international help forces over our sky. I keep staring at them and thank them for coming to our country to help us. Our families abroad are so worried that they have been giving us a call. So terrified to hear news of death of relatives of my friends, broken schools and homes of my near ones and devastated villages.
In one day 71000 people from Kathmandu left the city to their home places. It's not only that capital is facing this terror, it's whole Nepal that's crying.
I know more predicaments are coming and it's a huge challenge for us. People are suffering from swine flu and other diseases. Thousands have lost their lives, their family and friends. The only roof for thousands of Nepalese is one and only sky. Precious lives already taken and death tolls rising. People continue to cry for help but to avail. I know Nepal is a beautiful country blessed by nature but nature cannot always be on our side.
For now suns and stars are our hopes because dark clouds are covering Nepal's sky. Yesterday I saw stars in night sky from the little hole of our tent and today a sun in the morning. As I saw them, I have a hope. We all have a little hope to survive. Words are not enough to explain our rush and emergency. While write this to you, I'm inside the camp. Thank you, the whole world, for keeping us in your thoughts and praying for us.
All photos by Anuja Khadka. To help the relief efforts in Nepal, Anuja has recommended UNICEF and Red Cross Society Nepal. In particular, Anuja and her family have also been working directly with a local organization called Fresh Nepal, which she strongly recommends. Donations to Fresh Nepal can be made here (via bank transfer in Euros).
Anuja asks that if you are able to donate to Fresh Nepal to send her an email at anoozak@gmail.com to let her know how much you have donated so that she can help to record donations and make sure that all funds reach victims directly.
Additionally, the University of Washington Nepalese Student Association has set up an emergency relief fund to provide resources directly to a local organization in the highly impacted areas of Ghoka.
If members of the FIUTS community have other suggestions for reliable places to donate, please email Ellen Frierson ellen@fiuts.org so that we can pass this information on to others.