The students have been waging an educational reform campaign for 6 years now, a demonstrator told me. Many are discontent at the Government's handling of the educational system in Nepal. The immediate issue at hand for the protest today was a growing concern regarding the high failure rate in college and university-level examinations. In addition, allegations of unqualified and corrupt University and Government personnel rang clear in the voices of everyone I spoke to.
The rally heightened to a climax when violence erupted. The police clad in riot gear used force to drive the peaceful student demonstrators away and were met in response with bricks missiled from behind student lines. I saw a few boys being beat to submission by the armed police as they were taken into custody.
Events like this are apparantly a commonplace occurence here. Many people I spoke to said that things are now much more peaceful than they were two months ago and weren't surprised to hear about protests, rallies, and in general, demands from those in power.
The rise of grassroots actions like the one I witnessed today, and the empowerment of the Nepali people in general make me feel good about the current situation in Nepal. A movement of the size I saw today has never happened at UCLA (although the UC Divest Sudan Campaign I took part in recently drew significant attention in the sheer number of students). More and more people see themselves as agents for change, especially students. At such a critical moment in the formation of the new democratic Nepal, I think it is ever more crucial that people feel empowered and participate in the various political spheres of national life.
On the other hand, it does sadden me to see so much violence, distrust, and discontent between the Government and the Nepali people. Perhaps sooner rather than later, those in power and those vying for power can formulate a constructive, transformative, and above all, equitable solution to the everyday concerns of people across Nepal.
- JD
3 comments:
yay photojournalism!! :)
love your use of different perspectives; can tell that you sort of put yourself amongst the action; fav photo perhaps is that of the central shouting man surrounded by others with their arms raised up
from robert capa, famous war photog, "if you're not close enough, then your pictures are not good enough." he made incredible photos... but eventually died in battle, with camera in hand. too close. so i guess it depends.
also nice is the capturing of emotion, or silence admist turmoil, as in the final photo (but remember the edges of the frame! i like the clenched fist on right side of frame, but head at bottom detracts from main subject, guy with bowed head.. and what do bg signs say? i think a telephoto lens would have been helpful in this situation, though i know you don't have one (for digi cam, at least). i tried capturing protests with my pns cam before, and know how horribly difficult it is... kudos to you for doing it! (and looks like it's all/mostly natural light; yay! :)
luv, j
hmmmm. just looked at the photos again. nepal is americanized. fascinating how the police protection things say "nepal police" on them in english, and the banner the ladies sit behind is written in nepalese, yet the signs that she holds up is in english.
luv,j
mmmmm protest yesterday! anti-bush. the usual. :)
Nice coverage Jeff. I really appreciate your work .
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