Scourge Of Unemployment

Unemployment — we Nepalese have not only come to know the meaning of this word but have been living with this reality. The crowds that jostle in the streets of the capital city are too clear a proof of widespread unemployment. A group of people just loitering around, others chatting in the middle of the road, yet others reading newspapers squatting on the pavements etc. are just a few of the common scenes. These scenes are unnerving. Aren’t early mornings supposed to be the hectic times of the day? Doesn’t all this show that the crowds have nothing more important do? Is it the right time to squat by the edge of the pavement or even streets and do nothing? It is often heard that in developed countries people do not have time even to go through the daily papers. The personal schedule is so tight that one goes through them while travelling to their work. But for us, so it seems, reading papers leisurely is the only excuse. What simpler example do we need to understand the gravity of the problem? Sure, we know the awful facts and figures. The unemployment is etched so deeply on the faces of those bystanders and the paper readers in the streets that I feel these people have hardly any money to pay for the paper they read. It is not my intention whatsoever to criticize the people spending their time as I mentioned above. I know that no one is to blame for the scenes in our streets and if anyone is to blame it is none others but ourselves. Maybe this is something that was best left untouched. But the situation has become so grave that we can hardly remain silent.

Jeshica Baral
Baneshwor, Kathmandu.