Development Vs Terrorism

A NEWS story has it that unemployment is a global problem. The problem of unemployment is on the rise and has reached a precarious state at present mainly due to economic recession worldwide. Big economies like USA, Japan, Germany and several other European countries have also been facing the global menace of unemployment. The global economic recession has severely affected the Third World countries in particcular, as their economies are largely dependent on the industrialised countries. The newly emerging culprits affecting the global economic health are growing violence, conflict and terrorism. The terrorist attacks in America and elsewhere have not only shaken the confidence of investors but has also triggered a sharp rise in the rate of unemployment, thereby, greatly damaging the economic growth in the world. As a result, the global economy is in a bad shape. The recently released report of International Labour Organisation on global employment trend has revealed that domestic armed conflict and violence have been the major setback to already scarce employment opportunities in the world in general and the developing countries in particular. Nepal is not an exception. Stung by resource crunch and slow economic growth, Nepal has been struggling to accelerate the pace of economic and social development. Employment situation reflects the health of the nation's economy. However, employment opportunities are getting scarce in the country. As employment opportunities are rare in the country, thousands of young and educated Nepalese go abroad every year in search of employment, where they encounter numerous problems. Realising this fact, the government has initiated a number of measures to improve the health of the nation's economy and create more employment opportunities within the country. But these efforts have been severely marred by the growing incidents of violence and terrorism being perpetrated by the Maoist terrorists. Terrorists have not only killed, kidnapped and terrorised the people but also damaged several development infrastructures and hindered the development activities throughout the country. Terrorism has been the number one problem of the country, which has caused enormous damage to the nation and a great suffering to the people. It is clear that terrorists are against development, democracy and stability of the country. Peace, smooth and sustainable development is, thus, not possible without controlling the senseless violence and terrorism. At this present juncture of national crisis, it is, therefore, highly necessary for all sane and civilised citizens of Nepal to be united and work collectively to fight violence and terrorism for the larger interest of the nation. The collective resolve alone would defeat the mindless terrorists and restore peace in the country.

Jumla's Woes

DURING a press conference organised by the Jumla District Reconstruction Citizens' Committee and the District Development Committees' Federation, the government's attention, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, was drawn towards the people of the district lacking foodgrains and medicines as well as to the hardships faced by them because of the razed government buildings. The people of Jumla district, for the last few years, have been forced to bear with hardships ranging from foodgrain shortages to disruptions of the development-oriented activities of the government due to the Maoist insurgency there. As if all this were not enough, its sheer location and topographical configuration seem to be coming in the way of the government's efforts to provide them with the much-needed relief as well as the people's own endeavours to ameliorate their hardships. While Jumla district's remoteness has hampered successive governments from bringing it into the mainstream of national development initiatives by, among others, connecting it with the rest of the nation with roads, on the other hand, its unpredictable weather and climatic conditions are playing havoc with the concerned authorities' efforts to airlift essential commodities and development-related materials there. Similarly, the glaring lack of any reliable transport networks in Jumla district is forcing the concerned authorities to rely on porters to transport all essential commodities and development-related materials to the district headquarters and other VDCs in the district. All this is not only forcing the government to shoulder additional costs to carry out development activities there, but the people are being made to pay higher prices for the much-needed commodities.

But considering the government's unenviable position of having to cater to the increasing clamours for more budgetary allocations from various sectors with its limited resources coupled with the ongoing Maoist insurgency on the one hand and the Jumla district people's abject poverty on the other, just to fulfill some of the varied needs of the district and its people could be a daunting task for the government and the concerned authorities. But then, not to come up with immediate and long-term development-related strategy and measures by the government and the concerned authorities could only amplify the existing situation and problems there. Hence, it looks to reason for the government and the concerned authorities to mobilise whatever resources available to them to fulfill the Jumla people's strident calls for development-related assistance and activities.