NATIONAL 1 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Battle For Survival

After the initial spate of merriment, the glee of Kamaiya is fast fading into gloom as they remain homeless and jobless

BY AKSHAY SHARMA

For many Kamaiys, the month July was the month of victory. But little did they know that the victory would be followed by such anguish.

Thirty days after the government decided to take off their shackles, the kamaiyas have been kicked out of their shelter by their landlords and are roaming as displaced during the monsoon.

After 30 days of their liberation of many as 2,525 former bonded laborers known as Kamaiya have been already turned homeless in the farwestern Terai districts of Kailali and Kanchanpur. It has been reported in Kailali and Kanchanpur that the Kamiyas had been asked to pay their debt to their former owners.

Freshly liberated Kamaiya : Smile is fading

Cases were reported about the laborers being thrashed and attacked with weapons. Their shelters had been set on fire. These instances followed the decision of the government to free them from centuries long bondage. This is the direct result of the lack of rehabilitation programs.

The Kamaiyas in thousands have appealed for help to VDC, DDC and other non governmental organizations as they reel under the lack of food , medicine and shelter. There is a big threat of diseases and that an epidemic might break out.

The cabinet decided on July 17 to outlaw the practice of keeping Kamaiya in the country which was prevalent in Banke, Bardiya , Dang , Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Announcing the decision in the parliament , Minister for Land Reforms Siddha Raj Ojha had warned to punish the offenders.

At a press conference held to highlight the plight of Kamiyas ,the activists of the Kamaiya Movement Mobilization Committee said that more and more Kamaiyas are fleeing the homes of their landlords in the aftermath of the historic ban , ending up in temporary sheds and tents set up by various NGOs in unsafe forest area and along river banks.

"Some of the people have stayed hungry for a couple of days. Some of the political organizations look the other way and blame that the Kamaiyas belong to rival political parties. The government talks of package for Kamaiyas in the capital, but no such package has reached the far- flung districts where the displaced Kamaiyas are continuing to suffer, " said Dilli Chaudhary of Backward Society Education ( BASE) .

Pramod Pathak of CCS said, " The Kamaiya movement has caused conflicts between NGO's and local representatives because 75 percentage of them owned Kamiya laborers . There is a sense of vengeance among the local representatives and it is difficult for us to get help at the local level. The government is not sending a single aspirin to help the Kamaiyas. These people deserve a decent meal , shelter , medicine and clothing. "

Various international organizations say that they will provide relief if the government asks them but the government has not issued a single letter to the organizations asking for help. "We can't understand why the government is not doing anything about the Kamaiya problem. The government should declare a state of emergency in these areas ," said Asutosh Tiwari of Martin Chautari.

Local NGO's have been helping Kamaiyas but the number of Kamaiyas that have lost everything except their freedom is increasing. The NGOs are not equipped to fight this problem alone.

Activists today demand that the government take immediate steps to help all those suffering by dispatching adequate medicines and doctors before the outbreak of encephalitis and other epidemics , and giving the go-ahead to all the INGOs who have shown willingness to provide necessary assistance.

This also shows the lack of homework done by the concerned people about the problem of rehabilitating the Kamaiyas after they have been freed.