E-Kantipur

Children and taxi drivers (always the most eager to practise their English) frequently ask me if I like Nepal, and I always respond with an enthusiastic ‘dherai manparcha!’ If I thought any less, I would have no reason to return for a second time for more than half a year when there are so many other interesting places in the world to explore. When asked what I like most, my first response is always the people. On both of my trips here, I have met some of the most welcoming, caring and generous people in my life—true to their world-wide reputation. It is rare to come to foreign country and, despite not knowing the language or having any friends or family, feel completely comfortable and secure.

After the time I’ve spent in Kathmandu, the increasing number of reports on the rise of impunity and lawlessness across the nation somehow seemed like reports from a foreign land: nothing resembling my personal experience in the Nepal I had come to know and love. I was told when searching for an apartment that my Lazimpat neighbourhood was safe. And for about six months, I had no reason to disagree. Until one evening, while my roommate and I were cooking dinner, we heard the sound of a gunshot. We were confident that, surely, in this neighbourhood, this type of violence was not possible, until the next morning when our landlord informed me that our neighbour was shot at by two men on a motorbike while pulling into the gate of his home.

Despite the attempted murder of my neighbour, I still felt safe—though my awareness heightened, assuring myself that this current surge of violence was targetting wealthy Nepalis working in the media and industry and driving Range Rovers, not young foreign women living on a budget and taking public transportation. Since then, there seems to have been a cascade of events among my circle of friends that have begun to make me question my personal security in Kathmandu.

Earlier this week, my friend was attacked by a taxi driver in the middle of the afternoon. Despite settling on the fare before departing, my friend was not surprised by the taxi driver’s insistence for more money upon arrival to her destination. This is nothing out of the ordinary. The real shock came when the driver reached into the back seat, slapped her, then started choking her. After speeding away from the busy intersection, he again stopped the car, pulled out the iron lug nut wrench from beneath the seat and began to hit her again. After a few hits, he saw her wallet in her hand, which, as he reached for it, gave her the opportunity to unlock the door and escape the car. Having a limited knowledge of Nepali and in understandable shock, she was unable to read the number of the taxi, leaving this rogue driver to roam the streets of Kathmandu.

This, in addition to reports from several other friends of muggings near Bhat Bhateni, a personal incident of being followed down my (dead-end) street until I, feeling uncomfortable, turned around to walk back to the main road, as well as a friend’s recounting of a similar experience to mine in Baluwatar, have brought to mind one question: Am I still safe in Kathmandu? These occurrences seem to be on the rise in the last month and make me wonder, what is being done to improve safety and security in the capital?

After reading reports about the lack of confidence in the police force and their sordid behaviour, I guess I may have to take security into my own hands and dust off the old pepper spray bottle. But individuals should not have to work alone. I can cite a case from home when, as I was driving home from work, a car ran into me and fled the scene of the crime before I was able to get any information. Had it not been for a witness who came to me after the accident with the license plate number of the other vehicle, the other driver would have walked away with nothing more than a dent in his car. In the case of my friend, as in many cases, if any of the on-lookers would have stepped up, the result may have been more than a few bruises and a story to tell.

It is true that there is power in numbers. Waiting for the police to take action and turning a blind-eye to violence happening right in front of you is not going to make the city any more secure. It is only by working together, being aware and looking out for each other—whether strangers or not—that communities will be strengthened and these types of crimes discouraged.

(Sellmyer is a Kathmandu-based American national who works as a consultant for NGOs)

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