Street Art

"The Bundh ruined my life"

This is an interesting time to be in Nepal because on May 27th the government is attempting to change their constitution. I don't claim to understand it all, but the different ethnic and political people groups around Nepal have been having bundh's, or strikes for the past few weeks. The attempt is to get the governments attention by closing down all the shops and not driving motor vehicles. What tends to happen as a result is the rural areas to the west are deprived of food because no one is traveling. In some areas they are on their 18th day of bundhs. Just imagine not being able to provide income for your family for more then 2 weeks!

There have been reports of people being threatened if they are out driving or if their shop is open and in some places buses have been blown up. To be clear, I am safe. Being a foreigner, I should be left alone. Also, Kathmandu is a large city and although major grocery stores have closed, the street markets and small vendors tend to be open. 

Never underestimate how important it is for people to feel like they have a voice and are being heard. I would think that's true of most people groups and countries. The street art above is done by a few artists around Kathmandu. A lot of the new art recently are about the government and the bundhs. That's one way to express your voice.