I started writing this op-ed after the first earthquake of  April 25. I had written about 500 words and titled the piece ‘We will rise’, after seeing the positive efforts, mainly focusing on relief and aid, carried out by various individuals and institutions. I was writing how, in the aftermath of the earthquake, Nepal could rise and become a prosperous country if everyone came together. Before I could complete what I was writing, a strong aftershock struck on May 12. After making many observations about the second big jolt, I decided to change the title of this op-ed to ‘Will we rise?’ I have, accordingly, divided this piece into what I think will help this country rise and the difficulties involved.

Scepticism abounds

The earthquakes took many lives and destroyed numerous buildings and infrastructures. Both rural and urban lives were severely hit. People are having a hard time trying to emerge out of their losses and the traumatic experiences they have had. The earthquakes did not just hurt us physically and psychologically, they also badly disturbed our social, economic and political well-being. Amidst all this, one of my friends wrote on his Facebook wall, ‘the tolls of the quakes were nearly equal to the decade-long armed conflict. We were just trying to emerge out of the post-conflict situation and start development efforts, when the quake pushed us further back. When will we be back on the track to prosperity?’ I can’t agree more. The conflict pushed the country back on many fronts, and now these quakes have further devastated many hopes.

As many opinion pieces in this daily and various other national and international newspapers have suggested, relief works faced serious governmental backlogs. Moreover, the politics of the country has given the affected and the relief workers more skepticism than hope. However, as everyone knows, this is how things have always been. Despite knowing that Nepal falls in one of the most seismically-active parts of the world, we were not prepared for the disaster. Not just this government, all those that I have known have been dysfunctional. Political and individual benefits have always taken precedence over national causes. Red tape, nepotism and corruption are common in all state organs, from the top to the bottom. The youth have been pushed out of the country. Most political parties act like parasites. The international community has its own vested interests, primarily guided by Nepal’s geopolitics.

Despite all this, the role played by the army, police and bureaucrats is praiseworthy.  The international community also responded to the crisis and provided both the relief material and the human resource. While a lot more needs to be done, what the earthquakes have taught us is that with united effort, we can make things happen. If this positive energy can be tapped properly, prosperity can be achieved. The efforts put in by many young volunteers, like those involved with Bibeksheel Nepali, those at the Yellow House and the ‘I to We’ team, to name a few, are incredible.

No procrastination

There are many posts circulating in the social media these days saying, ‘we will rise’, ‘work for Nepal’, and ‘we will bounce back’, among others. With a bunch of youth working day in and day out, trying to bring life to normalcy, this could actually be true. However, after having witnessed young people and adults in a totally different realm, spending their days inside tents playing cards and carom, and/or sleeping, my scepticism continues to rise. Even the major political parties took nearly a month to come out of their cells. I completely understand that the quakes have disturbed us all very badly. But this does not mean that you stay unproductive all day long. If we are to ‘bounce back’, we need to pull up our socks.

Further, while there are hopes of Nepali rising, there are also fears. The lack of coordination between the international community, the government and locals has become more apparent post-disaster. If Nepal is to bounce back and prosper, we should lose no time. We need to act.

Sharma is a student of political science