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  • Manju von Rospatt

Hope you are all safe ♥️

(all photos taken by Kathmandu Post)


Hello all...


I'm writing from the sunny garden of my grandma's house in Kathmandu. The heavy smog that droops over the city has dissipated slightly. Flowers are in vibrant bloom, long-tailed colorful birds sing and congregate on a mango tree...I can even make out the outlines of the usually pollution obscured Himalayas. It seems nature is taking a much needed breather from all the pollution in the Kathmandu Valley.


This photo (by the Kathmandu Post)  is an aerial shot of the usually congested Ring Road highway 


Nepal, like California, South East Asia, India, Europe, and most other places, is under a strict lockdown. No schools, no shops open, no cars, no busses, no people going out for walks.... it's all a bit dystopian.


Out of fear of being arrested by the heavily armored police on watch out duty, out of fear of potentially contracting the virus that might be out there, but mostly out of fear of infecting my sweet diabetic (pun not intended) grandmother, I haven't left my house the past week.


I assume you are also in a lockdown so I don't need to describe the jumble of emotions, the slight boredom, the fear and anxiety, the repetitive nature of each day.... I'm trying to keep myself occupied and busy. I'm learning my grandma's traditional recipes, journalling, doing some yoga, and watching too many movies. I even meditate these days.... 15 minutes every night! ( It's simultaneously torturous and yet so peaceful) I've been reading many books and papers (asking friends to send me their interesting readings!) But somehow the days slip by faster than I can comprehend.... Doesn't life feel a bit like we're stuck in a hamster wheel? I am also editing reports for the non-profit I'm interning with. They're a great NGO by the way... check them out... https://phaseworldwide.org/https://phasenepal.org/





Policeman spraying disinfectants on the road (Kathmandu Post)





So far there have only been three cases of COVID 19 in Nepal.


The good news is that there is no detected community spread (yet). The

cases so far have been from returned students studying abroad in France and China. The bad news however is that Nepal is REALLY underprepared to handle an epidemic. The health care system is already underfunded, under-resourced, and understaffed. There's a 0.9 hospital bed to 1000 people ratio and a measly 17 COVID tests a day administered!


So basically don't get sick in Nepal. I hope and pray that it doesn't affect Nepal the way it has spread in the West and in East Asia.





Health workers wear protective gear in Patan Hospital (Kathmandu Post)











Due to the impending lockdown which I heard about in a call from my frantic aunt, I evacuated my village last week on the last bus possible and head to Kathmandu to stay at my family home. It was a sad and unexpected ending to my wonderful time there... I spent 7 months of my life there! I lived, breathed, and ate Bhotenamlang..... There were no dramatic farewells... actually no farewells at all. I just left, packed my things in a silent shock, jumped onto the local bus, and slipped away from this place I've come to love so much. As the bus bumped down the mountain, by the mud huts of my friends and peers, I remembered the first time I came to this mountain village. I was afraid out of my mind- unsure how I would survive in such a place. And now, here I was. I have come so far! I waved people bye from behind the dusty plastic window of the rickety bus. It was emotional because I wasn't sure when I could return to the village. I have no idea how long this lockdown will last... It wasn't quite the romantic farewell I had wished for but you can't expect for normal during these uncertain times...


I was debating boarding a plane and heading back to the US, but ultimately I decided to stay here in Nepal. I'm fortunate to have family and a vast support network here. Nepal is fairly safe, one of the few countries with few cases...It's safer here than in California that's for sure! I am very fortunate to be in the situation I am, living in a spacious house with a garden, with loving family. I'm fortunate to not have to be concerned about a paycheck or having to decide between food on the table or staying safe. Nepal is a really poor country with millions of people working in informal positions as waste workers and construction workers... how will they fare in this lockdown? How do they feed their families? How do people living in the slums along the holy Bagmati river "socially distance" themselves? How will people that don't have access to clean running water and sanitation take the proper measures to protect themselves? I really hope the government pulls something together FAST and supports society's most vulnerable. The same goes for developed countries too..... It's all so concerning.... can't think of it for too long!


I hope that when this is all over we are a more united people, less divided and more compassionate towards one another. I hope this pandemic allows nature to get a well deserved breather from human destruction. I hope that this pandemic has exposed some of the inequities in our global health care system....


I wish you and your family good health.... Please take care good care!!


Lots of love,

Manju







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