Liberation, not more than a word for Kamaiyas

The faint glow of the rising sun kisses the dazzling snow-capped peaks, and chirping birds eulogize yet another magnificent novel morning's beauty. White and pink, blue and purple morning glories bloom to welcome one more wonderful day. But, for many it is just another day—a day that brings but toil from dawn to dusk. It is little surprising these people fail to see and feel the beauty around them.

Even though they are directly affected by the chaotic situation in the country, which has now been turned into a battlefield of a sort and has seen untimely and unwanted killing of thousands of Nepalese, oblivious to all these things, thousands of ex-Kamaiya (bonded laborer) youths in several legal and illegal camps of Bardiya district know one hard reality of life—earning two square meals a day.

Although the liberation has relieved ex-Kamaiyas to some extent, it has adversely affected the life of the youths. In fact, youth is the group facing the most difficult situation as the major problem lies in unemployment. They are living a life of frustration and with uncertain future. Luckier ones get jobs in the nearby village, but the unlucky ones have to travel a long distance even some 50km to find work as laborer. Be it the Dhadhwar and Machhagar legal camps or illegal ones like Langhawa and Bangain in Bardia districts, they are very far from the district headquarters, Nepalgunj, where ex-Kamaiya youths are more likely to find jobs.

Gulariya is the nearest place, where ex-Kamaiya youth from many legal and illegal camps like Dhadhawar, Gujrana, Langhawa and Bangain come to find work as daily wage earners. But, it is a small town and not all turn out lucky at the end of the day.

Krishna Chudhari, 21, an ex Kamaiya youth says it takes him more than an hour to reach Gulariya, where he usually comes to seek labor work. "Of course it is a pretty long distance for me to travel everyday, but there is no choice. The government has distributed land to ex-Kamaiyas in areas which do not have access to big towns like Nepalgunj," says Krishna.

Krishna does not mind traveling a long distance and even to work harder but he gets frustrated whenever he has to return empty handed even after going through the whole arduous ordeal. "We need work to make our ends meet, but it is very difficult to find labor work everyday," says Krishna. One can see extreme depression in the eyes of ex-Kamaiya youth, yet they are hopeful of reaching the place where 'the rainbow will end for them' to find prospects of a better future. All they ask for is skill development training along with job guarantee.

It is not that the government has been sleeping over the whole issue. District Land Reforms Officials say that ex-Kamaiyas were given different skill development training like bicycle maintenance, carpentry, masonry and radio-TV maintenance work. But the catch lies in the fact that even youths who have taken the training do not find jobs as Gularia or Burigaun are but small towns with less opportunity. Even if they travel all the way to Nepalgunj, who is going to hire them?

"Training programs are more essential to promote youths like us, but it should not be the run of the mill training the government had introduced earlier. Ex-Kamaiyas were given radio and TV maintenance training that made no difference in so much as to enable them to find jobs. Who would hire Kamaiya youths? The question does not have easy answers. Trainees are not hired when there are already enough experienced people coming from India to work in Nepalgunj, the place that could absorb them all," says Baliram Tharu, 23, at Bangain camp.

Camps like Bangain and Machhagar are situated at a distance of some 45 km from Nepalgunj in the north-west, from where Bali Ram goes to places like Bhurigaun, Gularia and Nepalgunj to find a job almost everyday. Sometimes he works at nearby villages too. "At present it is rice plantation time and we can find jobs here as well, but prospects are not as bright throughout the year," said he.

Most ex-Kamaiya youths are either illiterate or have dropped out of school due to financial problem when they had to settle in different camps after their liberation. Moreover, their camps are settled in such places, from where it takes more than an hour to reach government high schools. "While it is very difficult to find jobs here, it is impossible to go to school, as it is very far. It takes a pretty long time and we will not be able to earn our daily bread," says Basanta Tharu, who dropped out of school after completing grade VI.

Although the youths here are frustrated, most of them know the importance of education. They know that education is the only way towards their true liberation. "I dream of educating my children. We remained Kamaiyas because we did not receive education and if the children are educated, they will not be facing problems like us," says Ram Bahadur Chaudhari, an ex-Kamaiya youth.

Women here are married off at an early age. They wish to be literate and receive some training so that they can help their newly married husbands. Ramita Chaudhari, 18, wishes to study even now. "If I were educated, I could participate in development work, but now I have become a housewife. Besides domestic work, I work as a laborer in nearby villages as and when possible," says Chaudhari.

Chaudhari has also learnt knitting and to grow vegetable. Showing her kitchen garden she says, "Actually we lack advance knowledge of growing vegetables. Had we received training for keeping hen and growing vegetable, we would have grown it for commercial purposes."

As hardship often breeds rebel instincts, some ex-Kamaiya youth who remained unemployed after the liberation, are reported to have joined the underground Maoist rebels in the name of People's War—the result of frustration. Whatever the views and aspirations of ex-Kamaiya youths, the bottom line is they desire life without having to look up to people for sustenance. Those who are living in legal camps are more satisfied than those living in illegal camps as they think, "Home is the first priority."