A family taking lunch under tarpaulin Bandganga Kapilvastu

No sooner had the people of the Terai recovered from the 'wounds' inflicted by the floods and landslides than they had to cope with unprecedented violence that broke out in Kapilvastu district. Hundred of houses, trucks, buses and jeeps were torched and as if these were not enough, many people were killed and maltreated. The disturbances affected about 5,000 people and forced several hundreds to be displaced, while many more people are yet to be accounted for. More crucial is the fact that people have become so scared that they are refusing to go back to their normal areas of abode.

Several communities that fled for survival were camped at Sundari Danda, Magarghatta, Prem Nagar, Turuntapur and Chandrauta. The size of others affected by the disturbances in two villages in particular, Khairi gaon and Manpur Amalhawa were equal to the total number of displaced people (i.e. 5,000) and they lost every possession they had. Many of those affected took shelter in public schools with the support of local communities. Temporary accommodation was made possible through the provision of tarpaulins distributed by the Red Cross with the support of ICRC, while food items were also distributed as well.

Bablu, 20, with his 14-year old younger brother (in yellow) trying to set up tarpaulin shelter among debris

From the beginning, ICRC and Red Cross Kapilvastu Chapter approached the affected people and carried out an assessment of the displaced, missing and dead. They also managed food distribution as well as the provision of non-food items, including tarpaulin for the affected.

Khairi village, one of the villages most-affected by the disturbances, had eighty families, predominantly Muslim, who had lived in harmony with mostly Hindus communities. "It was daytime, there were only women and children, who fled into the paddy fields to hide in order to protect themselves," 75-year old Jamil Ahamad said. Giving further details, he said "Forty houses were torched and this is the first horrible experience in this place as far as I know. We have been living in good harmony there is no discrimination between Hindu and Muslim in our world."

"A mob appeared at once, looting every object in view and finally set fire to several houses. Concrete houses were destroyed by what sounded like explosives. At least, we could save our lives, which was good", said Sole, 40, from Khairi village. "We are happy to get the Red Cross from the beginning with food and tarpaulins. If they were not there we would have suffered more" he added.

A family sets up a tarpaulin, while awaiting further assistance from the Red Cross.

While traveling to reach to the camps, ICRC and NRCS teams observed that for well over an hour there was no public transport or vehicle on the area's portion of the east-west highway. Only Red Cross and the UNWFP vehicles were on the roads, while on either side of the highway were the debris of buses, trucks, cars and jeeps, partly or completely burned down. Similarly, in Devipur, the entire village was deserted- no life, no property, nothing.  

The ICRC, the Federation and Nepal Red Cross Society have been heavily involved in relief and recovery work caused by floods and landslides since the second week of July. The recent outbreak of violence in Kapilvastu created more demand for humanitarian intervention from the Red Cross. In addition to its role together with movement partners, the NRCS has been the implementing with other partners like local clubs and local communities, UNICEF and WFP in providing food, hygiene kits, and non-food items to mitigate the impact of the tragedy on the affected population.