Women lead the show in saving lives after fierce fight


Even after three months of the fierce fight between the fighters of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoists) and the government security forces in the town, the residents of Beni Bazaar are still living in a state of trauma. A local resident and Red Cross volunteer Binod Shrestha says, “Every Friday comes to me as a potential threat.” “I hear the sound of blasts and bullets in my sleep,” adds another local Ganga Shrestha.

The fight that started on the night of March 20 lasted till eleven another day. The residents could hardly come out of their houses and see what had actually taken place. They could see from their windows that there were dead bodies and wounded fighters lying in the streets. A senior Red Cross volunteer Mukti Rokka says, "It was a heart-rending scene and we could not remain inside seeing the pain of the wounded people."

Then the Red Cross volunteers started taking the wounded fighters to hospitals in the Red Cross ambulance. It continued for the whole day. However, it was not enough. The streets were full of dead bodies, and it could lead to disastrous epidemic. So, they actively worked to bury more than 50 dead bodies.

The dead were already dead, and the wounded were taken to the hospitals. However, a bigger threat to life remained due to the unexploded explosives that filled the streets of the town and also surrounding villages. "The explosives could fill half a truck," estimates Mukti. It was very possible that they could explode anytime, and moreover, it was possible that children could touch and play with them causing to explode. “It is impossible to estimate the pain the explosives could cause,” Laxmi KC, a women volunteer involved in raising awareness regarding the explosives in the town and the nearby villages, says. On seeing the potential disaster, Nepal Red Cross Society, Myadi district branch launched an awareness campaign in the coming days in active participation of the women volunteers.

A group of 18 women volunteers took the responsibility of going to various schools and communities telling children and their guardians about the unexploded explosives. They divided into five different groups and told children not to touch anything that they might come across. The volunteers also put symbols of red flags at the places where there were explosives. “It was a very risky job to go to the places, identify the explosives and put the red flags. But we had to do it,” says Diwa Pun, a life member of the Nepal Red Cross Society. “We had seen enough dead and wounded people, and we did not want to see more,” says another woman volunteer Juna Garbuja. “A 22 year boy died when he touched an unexploded grenade after a day of the fight, and it was very unfortunate,” recalls Diwa. “And we were more convinced to carry out the work of raising awareness about the possible explosions,” she adds.

Many lives were saved due to the awareness campaign. But even after three months of the fight in the area, more explosives have been found at various places. The women volunteers say that the awareness campaign needs to be continuing. And they are preparing plans for ongoing awareness raising activities to ensure that no one will have to lose life due to ignorance, touching or playing with the explosives that might be found in the area.

The district branch of the NRCS has highly valued the contribution of the women volunteers in the work. President of the NRCS Myagdi district branch Hari Krishna Shrestha says, “Their work is highly appreciated by all. We have realized that we should involve more women volunteers in our activities.” As a result, a separate Women Development Committee has been formed at the district level to encourage more women volunteers in the Red Cross.

The job that the Magdi district branch performed in times of crisis in the town of Beni is highly appreciated. Women volunteers played a key role in all the rescue, relief and post war awareness raising works.

The NRCS district branch was the coordinating agency for the entire rescue and relief works as the whole government mechanism was under attack and nothing was functioning well. “We could do so with support of all the people,” concludes the President Shrestha.

The fight that started on the night of March 20 lasted till eleven another day. The residents could hardly come out of their houses and see what had actually taken place. They could see from their windows that there were dead bodies and wounded fighters lying in the streets. A senior Red Cross volunteer Mukti Rokka says, "It was a heart-rending scene and we could not remain inside seeing the pain of the wounded people."

Then the Red Cross volunteers started taking the wounded fighters to hospitals in the Red Cross ambulance. It continued for the whole day. However, it was not enough. The streets were full of dead bodies, and it could lead to disastrous epidemic. So, they actively worked to bury more than 50 dead bodies.

The dead were already dead, and the wounded were taken to the hospitals. However, a bigger threat to life remained due to the unexploded explosives that filled the streets of the town and also surrounding villages. "The explosives could fill half a truck," estimates Mukti. It was very possible that they could explode anytime, and moreover, it was possible that children could touch and play with them causing to explode. “It is impossible to estimate the pain the explosives could cause,” Laxmi KC, a women volunteer involved in raising awareness regarding the explosives in the town and the nearby villages, says. On seeing the potential disaster, Nepal Red Cross Society, Myadi district branch launched an awareness campaign in the coming days in active participation of the women volunteers.

A group of 18 women volunteers took the responsibility of going to various schools and communities telling children and their guardians about the unexploded explosives. They divided into five different groups and told children not to touch anything that they might come across. The volunteers also put symbols of red flags at the places where there were explosives. “It was a very risky job to go to the places, identify the explosives and put the red flags. But we had to do it,” says Diwa Pun, a life member of the Nepal Red Cross Society. “We had seen enough dead and wounded people, and we did not want to see more,” says another woman volunteer Juna Garbuja. “A 22 year boy died when he touched an unexploded grenade after a day of the fight, and it was very unfortunate,” recalls Diwa. “And we were more convinced to carry out the work of raising awareness about the possible explosions,” she adds.

Many lives were saved due to the awareness campaign. But even after three months of the fight in the area, more explosives have been found at various places. The women volunteers say that the awareness campaign needs to be continuing. And they are preparing plans for ongoing awareness raising activities to ensure that no one will have to lose life due to ignorance, touching or playing with the explosives that might be found in the area.

The district branch of the NRCS has highly valued the contribution of the women volunteers in the work. President of the NRCS Myagdi district branch Hari Krishna Shrestha says, “Their work is highly appreciated by all. We have realized that we should involve more women volunteers in our activities.” As a result, a separate Women Development Committee has been formed at the district level to encourage more women volunteers in the Red Cross.

The job that the Magdi district branch performed in times of crisis in the town of Beni is highly appreciated. Women volunteers played a key role in all the rescue, relief and post war awareness raising works.

The NRCS district branch was the coordinating agency for the entire rescue and relief works as the whole government mechanism was under attack and nothing was functioning well. “We could do so with support of all the people,” concludes the President Shrestha.