Peace Conflict – Tech Giks

An Illusion of Peace

Shakti — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 15:09:06 +0000

An Illusion of Peace

Prof. Dr Brian Cobb

“We lived many lives in those swirling campaigns, never sparing ourselves any good or evil; yet when we had achieved, and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took from us our victory, and remade it in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win but had yet to learn to keep and was pitiably weak against age. So we stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and earth, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace” It was written not in the present-day Nepal bulletin 1919 by T. E. Lawrence in the wake of the disastrous Treaty of Versailles. The victorious Allied powers, France, the UK and the US, imposed fatal, punitive conditions on the Germans that laid the foundations for Hitler’s rise and World War II.

Fortunately, the Allies learned a lesson. At the end of World War II, the next generation of leaders helped rehabilitate Germany and all of Europe, resulting in a stable and peaceful political order. The lesson is that vindictive, harsh strategies are counterproductive. Generating anger and hatred only lead to future violence and instability. And yet, I see Nepal going down that road today. Some of my ideas, such as my suggestions in 2004 that the parties negotiate with the Maoists directly, that the palace needed to be sidelined for peace for republicanism and that the country is demilitarised, has been finally adopted. So I’d like to be heard again.

The current strategy of imprisoning the Maoist cadres in conditions barely suitable for animals sows the seeds of future instability. The Maoists are not evil or mad; they are young people who saw their only hope of having better lives in revolution. The attitude of the Nepali elite and the international community is selfish, arrogant, immoral and doomed to failure. To imprison them in ramshackle Guantanamos, where the climate and disease, rather than the CIA, do the torturing, is most unwise.

Since returning to Nepal, I’ve seen so much. I’ve had experiences of government officials and party higher-ups trying to shake me down for bribes to be allowed the privilege of helping people experiencing poverty. I’ve seen how corruption denies medical care and economic development to low-income people and how the elites keep them in misery to attract donor funds they divert for their use, leaving the masses to suffer.

I’ve often seen high-caste doctors put their presumed inferiors aside to die of neglect and heard they’re sincerely felt but racist justifications. If anything, it worsened in the wake of the second Andolan. The elites think the people took to the streets to elect them, not to regain democracy to select a better leader; they fail to realise that public support for parties and politicians is relatively weak, which is vital for democracy.

I hear these same elites condemning the extortion and violence of the Maoists, uncaring and uncomprehending that the politicians and bureaucrats extort more and cause more suffering. Is there any moral difference between a Maoist who shoots someone and a Health Ministry official whose corruption condemns many more people to death and hell? No, there is not. So it’s time to drop the hypocritical self-righteousness and accept that Einstein was right when he told us, “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created them.”

It has been the structural violence, oppression, caste discrimination, exploitation, greed, corruption and arrogance of the Nepali elites that has given rise to the Maoist movement, and the same people with the same ideology are now setting the stage for continued instability in their relentless quest for short term gains in money, power and fame. They are trying to crush the Maoists as a mainstream political force by imposing hardships on their cadres, punishing them instead of rehabilitating and marginalising their leaders.

Young people who have become inured to violence and lack any prospects for education, jobs and improved living conditions will resort to crime in the short term and revolution in a slightly longer time. They will be a scourge. But are their demands unreasonable? Not at all. While it is correct to call upon them to renounce violence and intimidation, it is essential to understand that they must be brought into the mainstream for this to happen.

The airport is the only institution in Nepal today that inspires hope in the youth. Nearly all of them dream of going far away, to a place where their caste doesn’t consign them to be treated like animals, where they can go as far as their talents and hard work can take them. They are bitter and pessimistic about Nepal. Now this brain drain is suitable from the perspective of the elite because it takes away the most thoughtful and ambitious. It could be better for the economic development of the country. Still, past democratic governments have not pursued development because it’s easier to rake in donor funds than the proceeds of private industry and easier to manipulate impoverished masses than a prosperous nation.

The rush to re-establish the status quo ante politically contradicts the demands of the people’s movement. It will yield a short-term bounty for the elites but to the detriment of Nepali society and the nobility. The parties delude themselves into thinking they have the support of the majority, who view them with distrust and disgust. Many of the nation’s youth are voicing support for the Maoists as a political force because, whatever their past misdeeds, they are the only ones with a vision and an inclusive philosophy. Unless the other parties make room for newer, more honest and competent leaders, they will defeat when elections are finally held.

In his insightful Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, the Bangladeshi economist and father of the microcredit movement, Dr Mohammad Yunus, said, “Peace should be understood humanly − in a broad social, political and economical way. Peace is threatened by unjust economic, social and political order, the absence of democracy, environmental degradation and human rights.

Poverty is the absence of all human rights. Poverty’s frustrations, hostility and anger cannot sustain peace in any society. To build stable peace, we must find opportunities for people to live decent lives.” He stated, “I believe we can create a poverty-free world because poor people do not create poverty. It has been created and sustained by the economic and social system we have designed for ourselves; the institutions and concepts that make up that system; the policies we pursue.”

Articulating some noble sentiments, as the interim government has done, is deceptive and futile when the mechanisms of government are as corrupt and inefficient as Nepal’s. Implementing these worthy ideas by the current bureaucracy would be a miracle on par with the creation of the universe. Rapid, widespread and fearless corruption control must precede all else.

The unjust social order must dismantle. It is an unpalatable but undeniable historical truth that nowhere and never has an oppressive elite suddenly undergone simultaneous and radical character transformation; only when discredited persons and ideologies are replaced has progress occurred. It is also a gross distortion when the oppressors seek to portray themselves as victims and label inclusiveness “caste warfare.” Although nearly all the elites are upper caste, most upper castes are non-elite and exploited.

For example, the recent political charade of offering increased access to severely inadequately staffed and equipped district hospitals without real health care reform merely reveals the cynicism of the political elites. An excellent place to start rebuilding as Nepal struggles to move from medievalism to modernity is with the education and rehabilitation of the Maoist cadres. It would be an exercise to understand Dr Yunus’s sound principles and get beyond conventional zero-sum thinking. It would be a good investment in the future of Nepal and the right thing to do.

It was the youth who brought the monarchy to its knees. The martyrs and Andolankari were overwhelmingly students and working-class youth. For the older men who watched the people’s movement on their colour TVs to emerge and attempt to recreate the dystopia they created in the name of democracy will not do. Nevertheless, a new society is possible, as history proves. And the youth of Nepal, the major stakeholders in its future and its demographically most powerful voting bloc should expect no more than this and be content with no less.

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Choosing Life A Challenge

Shakti — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 23:33:42 +0000

Choosing Life a Challenge

Choosing Life a Challenge – Several right-wing civil society leaders have recently declared that a large, costly military is necessary for Nepal’s survival in the 21st century. They believe some of the costs can be offset by participation in UN peacekeeping operations, but this would be a small part. Instead, some propose a role as a mercenary provider. They argue that having a hundred thousand soldiers hanging around the barracks is far more critical than having an equal number of teachers, health care personnel or infrastructure construction workers.

Under their plan, the army could make marginal contributions in this area, but their primary role would be military. But, as demonstrated by that most discerning test, the nation’s number one priority, the amount it is willing to spend, is its killing machine. I’m afraid I have to disagree. Only a fool would believe that any conceivable Nepalese army could repel an unlikely attack by India or China. These critics gloss over the NA’s horrific human rights record and the lack of commitment among its top ranks to democracy. Instead, they imagine Nepal as somehow invulnerable to a military coup d’etat. The militarists think that a big army is a mark of prestige; I believe it is a mark of disgrace.

With people starving to death in the West and alarming maternal and infant mortality rates, spending so much on a fighting force is cruel, immoral and shameful. Surely the police forces can be cleansed of their numerous thugs, murderers, rapists, robbers and extortionists, better trained and made more accountable for handling domestic security. The remaining military personnel can be disarmed and assigned to healing, teaching and rebuilding the nation. Nepal’s leaders would do well to heed the words attributed to God in the Bible, “I have placed before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose the life that you and your children might live.”

I want to pose a challenge to the government. I would like to know if you can give me the support I need and depute 100 NA and Maoist cadres; I was selected to attend an 18-month Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic training program. This training will be new to Nepal and is intensively focused on treating severe or life-threatening injuries, illnesses or other medical events, such as childbirth and its complications. As a career emergency medicine specialist and teacher, and given the number of bright, motivated young people in Nepal, we can turn out world-class personnel who can be posted to district hospitals to save lives in emergencies at no additional cost to the nation.

Let me take the challenge one step further. Nepal’s high unemployment, population, and economic growth require young people to work abroad. But instead of working as mercenaries, as envisioned by the pro-military factions, or as labourers or prostitutes, why not train nurses whose skills are in demand worldwide and whose wages are excellent? Can’t Nepal export professionals? Wouldn’t their much greater remittances contribute to economic growth at home? So give me some bright young soldiers of both genders and some support, and we’ll train them for three years; during their clinical assignments, they will augment staffing in the zonal hospital, and after graduation, they can serve a 3-year “payback” term after which they are free to go abroad.

These programs should be conducted in the areas of greatest need and with students drawn primarily from disadvantaged castes. To achieve political stability, the country must surpass the Kathmandu-centric, high-caste-dominated model that has prevailed for the past 237 years. Had projects like this been undertaken after the Jana Andolan I, there likely would never have been a Maoist insurgency. People didn’t join the Maoists for the snazzy uniforms or the pithy saying of Mao. Still, a better life and any government which does not make rapid progress toward delivering it are destined to fail.

Forget its mighty rivers, its majestic peaks or its remarkable biodiversity. Nepal’s most incredible resource is its sincere, intelligent, hard-working and adaptable people. As my hero, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, said, “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.” So give us some support, and we’ll show you what we can do. Admittedly this proposal is small in scale, but better to light one small candle than curse the darkness. Moreover, it can serve as a prototype for other programs for the vocational retraining, psychological rehabilitation and social reintegration of a generation traumatised by war, desensitised to suffering and denied more productive careers.

Indeed Nepal’s youth are better utilised by bringing out the best—compassion, kindness, scientific knowledge and life-saving skill—than the worst—violence, hatred and lust for blood. And as for courage, who needs more of it, the adrenalin-pumped, psychologically manipulated, armed soldier or the paramedic who braves flames and landslides to save strangers’ lives? As Dante Alighieri taught us, “Think of your breed. For brutish ignorance, you were not made; you were made human to follow after excellence and knowledge.”

Finally, we hope that you like choosing the life a Challenging article. It was written by By Prof. Brian Cobb, M.D.

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ICTs Are the Heart of the Information Society

Shakti — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:12:28 +0000

ICTs are the Heart of the Information Society

(First published date: 2006/2007)

ICTs (Information & Communication Technologies) are an engine for growth. This is the time of information. Contemporary citizens are demanding and want to obtain the required information immediately. With the invention of ICTs, the possibilities are endless and infinite. Its role demonstrates that it has no limitations, and we can’t detect any certain boundaries that may limit ICTs. The role of the ICTs in every segment of society is additionally imperative when civil societies think about encouragement & progress.

Consequently, information is an enormously powerful tool as it genuinely helps explore various factors and aspects of social development without effort. An active and ICT-literate civic society is always required for governing the social movement because a solid civic association is a foundation for developing and creating an equitable information society.

Our actions reflect our achievements. Please don’t make the mistake of talking only about ICTs and their development. It is necessary to discuss and fashion the relationships among all the development structures: economic, social, political and religious. All the development tools must form relationships with ICTs. Likewise, websites are representations of societies all over the world. Hence, if we are slow to implement ICTs in all forms of development, success will remain distant from us. That’s why it should be essential to consider regarding its capacity-building process for all.

ICTs are the key to development. Society is changing by leaps and bounds, with no chance of a stopping point soon. The Internet affects us in every way, notably in our social lives, jobs and entertainment. Our social lives are not just communicating with telephones and mail anymore. Going “online” is the new way we like to share with people. Chat rooms on the Internet are open for people to talk and explore with other people who may live on the other side of the world. E-Mail is also another popular way to correspond with others. Users can electronically send mail to another person with an online mailbox simply by typing in their message and sending it with the click of a button.

Two seconds to send an e-mail to someone on the other side of the world is much quicker than a week or more through ordinary mail as well as Computers can calculate and figure out things much quicker than the average person. This process can save not only time but money too. Stock trading, banking, and any other business you could imagine are now on the Internet. The world wants things to be quick and easy. The best answer is to have a computer do it for you.

Millions of jobs will be taken away from honest, hard-working employees and given to computers. No matter what choices we make or what plans we change. These outcomes are going to become real. Why would a business person pay someone to take phone orders when a computer can do it in less time and make it cheaper and more accessible for the businessman and the buyer?

The inevitable outcome of this magnificent invention is going to change the world. Society may seem glad about the way of changing. Cheaper is better as well as less time-consuming is the best. With the choice of having a computer and being online, there is almost nothing you cannot do. This remarkable idea of ICTs will revolutionise how we live in the future.

Of course, Rome was not built in a day; our society can not be changed overnight. ICTs are not magic or mystery formulas that will solve all our problems. But in no doubt, it will be used intelligently to develop authentic and practical issues and build a society responsive to its needs and demands. Practical experiences with ICTs demonstrate that we can revolutionise the methods of development. With this extraordinary force, ICTs need to be spread throughout society, allowing all peoples equal access to the power of knowledge and making significant benefits accessible for all of civilisation.

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