Maoist Strike (Bandh)print story

June 14, 2010

Alan Burns

 We are now in day 6 of the indefinite strike, so as expected this week has been an unproductive one. It is a well-enforced bandh, which has brought the whole country to a stand still, the streets are full of wandering Kathmandu residents and void of any traffic. Everything is closed which makes the simplest of everyday tasks a real chore. In terms of my documentary it has really grinded to a halt. I did a lot of editing and work on the script that has actually been really useful as now the documentary’s structure and several scenes are nearing completion. However, there are still gaps in which I still need footage and interviews and frustratingly the organizations I need to visit are unavailable during the bandh.

Here is a list of the still required footage:
• UNICEF interview on the Millennium Development Goals.
• Child Watabarran to travel with the mobile medical clinic again and visit the slum areas to film the projects they have set up there.
• Raksha Nepal interview on gender discrimination in Nepal
• Capture some time-lapse footage in Swayambunath Temple.
• Dr. Singh interview and film him at work in the free medical clinic.
• Just-One interview

I have been in contact with all organisations and could have got all the interviews over the next two weeks but now I just have to wait until they contact me after the bandh. I’m due to leave on the 15th of May but as it stands there is now way I can complete the scenes required, even if the bandh ends before next week. So I have decided I will extend my flights but at least two more weeks in which time I hope there will be some sort of resolution. The way things are panning out here I can’t see this conflict coming to an end any time soon. There has been absolutely no progress made since last week and violent outbursts have become more frequent. I predict there will be a few more days then perhaps the army will step in a use force to remove the Maoists, which will almost certainly be a violent affair.

Luckily for me there was still some filming I could complete. I needed to interview one of the just-one kids and visit his home for the just-one documentary. The structure will be much the same as the previous one I made, telling the story of a kid who has gone from collecting rubbish and sleeping on the street to competing in big mountain bike races and winning trophies. On Wednesday I traveled with a member of staff to his home and filmed him with his family and around his home, the next day he came to the office and we managed to get almost an hour-long interview, which will need to be translated before I can start editing.

So all in all this week has been unproductive but not an entire waist. Hopefully the situation will improve sooner rather than later and I can finish the filming.

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