The Joy of a Job Well Done! ;-)

Dear Senior human rights advisor Leslie,

National Human Rights Commission, Nepal.

We are pleased to read your draft copy. Really very nice and appreciable.

Thank you.

With best regards and sincerely yours

Jaya Shor Chapagain
Protection Officer
NHRC – Nepal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Keith Douglas Leslie [mailto:keith.leslie@nhrcnepal.org]
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 2:35 PM
To: jaya.chapagain@nhrcnepal.org; Leela Pathak
Cc: 'tek.tamrakar'; 'Chandra Roy'; 'Sharad Neupane'
Subject: Dr. Pathak's Speech for Tomorrow

Dr. Pathak and Jaishworji,

As promised, here is the two page speech for Dr. Pathak for tomorrow’s inauguration of the Indigenous Peoples Program workshop.

If you have any comments, plse let Tekji and I know. Thanks!

Best, Keith

Righting Human Wrongs in Nepal

It's 7:35 am and I've seen Ez out the gate at 6:10 am, then Ms. Leah at 7:05 am. Now, I'm watching the Yankees pummel the Devil rays on the internet. So cometh another bright, lush late monsoon morning in the foothills of the Himalaya...

It's a Thursday, the final stretch in a busy week as I'm still flaying away in the world of human wrongs. Yet, I'm pleased to say that in some important ways, my working world became much more stimulating last week when, finally, after a year in my Sr. Advisor job w/o commissioners at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the govt finally appointed five individuals to lead the Commission.

One of them, Gauri Pradhan, founder of Child Workers in Nepal, is an old friend & colleague, who will be a pleasure to work with. Plus a retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, Kedarnath Upadhaya, who is the new Chairperson of the Commission, who also seems quite sincere & impressive. Then there is a Maoist-inclined Christian who may be the equivalent of a Nepali liberation theologian. Another retired Supreme Court judge from the eastern Terai. And, a senior government woman bureaucrat who may help us negotiate our way around the labyrinth that represents the government of Nepal. Quite an interesting collection, particularly as each seems to be eager to start their work!

So, at long last, after a year of muddling around, trying to influence a constitutional body without a head, learning my lessons in the world of human rights (and wrongs...), reciting the 'Paris Principles' on national rights institutes, staring out into the courtyard of Harihar Bhawan, an olde Rana palace here in Kathmandu, often feeling demotivated by the lack of leadership in the Commission, there is finally some real cause for anticipation & satisfaction -- ironically, just when my contract ends and the job may disappear.

Funny old world, isn't it...

For now, my UNDP one year contract has been extended from Sept. 3rd to Nov. 3rd, but nothing is clear after that. The whole Capacity Development NHRC project ends with December, so even a short extension ends then.

Of course, there's the likelihood of a new UNDP project from the new year, but no certainty if they want a Sr. AHuman Rights dvisor again; or, in truth, what I really want for myself...

At the moment, I'm planning on going to the US on Oct. 25th to attend Josh's first Family W/end at NMH, then probably visit Claudia while attending the American Bamboo Society (ABS) meeting outside Philly, followed by an important sidetrip to see M&D in Palm Beach Gardens before coming back to Nepal by mid-November.

If nothing changes or appears on the horizon, I could be back in Kathmandu sans work for the first time since 1983, which would be curious...

In some ways, mentally, emotionally, I'm just free-floating. I'm digging into certain aspects of work, which is stimulating, esp. given the large-scale & ugly forms of human rights abuses going on in Nepal (there was a prominent murder then a rampage in Kapilvastu, near Lumbini, last week with over 20-30 innocents murdered...), not to mention the backlog of human rights cases that remain either unresolved or without serious action by the GON. If one thinks too deeply on such events, it's not good for one's well-being, if you know what I mean. I read a Michael Onjantee (sp?) novel about such abuses in Sri Lanka a few years ago -- not pretty, to say the least, nor elevating of the human condition, that's for sure...

Politically, Nepal seems more & more befuddled or living under a dark star. Nothing really goes forward and the center hardly holds. Of course, our own personal botanical garden remains a delight, but the country around us seems to be dissolving into petty fiefdoms of venality or traffic jams (even sans petrol...) in the capital city.

There's supposed to be a national Constituent Assembly election on Thanksgiving Day, but no one really believes it's going to happen, esp. now that the Communist Party Nepal/Maoist have pulled out of the coalition government.

So many games, too many tricks, a heap of insincerity among the super-sized egos of the politicians, while the western community plays along, hoping for the best, fearing the worst, then heading off for a new assignment in another country while the UN pours in tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of 'monitors' and 'specialists' with experience in Kosovo, Timor and other examples of the UN's recent state-building experiences.

We all have our fingers crossed, but there is an equal amount of uncertainty ahead, sans doubt.

Where's a good thick Dumas novel when one needs one?

A Note from Joshua, our Massachusetts Pilgrim Son

Hey Mum and Dad,

Sorry i missed the call on Saturday, but we had a school dance and the texting back to Nepal did not really work.

The last few days have been really fun, but tough. It was my first proper weekend here at NMH and i enjoyed it. On Friday, we had this dodgeball game and it was really fun. It was against the freshman and we have so much dorm spirit. It was like going to a soccer game and having all the fans chanting. We ended up demolishing the freshman 4-1 or something like that. The fourth floor embarassed us by losing to them very badly.

The next morning i missed part of soccer practice because I forgot to turn on my alarm clock, so I ended up missing the first half and could only play about another half hour because I had to go to the mall in order to pick up somethings that I needed to buy. The mall was pretty fun, I went with a few of my friends, but ended up shopping alone. It was a nice escape from being around everyone all the time. I bought a computer mouse, dress shoes and a tie on the credit card so if you get any bills that should be it.

Then on Saturday we had a dance and it was so crazy, I mean 600 people in the gym I literally just stared for five minutes feeling so much culture shock and out of place. I mean this was dancing in a very sexual way, and in Lincoln that never happens, so I was a little bit stunned. I decided to hang with the other equally shocked people and I just relaxed and danced and had a really good time.

Sunday it rained so hard and I got really wet coming up from psat practice. However, before convocation, it stopped, so it was on. I had new dress shoes which are pretty nice, a pink/purple tie, my suit and the black overcoat mom made. I looked really good, and it felt nice dressing up.

Then on Monday class resumed and it has been going pretty well. My favorite class is US history because the teacher is absolutely fabulous. He is so much like C-fair at Lincoln, but from the Northeast. He is really funny, and knows how to make the class enjoyable, but serious.

Yesterday was the best soccer practice i had in my life. I was not even tired at all and I just ran and ran and played awesomely. The weather was cold and rainy, so perfect to play football. The JV team is really fun. I made one really good friend through it. He is from Egypt and he is a nice guy. I chill with him a lot too.

Tomorrow is a really nice day as class ends at 9:15 for me. I have a bit of homework to catch up on, so I will do that. I will also probably take a nap to catch up on sleep that I have been deprived of. Tomorrow is also our first game so I am really excited; it should be fun. I can't wait. Anyway, I am going to get to some homework.

Love you guys very much and I miss you a lot, Joshua

A Flower Gazer I Become...

For a momento of my existence
What shall I leave
(I need not leave anything)
Flowers in the spring,
Cuckoos in the summer
And maple leaves
In the autumn.

-- Ryokan


A hundred flowers are in Spring,
in Autumn is the moon,
In Summer is the cool wind.
the snow is in Winter;
If nothing is on the mind to afflict a man
That is the best season for the man.

-- Wu-men-kuan (The Gateless Gate)
Wu-men Hui-K'ai


Making the shades of trees
My dwelling place,
A flower gazer
I naturally become.

-- Emperor Kazan
Tales of Splendor, Futile Dreams

Leah's Words of Love

oh, the words of the very young and very wise.... xoxo, k.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
dear josh,

i am sending you a painting that i'm going to make on the computer.

i wish you'd come back.

i'm having a lot of fun.

but i'm not having fun when you're not here.

love from leah

Ezra's Explanation of Creation

In the beginning there were only two things: Space, tons of it, and The Spirit.

The Spirit is neither living nor dead, neither loving nor hating, neither human nor animal. It is simply, The Spirit. It comes in many different shapes and sizes; sometimes it doesn’t even come as a person -- but rather in the shape of a thought.

To some he is known as God, some people call him inspiration, while others pray to him through nature; but in this story, The Spirit is all of that and more!

The Spirit is earth, water, fire, and air. The Spirit is your mother and father, your brothers and sisters, your friends and enemies. It is yours (and everyone else’s) past, present, and future.

Yet often The Spirit is misunderstood —- life doesn’t happen because of The Spirit, The Spirit happens because of life!

Thus, life started with only Space and The Spirit.

The Spirit was everywhere and everything, and in the vast nothingness of Space, it called together all the smallest bits of something. From the vast corners of the endless Space came everything that was, and at the moment these met, The Spirit came into being at that moment in the shape of destiny.

In the moments that followed (whether it was a second or many years no one knows for at this age time was an irrelevant quantity), the greatest explosion of destiny ever was set loose by The Spirit.

A mass creation of everything we know followed. Suddenly, stars flew into place; solar systems roared into existence, planets blew into shape, and life slowly began its ascent to complete environments of living multi-cellular organisms.

One of these environments is known to us as our home, we call her, Mother Earth.

The Great Separation

this evening, we are watching the 'seven up' series made by granada tv & michael apted. they began filming in the sixties young seven year old english children from a wide range of social and economic classes. they then followed the kids from every seven years into their late forties to observe the changes in them, their societies and their values. i've had it for a couple of years and not seen it. this week, it's a good way to provide some needed perspective on our own lives & children...

our first son, joshua shumshere, left our garden home in budhanilkantha and his familiar world in kathmandu on sunday morning to start 11th grade at a respected, progressive boarding school in massachusetts near the vermont border.

this is a deeply felt time. i call it, 'the great separation'. it's full of pain, reflection and knowing.

as ezra, our second son, said after dinner on sunday, 'life will never be the same'. i couldn't even look up from my food knowing that josh wasn't there again and unable to look at everyone else.

if you had asked me before this year, i would have said that i would never have agreed to let my children go away to boarding school. when the boys were small and shakun would speak of her experience at boarding schools in the kathmandu valley, i would say, 'if you send them to boarding school, i will go there to teach.' i was the 'runaway bunny' parent. there was simply no way i wanted my sons away from us as long as i could avoid it.

but, a combination of joshua's rapid maturity, the continuing political/economic disturbances in kathmandu, limited petrol & electricity (they say eleven hours of power cuts per day come march), the fact that he'd spent his full sixteen years in this sequestered world, his evolving dreams, his soccer ambitions, the departure of many of his friends already to colleges in the states and, possibly, the knowledge that he would need to leave this comfortable valley to face the larger world soon enough, so why not start early, a young american coming home to a country, an identity, a world, he's never really known.

yet, in truth, i don't think any of us are quite prepared for this natural division -- this great separation -- b/n parents & children. particularly in comparison with how easily, as youth, we left our parent's adolescent homes. now, over the past weeks, i have come to know how traumatic it can be for us, parents, who have gradually, naturally, almost unconsciously, built a life around our children and families with all of the daily joys, anxieties and togetherness that we almost take for granted as a birthright, nearly forgetting the lengthy and, at times, troubled, path to finding this docile and domesticated security.

as a friend at work said, quoting a nepali expression, "parents pour all of their love on the heads of their children while the children pour their love on the top of a stone.' in truth, our children are not quite that harsh -- as i can only imagine how josh feels leaving us, as well, with his deep sensitivity, affection & kindness.

after all, exhausted as we were at six thirty in the morning by the emotions of the event, we were so proud of him sunday morning, tall, confident full of hope & anticipation as he began his solitary, epic journey across the oceans toward his own future. how mature. how courageous. how solitary.

yet, we wonder how easily it will be for him to settle in to the brave, new world of new england, america and his expectations for himself...

when my mom & sister claudia say goodbye to him tomorrow on the campus of northfield mount hermon at his new dormitory, how will he feel? will the excitement of new horizons, new challenges & new opportunities fill his sails through the immediate squall of separation? will he feel the loss as deeply as we do? or, will the lure of his beloved soccer pitch, new friends and multiple stimuli excite his sixteen year old mind?

there is so much for him in that cloistered, lush, ambitious hill top world.

yet, for us, the loss is profound. sixteen years together and, as ez says, our lives will never be the same. a major passage has swept over us. a profound stage in our lives as individuals, parents and a family crept up on us while we were still indulging ourselves in simpler, almost unrealized, rapidly passing joys. our boy, to our great pride, seemed to become a young man. our apprehensive child matured into an explorer, an adventurer, a discoverer. from a passenger on his parent's ship, he was quietly building his own craft to set sail on his own, away from us, beyond us, ahead of us, leading us forward to unknown seas.

still, shakun & i are fortunate to have ez & ms. leah in this home with us still, at least temporarily. for that reason, i spent the day in grade one today w/ ms. leah prajna rose and her friends. primary school is soothing that way. reassuring, calming with the implicit joy of children.

yet, that 'great separation' looms somewhere on the horizon, over the rainbow and dark clouds. for not even the beauty and peace of our garden home can replace the raw, rich, penetrating reality of parenting and the easy love of caring for a child, your own child.

alas, there is more profound loss ahead for all of us. knowing that in the deep heart's core does nothing to lessen their impact or pain...

for such metamorphoses are the nature of our existence.

bless you, joshua shumshere, you have given us more than we would ever have imagined when we first met.

you have been a gift to your parents. thank-you.