SUDDEN DEATH OF MY BROTHER

- Anita Lamichhane

Most of the people in Nepal live in a village. I was also born in a remote village - Mahankhal in the Sindhupalchowk district of Nepal. I spend 18 years of my childhood in that village. I want to write about one heart-wrenching incident that took place there about fourteen years ago.

In 2001, I lived in my village in a joint family with 25 members. At that time my father and one of my big brothers were staying in Kathmandu. I was studying in Grade 10, preparing for School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exam. One evening while I was reading in my room, about forty strange people came into my house and kidnapped my big father. He was the principal of our school. At that time our country was suffering from internal conflict and the government had declared a state of emergency. Another big brother, who was also our school math teacher, went in search of our kidnapped father.

It was evening time on the seventh day of the kidnapping when the security force personnel shot my big brother dead, thinking that he was involved in terrorist activities against them. On the same day, my big father was also released, but we lost our big brother. That was the most unforgettable incident in my life.

My brother was one of many innocent people who lost his life during the insurgency period in Nepal. We hope and pray that this type of incident will never happen again in Nepal. Let’s hope that our country will develop a lot after the declaration of New Constitution by Constitution Assembly.