Nepal: ICRC support programme for families of disappeared

A comprehensive support programme, aptly named ‘Hatemalo Accompaniment Programme’, run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with support from the local NGO Kopila Nepal has served as a soothing balm for the families of the people disappeared during the decade-long armed conflict.

The programme was launched by the ICRC with an aim to resolve the psychosocial problems haunting the families of the disappeared. The programme has served as a platform for the families to come together and share their problems.

“I had been living under the illusion that I was the only one with the pain, but the realisation that there are hundreds like me across the country has helped me come to terms with the pain of losing a loved one,” said Radhika Simkhada from Gorkha, currently residing in Pokhara Buspark area. Simkhada had lost her husband and son to the war—both were allegedly disappeared by the state.

Although the exact figures remain unknown, the ICRC data show that more than 1,380 people are unaccounted for till date. Deumaya Gurung from Syangja—whose son Bishnu Gurung allegedly went missing after the Maoist rebels took him on June 12, 2005—said that she had been relieved of the burden, after finding people having similar fate. Rita Dahal, a counsellor for Kopila Nepal, said the victims had been living under mental duress, feeling lonely, weak socially and economically, and tense as they could not confirm whether the missing were dead or alive. And due to various accusations and indifferent treatment by the society, the victims felt dejected. After the programme, the victims are now able to come out in the open and share their problems, added Dahal.

Along with psychosocial counselling, the programme has been providing administrative, economical, legal and social support , said Dahal. According to Andanath Baral, chairperson of the Society of the Families of the Disappeared, the programme had relieved the elderly leading a difficult life after losing their breadwinners. According to the Society, there are 24 families with their kin missing in Kaski. Binod Koirala, chief of the ICRC’s regional office, said the programme is operational in 26 districts benefiting around 1,000 families. Concluding that psychosocial counselling alone does not suffice, the ICRC has started economic sustenance programme, providing the victims with seed money.

Friday 30 August 2013

http://ekantipur.com/2013/08/30/national/icrc-balm-for-kin-of-missing-persons/377235.html