Rajendra’s Blog

By BRIAN COBB

On 3 April, I flew to Nepal to give the Basic Trauma Life Support course to a group of student volunteers and offer my skills as an experienced emergency physician during a nationwide strike called by the political parties to protest the king’s autocratic rule. 

On 11 April we were in Gongabu. At around 1:30 PM, the protestors were chanting and burning effigies, but no violent acts. Suddenly a large number of club-swinging policemen descended on the crowd, who were savagely beaten as they fled. Two men, one elderly, came to us with bleeding head wounds. As we began to tend to them, SSP Madhav Bahadur Thapa, who was in charge, beat the injured men and knocked them to the ground, then beat one of the volunteers and me. I suffered injuries to my neck, back and right arm. We then saw him gouge a young man in the right eye with the end of his lathi. On 12 April we spent most of the day treating leftover injuries from the day before, but at 4 PM I was approached in Gongabu by an SSP and Inspector without nametags who told me to come to their office to talk to the IGP. Our driver, Dr Hensel from Germany, a Nepali doctor and 5 Nepali student volunteers followed a large, gray police truck to the armed police headquarters, where we were told to wait in the lobby.

We waited idly for an hour and a half. Then, one Inspector Tamang came out and told us we were under investigation and could not leave. I asked if we were under arrest and he said no. I then walked outside to the vehicle with Inspector Tamang, who told us to get in.

We complied, but when two policemen with SMGs called my team filthy things in Nepali, I got out and walked over to a UNOCHCR team that had just left the building and was walking to their blue and white Land Cruiser. I told them I had been denied 3 requests to contact the US and German Consulates. They used their radios and satellite phones to alert our Consuls.

Later, the UN team told me the US Consul was coming and that he believed phone calls were being made about us at high levels. At about 7:30 to 8 the Inspectors emerged and again told us to enter our vehicle, which I refused to do. I had also whispered to the Nepalis to use aliases and taken their ID cards and placed them in my pocket.

Shortly after this Inspectors Koirala, Tamang and several other SPs approached us and told us the CDO wanted to meet us. I respectfully declined the invitation because we had already been lied and that our continued detention was unlawful. Then, with the UN team at our sides, Dr Hensel and I were roughly handcuffed, and forced at gunpoint into a large gray police van; I am not sure if it was the same one we had followed or not.

With the Nepalis and some police in our van following and the UN team behind them, we were taken to the Chief District Officer’s office where a certain Mr Ghimire was introduced as the CDO. The US Consul spoke with him on the phone for about 5 to 10 minutes, after which he told me that if I left my US driving license, Dr Henson and I could go and return the following day with our documents.

 At around 10 PM, we went to our vehicle and went to our hotel. The following morning I went, as instructed, to the Immigration office with Alys Spensley, the US Vice Consul. As demanded, one of the Nepalis appeared with me, and Dr Hensel arrived with two German consular officials.

We met with the Immigration officials, who told us we were  working illegally. They showed us the regulations in English, from which it was clear that giving first aid as individuals was not illegal. Nonetheless, we were offered the choice of voluntary departure or official deportation with no right of return. We obviously chose the former. My driving license was returned and we signed statements saying we were voluntarily leaving and aware that it is illegal to work in Nepal with a tourist visa.

Ms Spensley had me fill out an affidavit regarding the incident and took down some more details herself. I went in the US consular vehicle with Ms Spensley and an immigration officer to the airport where I boarded Biman flight 702 to Dhaka. I arrived safely and am now resting comfortably, since Friday is the holiday here.

Courtesy:  The Kathmandu Post

Photo : www.bloggersnepal.com