EVERYDAY LIFE

                                       BANDHA = STRIKE

If you stay in Nepal, the meaning of "Bandha" will most likely be one of the first words you get to know.

 Bhandha is originally a Hindi word meaning "closed" and it is a form of protest/ general strike used by both political activists or civil people protesting against the government regarding fuel prices, unfairness in the legal "system", non existing systems and....the list can go on forever... 

During a serious bandha, a lot of general activities are shut down-  
Most affected are shopkeepers who are expected to keep their shops closed, as well as public transport operators of buses and cabs who are expected to stay off the road and not carry passengers. 

If they don't agree to these terms the people organizing the strike might use violence and demand bribes.

It is not that we think strike is not a valuable tool

 when or if negotiations has stagnated, but here in Nepal it's beeing used all the time and because of that it might have lost it's purposes? 

Anyways, this is part of our everyday life and usually the demonstrations are quite peaceful...elections are coming up in Nepal in November so most likely it will be a lot of strikes pre-election..

We are going to Norway end October so it will not affect us too much- It is a lot worse for all the nepali people having to shut down their businesses and losing income even if they are not taking part in the strike.

We wish for political stability and a better future in Nepal.

It will happen eventually.

Peace out...

Love from Karoline & Anne-Marthe