In a house of the village of Phutaura, children observe Pramod’s gun, he is 28 years old, an ex-guerrilla member, badly wounded to the arm in 2001 during an assault against a military post, before being assigned to the area of Simle, amongst the leaders of the local section of the Maoist party. The man has come for a break in order to restore himself and palms his hand made gun, made in the mountains.
The presence of weapons is an issue which has reached a great degree in these recluse regions of Nepal, especially for the mothers often alone, regarding their children. Moreover in cases such as this one; this family’s living under this roof. The mother is called Bhima Budahthoki. She has two daughters aged nine and seven. Shakar, the youngest, is in the foreground, in front of her sister Shapana and her neighbours. Their father, Chabilal Budahthoki, was just returning from a long stay in India, in 1998, for the festivities. As he was dancing with other villagers, a patrol of the military police arrived upon the esplanade, captured him, as well as five others, and took him to a field, a few hundred metres from there, where they were all executed. As for the other victims of this raid, her husband was not Maoist, not even sympathiser to the rebellion. Twelve days after his assassination, the policemen returned to visit each of the families threatening them, if they supported the rebellion.
In addition to her family’s survival, which she has to ensure alone, the mother of the two girls knows that between the propaganda, repeatedly pounded by the party members, in particular amongst the youngest, and her family history, Shakar and Shapana will in a short time be an easy target for the guerrilla. She does all that is in her power to maintain them away from the armed groups, despite being unable to avoid the contacts.
November - December 2005 - Rukum - Nepal.
© Pierre-Yves GINET