In a classroom of the village of Goldanda, commandeered on this occasion, the leaders of the Maoist party’s local section have gathered the peasants of their “conscription” and are waiting for the latecomers. Supposedly only the sympathisers are present in the attendance. However, the pressure is so great that it is difficult to distinguish those who are truly voluntary and those who are constrained. It is also adequate to highlight the fact that a number of these sympathisers have been victims, directly or indirectly, of violence from the regular army and that all of them suffer from the total absence of minimal infrastructures in the district (for example, there was not the least road across the entire district, up to a recent past).
These compulsory meetings are very frequent in the regions dominated by the Maoist rebellion. And if the women represent 70% of the adult population, they are only a few lost amongst the attendance. The others are working.
November - December 2005 - Rukum - Nepal.
© Pierre-Yves GINET