Pangs of freedom

By Paras Thakuri

In western Nepal a system of bonded labour, known as the Kamaiya, was abolished by the Government on 17 July 2000 and over 150,000 people were released from their debts.

Under the Kamaiya system, a labourer agreed to work for a landlord, typically for a share of the produce from the land that they cultivated. But in truth the Kamaiyas barely eked out a living and so many had to take out loans from their landlord.

Often whole families, including children, were then forced to work for the landlord until the loan was repaid. Kamaiyas frequently ended up in a vicious circle of debt, having no choice but to work in hard, menial labour, day in, day out, to pay for loans that their parents or grandparents may have taken out.

Fighting for liberation

Before the abolition of the Kamaiya system, governmental, bi-lateral, United Nations and non governmental organisations (NGOs) were active in the five districts where the Kamaiya system was prevalent: Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanapur and Dang.

There were about a dozen NGOs working in villages, implementing projects and raising awareness at the grass roots level. These projects provided education and income generating opportunities for the Kamaiyas as well as advocating for the abolition of the bonded labour system.

The Kamaiyas welcomed the Government's decision of 17 July and celebrated by holding mass meetings, rallies and demonstrations throughout the five districts.

A few weeks after the decree, landowners freed their Kamaiyas and asked them to leave their property. The Kamaiyas were happy to be granted their freedom but were concerned about their resettlement as most did not own land, and so had nowhere to live.

The Kamaiyas took refuge in temporary camps, living in huts made of bamboo and sticks with plastic roofs. Most of the camps are located on forest fringes or on public land on the outskirts of villages.

The camps lack infrastructure and aren't considered suitable for the Kamaiyas in the long term - there are no roads, drinking water, health or education services, the environmental conditions are bad, the land is unproductive and there are no opportunities for employment.

Providing services

WaterAid's main partner in Nepal, NEWAH, is working to provide safe drinking water, health education and sanitation throughout the country.

In the mid and far western regions of Nepal it has offices in Nepalgung and Dhangadhi which cover the five districts where the Kamaiya system was prevalent.

NEWAH realised that it could help the Kamaiyas by providing them with safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion.

To date NEWAH has installed a total of five tube wells in Pathriaya and Rajipur camps in the Kailali district and Bhamberbhoj camp in the Kanchanapur district.

These benefit nearly 1000 people from over 190 households. Eleven Kamaiyas received three days of health education training and each then educated 10 further households within the camps.

A primary teacher was also appointed to educate the children in the Malakheti Camp in Kailali.

Many more Kamaiyas will benefit from NEWAH's work this year. Six projects are planned in the Bardiya district which will provide 148 households with access to safe drinking water, health education and sanitation.

These improvements will make a huge difference to the lives of the people living in these temporary settlements.

NEWAH also regularly coordinates and participates in seminars within the districts. It has plans to work with other NGOs, the Backward Society Education (BASE) and the Women's Welfare Forum, to provide further assistance to the Kamaiyas from Banke, Bardiya and Dang regions in the future.

Future challenges

The Government of Nepal made assurances that all freed Kamaiyas would be re-settled within six months of their liberation, but by late 2001 had failed to even distribute national identity cards to them.

The Government extended the deadline to re-settle the Kamaiyas, but there are many fears that this could still prove ineffective. Even though the Government has given land to some Kamaiyas, most are still forced to settle in the temporary camps.

According to the data available out of a total 19,860 freed Kamaiya families only 6,237 had received land by the end of June 2001. The human rights organisation INSEC (Informal Sector Service Center) also stated that most of the land given to the freed Kamaiyas is not appropriate for their permanent settlement.

To ensure that the services NEWAH provide are sustainable the Kamaiyas must have permanent places to live.

In October 2001, the Honorable Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr Sher Bahadur Deuba, made announcements that strongly emphasised the Kamaiyas' rehabilitation programme. He assured that all freed Kamaiyas would be rehabilitated early in 2002.

This was seen as a major breakthrough and it is hoped that this will enable the freed Kamaiyas to have a more secure future.

Paras Thakuri is NEWAH's Fundraising Officer. This article was written with support from Mr Bharat Adhikari, NEWAH's Communication Officer.

Since this article was written the Nepalese Government has declared a state of emergency due to the Maoist insurgency and NEWAH has had to temporarily suspend its work in rural areas.