Action by Churches Together (ACT)
Update - Nepal - 1/2001
Relief for Freed Bonded Labourers: ASNP01
Geneva,  10 January 2001


Six months after the formal liberation of the bonded labourers (kamaiyas)
found in south-east Nepal, the situation of the majority of the estimated
70,000 remains relatively unchanged.  Facing few real alternatives and
little practical progress following the government declaration, they have
tended to remain in their existing situations attached to their current
landlords or may have moved but have been compelled to return back to
their former positions in the absence or alternative opportunities and the
slow progress in the Government allocation of land.

Around 1,000 liberated and displaced kamaiya families are still staying in
22 different makeshift camps in Kailali District - where the heaviest
concentrations of kamaiyas are to be found - mainly in and around
Dhangadhi town. Apart from this, a significant number of kamaiya families
are staying with their relatives and with their landlords. There remains a
problem of monitoring the situation since no accurate or comprehensive
data is available, which is difficult to provide given the fluid
situation.

The Liberated Kamaiya Rehabilitation Co-ordination Committee (LKRCC) in
Kailali district is trying to provide land to the liberated kamaiyas. Due
to lack of strategic planning and clear vision it has not taken place to
date. LKRCC has managed to distribute some identity cards, but there are a
significant number of genuine displaced kamaiyas left without ID cards.


The Current Situation of the Displaced Kamaiyas

- People in the camp are still staying in unsatisfactory cramped
conditions under tarpaulin tents or makeshift huts in some cases. Due to
the small size of the tents/roofing sheet, the floor space available for
living and sleeping for each family member is tiny.

- The cold winter season commenced the beginning of December and living in
tents, many with little side protection, means the families are suffering
from the cold.

- Since there are no or insufficient hand-pumps, water supply is uncertain
and families collect water from hand-pumps where available or directly
from the river.

- There is no organised hygienic sanitation, so conditions are becoming
extremely unhealthy.

- Significant numbers of people are affected by the cold as they have
insufficient clothing and most have no warm clothes nor firewood to heat
their tent or shelter/hut.

- Children and adults are suffering from different diseases often related
to cold (respiratory infection, bronchitis) and children are also
suffering from measles.

- There is not enough food for all as the food distribution by LWS Nepal
at the end of September was the last one. The paddy harvesting season is
also over and most have little or no employment now.

- Altogether, 34 cases of death were reported after July and Japanese
Encephalitis was reported to be the main cause.

- Kamaiyas who are still with their landlords, may be pushed out in
`Maghi' on 15 January. Maghi is the main contracting day of the year at
which Kamaiya contracts can be bought and sold among landlords.  This may
create significant additional pressure on the relief and rehabilitation
work and camp management.



Kamaiya Identification and Identity Cards

Till date, approximately 1,700 kamaiya families have received ID cards
distributed by the Government acknowledging their official status as
displaced bonded labourers (Kamaiyas).  LKRCC forecasts that the remaining
kamaiyas should also receive their ID cards in the near future. The
recommendation of Kamaiya Mukti Andolan Parichalan Samiti will be
considered while distributing the remaining ID cards.


Land Distribution

LKRCC expects that all genuine liberated kamaiya families will be
allocated land - 1 kattha (0.3 hectares) in town areas and 5 kattha (1.5
hectares) in rural areas and which individual kamaiya families will have
the right to choose. According to the press release of LKRCC, the
allocation of government land to the displaced kamaiyas should have
commenced from 13 December 2000, but still there is no any indication of
any progress in this regard.

LKRCC decided to distribute 5 katthas (1.5 ha) of land to each family in
Jugeda ward of Dhangadhi in Kailali District.  Kamaiyas from Dhangadhi
camp were asked to move on 13 December, but they did not move as they
wanted to check the land beforehand.  On 14th December, some
representatives of Dhangadhi camp were threatened and physically harassed
by the local people of Jugeda while the kamaiyas visit was underway to
study the land being allocated. The total area of this plot is about 70
bighas (420 hectares) but this has been illegally occupied by local people
(some of whom are fairly powerful landlords) for many years and is under
cultivation.  Therefore, such problems, whereby the displaced kamaiyas are
allocated land which is legally free but in actual fact under effective
use, are likely to create a further round of obstacles to be overcome
before a durable solution is established.


Future Plan of Kamaiya Mukti Andolan Parichalan Samiti (KMAPS)

The future plans of KMAPS, a co-ordinating body of NGOs, are as follows:

- Create an environment for the rehabilitation of liberated kamaiyas with
a minimum of 10 kattha of land (3 hectares).

- Make the kamaiyas aware of their rights and facilitate the creation of
their own effective and efficient organisation and thereafter mobilise to
press their claims to the Government for land and other services.

- Create national and international pressure to constitute an Agriculture
Law and Kamaiya Welfare Bill.

- Initiate actions to ensure that minimum labour wages are agreed upon and
practised.

- Initiate a movement to ensure the de facto liberation of all kamaiyas by
18 January 2001 in co-ordination and co-operation with all like-minded
NGOs.



Conclusions

- There is insufficient information due to lack of a proper documentation
system as all involved attach more importance to other activities.

- Adequate co-ordination between I/NGOs is still lacking. Therefore, in
some respects, the distribution of relief assistance to date has been
rather unsystematic. LWS Nepal's own distribution has been conducted with
full participation of the main co-ordinating group.

- It seems that LKRCC has not yet identified possible sites for the
resettlement of the liberated kamaiyas.  It is also observed that they do
not have a strategic plan for resettlement, which is essential.  LKRCC
should develop possible measures to minimise conflicts between kamaiyas
and the local people.

- The continued delays in distributing land for resettlement are
discouraging.  The very latest information is that a distribution will
occur during January, which however, must be confirmed through action.

- The problem of bonded labourers continue - both those who have been
displaced after leaving their landlords, and those who have not yet left.
Some of those who left, in the absence of alternatives, have returned to
their landlords.  Given the deep-rooted nature of the bonded labour system
and the absence of immediate alternatives for their livelihood, a mere
decree issued by the Government is not sufficient to resolve all the
complex issues surrounding this problem.  Continuing organisation and
political pressure by the kamaiyas themselves, supported by progressive
NGOs, is necessary in order to assert their rights to land for
resettlement and adequate supporting services.  It is also necessary to
encourage other measures to enable those bonded labourers still remaining
in their former situations, to be freed with dignity.



ACT Appeal ASNP01 issued on 11 September 2000 with a target amount of US$
354,742 has received a cover of only US$ 85,586 (24%) to date.  The ACT
Co-ordinating Office thus strongly urges donors to provide further support
to this very important project which has a significant human rights
dimension.

Thank you for your attention.

For further information please contact:

ACT Co-ordinator, Thor-Arne Prois (phone ++41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone
++ 41 79 203 6055)
or
ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone +41 22 791 6035 or mobile
phone ++ 41 79 285 2916)


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Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide alliance of churches and
their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency
response.  The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of 
Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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