Caught in a Riot

Burning tires, stone-throwing protestors, violent police officers...It all happens in Nepal. Even though these things are common here, it is hard to get used to. I was caught in a riot last year where students were hurling stones at a bus driver who just ran over a kid on a bike. The driver was bloody and the boys were mercilessly pounding him in the middle of one of the busiest streets in the city. I just happened to be down the alley he used to escape. As I was approaching the main road a mob came directly for me and I turned around and ran for it. It was something else. I had been in the country for like 3 weeks and my mind was already on dream mode.

So today I was on my way to drop off some publications at the Indigenous Peace Commission in about the same area as I was caught up last time, ironically. There were people lining the alley way to the street starring and I noticed that all the shops had their metal covers down. I continued to walk and then I heard smashing noises and guys shouting and hollering. I took a few steps around the corner and, I swear, just like before, a mob came right at me. I took off running, with about 40 other people, kids just out of school, mothers, old people. We all made a mad dash as the mob came at us one way and the police in full blue fatigues with riot gear came at us the other way. They were wielding sticks and shouting at the people. I turned around as the two groups met up together and I saw the police absolutely wailing on this guy who looked like he wasn't even involved in the vandalism. I think the guy just got caught up like everyone else. It was beyond disturbing. Really, they were hitting this guy like he was a Rawlings baseball. I cursed myself for not having my camera on hand.

I ran back to the office, about 2 minutes away and decided to stay in doors for a bit.

After about two hours I left work and headed back to that same road on my way home. I thought everything would have cooled off (and I was a tad curious). What I saw was absolute craziness. Young men/boys on the street hurling bricks and stones at police in full gear. There were about 70 guys in the street and what looked like 100 police. People were standing on the sides of the street gawking and screaming. Tires were burning in the streets and the air was thick with black smoke. I tried to inch closer to the street, but every time the police would charge the mob they would all retreat down alleys. I did manage to get a few shots with the office camera. And a video. My heart was pounding the whole time. It felt like I was at the zoo and all the wild animals had been set free. I Was taking video when a guy came up to me with blood dripping down his hand. He said, "Do you have a handiplast?" Are you kidding me?! The guy needed a surgeon, not a bandaid! Just as I said "no," I heard in perfect English.."tear gas, tear gas." I guess there is no Nepali equivalent. People came running towards me and I ran along with them as the police charged.

As I was headed back into the alley a guy past me and put his hand right on my private parts. Full-on, intentional gesture. He took off running and looked back at me as I cursed him. I lunged in his direction, full of adrenaline already- prepared to punch him. Then I saw he had a brick in his hand so I stopped. I felt totally violated and as if I needed anything else to happen that day to question humanity, this animal had to show the worst of the mob mentality. The mob in Nepal is no joke. Guys do this to women when there are crowds. The women here don't do much, but some do slap the men. I have had it happen to me before in a mob on New Years Eve and I actually did punch the guy in the face. I think he was too drunk to feel anything, though. It is the most humiliating and degrading thing to have happened. It makes me sad because it is such a small percentage of the population that are this ridiculous. On my way home that night, hurt, confused, angry and ready to go home, a little girl came up to me on the street and kissed my hand. She was not begging, she was with her mom and she had a huge smile on her face. It was very touching and just what I needed at that moment. How can a place that has innocence and kindness like this be so violent and disturbed? These two experiences are the perfect Nepali paradox of violence and peace.

The reason for this violence? Youth leagues and student unions all over the country are protesting the actions of the newly-appointed Vice President. He took the oath of office last week with the President, both of whom are the first to be appointed to these posts in the history of Nepal. The VP took the oath in Hindi. This is the problem. He is a Nepali, born and raised, so he should have taken the vow in Nepali language, or at least in his mother tongue, Maithli. Why did he use Hindi (the official language of India) and embarrass himself and his country during what was supposed to be a celebratory and proud moment for all Nepalis? This has caused an increase in anti-India sentiment (which is always there anyways) and an all-out bash of the new VP, his political party and his home town. People are burning the VP's effigy in the streets and shutting down the highways in protest. He has been given one week by the courts to give a written explanation of why he gave oath in Hindi and not Nepali. We shall see if the people accept what he has to say; I am pretty sure they won't.

MEET URMILA AND ROMA

Urmila working on a new design

Their room

Roma needling beads for the Cleopatra Malla necklace

Meet the artisan

Don't quit your day job

Bead Beauties

Urmila, 70 and her daughter Roma, 24 make the beaded Global Daughter Cleopatra Malla necklaces. They work out of their home, a 16' x 16' room with one bed to share, a night stand and a portable cooking stove. They rent the room out for about $14 a month. It is just them in the family, the husband died 10 years ago and they have no other living relatives. They are originally from a border city in Southwestern Nepal. Roma left school in 8th grade to take care of her mother. She started bead working at 14, when her father died to earn a living. Urmila has been doing bead work for over 30 years. She is uneducated and it is the only skill she has to generate an income. At 70, Urmila is a very spirited and energetic woman; she had a smile on her face the whole time I was visiting. Roma takes care of her mother and will probably never marry because she would have to go live with her husband's parents and leave her mother. Despite her fate, she constantly is laughing and smiling. 

Both work 8 hours a day, Sunday through Friday and can finish one necklace in 4 hours. They sit cross-legged on the floor in their tiny room and needle beads from morning until night. They get paid per piece, so the more they make, the more money they receive. They make about 30% of the cost of one necklace. They have been working for Anup Beads for 10 years. They told me that all day they are working, they are talking, drinking tea together and enjoying the relaxation of beading. They are both extremely detail-oriented and very skilled with intricate designs. 

It was great to be able to meet them and see the artists behind our beautiful and unique necklaces. Their modest life made it clear how much they depend on their bead skills to survive. We look forward to giving them as much work as possible! I will begin working with them this month to design and create beaded drink coasters and bracelets. Hopefully, we can bring them more business and introduce their fine work to consumers worldwide. They are very warm and friendly women and I am proud to be working with them. Visits with women artisans are the most rewarding part of the Global Daughter journey and the key to our mission.

Party for Poverty!

(Amanda, Erin, and our "Global Pup" Luna)

Global Daughter had another successful party thanks to our generous and spirited hosts, Erin and Amanda. They put out quite a spread and kept the drinks coming for the many lovely guests. I think we all learned that champagne and shopping go perfectly together! We hope the ladies walked away not only with a piece of Global Daughter merchandise, but with a piece of Nepal in their hearts. Thanks Ladies!


Debbie, the first guest. Enjoy those earrings Deb!


Kerrigan, Tiara, Jen, and Jackie "checking out"

Heather had to have the "Burnt Orange Rose

Cushion Covers"

Steffen and her new Pink Onyx Dangles

Megan and Kirsten getting their GD goods

A big THANK YOU to our GD volunteer Suzanne!

Adventure in "Social Entrepreneurship"

"The world is full of people with innovative ideas who are willing to give their all to implementing them but don’t have money to get started. These "social entrepreneurs" can change the lives of millions of people for the better if only they are helped to follow through on their ideas."

-President Bill Clinton

What is a Social Entrepreneur?
Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.

Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Social entrepreneurs often seem to be possessed by their ideas, committing their lives to changing the direction of their field. They are both visionaries and ultimate realists, concerned with the practical implementation of their vision above all else.

Each social entrepreneur presents ideas that are user-friendly, understandable, ethical, and engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of local people that will stand up, seize their idea, and implement with it. In other words, every leading social entrepreneur is a mass recruiter of local changemakers—a role model proving that citizens who channel their passion into action can do almost anything.

Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur.

Why "Social" Entrepreneur?
Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. While a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur comes up with new solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale.

Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs:

• Susan B. Anthony (U.S.): Fought for Women's Rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.


• Vinoba Bhave (India): Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless.


• Dr. Maria Montessori (Italy): Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.


• Florence Nightingale (U.K.): Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.


• Margaret Sanger (U.S.): Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world.


• John Muir (U.S.): Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.


• Jean Monnet (France): Responsible for the reconstruction of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were direct precursors of the European Union.

*for more info go to: www.ashoka.org

Gasoline Woes, huh?

It is well known by now that gasoline prices have sky-rocketed and people all over the world are feeling the effects. I want to share my personal experience on the gasoline crisis..

I just got a little scooter about two weeks ago. I was fed up with walking 10 miles a day to work in the monsoon weather. (I know, I just posted a blog about my small carbon footprint, but it was becoming too hard and not practical while doing business here.) It has a 8 litre tank, about 1.5 gallons (teeny). When I got it from the dealership, second hand, they could only spare 3 liters because of the petrol scarcity in the country. I am not sure how it is in other countries, but in America the fuel tank is full when you leave the car lot. But what can I do. No one is getting petrol these days. Lines are five hours long or overnight sometimes and the black market prices are out of control, if you can get it.


Petrol line in KTM

So, knowing all this, I bought the scooter anyway and told myself it is what it is, I was lucky to have it. After three days I used the petrol from the dealership and because no petrol pumps were getting petrol, the new scooter sat in my driveway for one week.

The country is being supplied 25% of its demand at the moment. This is because the Nepal Oil Corporation, which has a monopoly on the petrol supply, is indebted to India and unable to pay them back. So India cuts the supply to the NOC until they can pay back what they owe. The NOC, however, is bankrupt and looking to the Nepali government to bail them out. The government made a payment a few months back and India released a little more petrol into Nepal, but it was just a tease. Basically, the combination of the corruption at NOC and the government over-subsidizing petrol in Nepal has lead us to this nightmare.

Anyways, I talked to my fabric lady who lives across from a small petrol pump in my neighborhood and she said that sometimes in the morning the tankers come and the pump opens for a few hours. I gave her my number and she told me she would call when she sees the tankers coming so I could scoot down
and get in line.


Cars in line overnight

The next morning she called me at 5:30am and I threw on my clothes and drove the ten minutes to the pump (on fumes, I think.) I was about the 100th person when I reached there so I parked the scooter and plopped down to read my National Geographic. It was me amongst all Nepali men with their motorbikes. No woman that I could see, and no scooters. Just blond me with "Panther," my scooty. After one hour the pumps opened and then it was another two hours of waiting. Two lines form- one on one side of the pump for cars and one for motorbikes and scooters. I had to push the bike up the line because I ran out of petrol in line (so embarrassing)!! When it was my turn I asked to "fill 'er up." But the pump was only giving out 5 liters per person, or just over one gallon. I paid $1.50 a liter or $6 per gallon. So not only did I wait in line for three hours at the crack of dawn, but then I couldn't even fill my teeny tank! Can you imagine waiting in line in America and getting just over one gallon of gas for $6? There would be riots.

Now I can say that I have fully integrated into Nepali society. I don't mind waiting in line, I just need to know where to wait in line. Out of all the pumps in the city, only three might be giving fuel in a day. You have to be lucky. I was lucky enough to make a connection with the lady from the fabric shop. It is the one call that I look forward to receiving at 5:30 in the morning!

Everyone is looking for petrol or talking about petrol. It is hard to get black market because the process is so corrupt and saved for the most corrupt government officials. The little man waits in line in the monsoon rains all day for a measly 1 gallon of fuel. Forget about those weekend trips outside the valley to get away and enjoy the mountains. You covet ever drop of fuel these days.

I realize that petrol is getting out of control expensive in the US, but countries around the world have been paying high prices for a long time. And even though it is expensive, Americans still have access to it. In Nepal, you can't get petrol even if you want it. It is a full-blown crisis. Daily life has been effected and people's tensions are rising.

UPDATE: Apparently, all the petrol in the city is not pure. It is being mixed with kerosene, water and oil to stretch it out. You can't get pure petrol anywhere right now. As a result, my engine is breaking down and I have constant problems with the starter and the accelerator. The kerosene is mucking up the system so I had to pay to get a new part. I just bought the thing! So now not only is there is no petrol, but the petrol that is out there is dirty and killing cars, bikes and scooters. What to do? There is no way to get real petrol, so we all use this awful fuel.

Talk about ruining the environment. I know this is all a sign that I should keep walking and drop the scooter. I should take the hint. It is quite a feeling to be in a position to desire petrol. The saying that we are all "dependant on fuel," takes on a whole new meaning for me here. I may not be addicted, but I am constantly searching for the next hit of the "pure" stuff.

Peacebuilding Workshop

Women Take the Lead: Building Sustainable Peace in Nepal


UNIFEM participant talking with Dr. Paula Green


Sustainable Women's Development and Research Center (SWDRC) participant in group work


Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO) participants during interactive work


Pro-Public participant in "solutions for change" group work


The group

After 13 years of armed conflict in Nepal and 13,000 lives lost, the country is starting to rebuild peace. Women in Good Governance, the NGO I work for in Kathmandu initiated a training workshop for women about the ways they can bring peace to their communities. It was sponsored by Karuna Center for Peacebuilding in Vermont, USA and participants were women from all sectors of civil society, NGOs, INGOs, International Embassies and women representatives from minority groups. The training highlighted the need for women to be a part of the peace process and post-conflict transformation. Through presentations, international examples, and group work, participants learned that they will play a vital role in real and lasting peace in the fractured country.

It was amazing to see the power and confidence of women at the workshop. All are working for women's causes and all have made personal commitments to the empowerment of oppressed women throughout the country. They are truly inspirational and if their strength and dedication is any indication of the future of Nepal, peace in the country is not merely a dream.

Women in Nepal are the greatest untapped resource in the country. That has never been truer than in the context of peacebuilding. If they are included and consulted in all peacebuilding processes, the country will be able to move forward and restore stability; if they are not, Nepal will only be able to scratch the surface of peaceful development. As the foundation of the community and the rock of the family structure, to train one woman about peace, is to train a whole village. The goal is to do that on a national scale and utilize the compassion, sensibility and leadership of women to bring about real peace.

Yemen Child Bride gets Divorce

10-year-old child bride Nujood Ali

This story is connected to all of us. This little girl's spirit and courage is awe-inspiring. While her story represents the pain and injustice of women and girls around the world, Nujood Ali represents the best in all of us....

(This story was reported in the LA Times. www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-childbride11-2008june11,0,5271790.story)

SANA, YEMEN -- The little girl was waist-high, so small that the lawyers, clerks and judges hurrying through the courthouse almost missed her. As lunchtime arrived and the crowds of noisy men and women cleared away, a curious judge asked her what she was doing sitting alone on a bench.

"I came to get a divorce," 10-year-old Nujood Ali told the jurist.

Her impoverished parents had married her off to a man more than three times her age, who beat her and forced her to have sex, she explained. When she told her father and mother that she wanted out of the marriage, they refused to help. So an aunt provided her with bus money to travel to court and seek a divorce.

Within days of that April 2 encounter, Nujood's tale and the plight of child brides in Yemen made international headlines. And thanks to the efforts of human rights lawyer Shada Nasser, who took up her cause, the girl at the center of the story has begun to overcome her trauma and dream of a better life.Yemeni law sets the age of consent at 15. But tribal customs and interpretations of Islam often trump the law in this country of 23 million. A 2006 study conducted by Sana University reported that 52% of girls were married by 18.

Publicity surrounding Nujood's case prompted calls to raise the legal age for marriage to 18 for both men and women. Yemen's conservative lawmakers refused to take up the issue. But the case sparked public discussion and newspaper headlines. Several more child brides came forward, including a girl who sought a divorce last week in the southern city of Ibb."This case opened the door," Nasser says.

Nujood says that at first, she felt ashamed about what had happened to her. "But I passed through that," she says, eyes narrowing beneath her black head scarf."All I want now is to finish my education," she adds, her mouth curling into a smile. "I want to be a lawyer."The girl is being identified in this story because her name already has been widely publicized in Yemen, and neither her parents nor her lawyer objected.

Nujood's unemployed father, Ali Mohammed Ahdal, has two wives and 16 children. He is among the many tribal Yemenis who have migrated to the capital looking for work. Instead, he found misery.He arranged to have Nujood married in February to Faez Ali Thamer, a thirtysomething motorcycle deliveryman from his native province, Hajja.Nujood's parents say they were trying to do what was best for their daughter and didn't even receive a dowry, a claim many Yemenis don't believe.

The parents say the groom had promised he wouldn't have sex with her until she reached puberty."We asked him to raise her," said Shuaieh, the girl's mother.The groom has disputed that claim.

Ahdal, in his mid-40s, says he wanted Nujood to avoid the fate of two of his older sisters. One was kidnapped by a rival clan and another wound up in jail for trying to defend her, an example of the murky intertribal disputes that bedevil Yemen."I was trying to protect her," Ahdal says during an interview in his family's decrepit two-room flat on the capital's outskirts.

Nujood looked forward to getting married, not understanding what it really meant. Aside from being a pre-adolescent bride, she is a fairly typical little girl. She likes playing hide-and-seek and tug-of-war with her friends and siblings. Her favorite colors are red and yellow, she says, and her favorite flavors are chocolate and coconut. She loves dogs and cats and dreams of being a turtle so she could swim in the sea."I've never seen the sea," she says.

About 40 people attended the wedding in the village of Wadi Laa, where the groom lived. As a wedding gift, she received three new dresses and a $20 wedding ring. She was to live with him and his family.The trouble started on the first night, when he demanded that they share a mattress. She resisted, walking out of the room, only to have him follow. Sometimes he beat her into submission. For weeks, she cried all day and dreaded the nights, when he would enter the room, blow out the oil lamp and demand sex.

"I asked him not to sleep next to me," she recalls. "He told me, 'No, we sleep together in the same room. Your father agreed to accept me as a husband.' "

On a visit weeks later to her parents' house in the capital, she wept, saying that her husband was doing unmentionable things to her.Her father said there was nothing he could do."My cousins would have killed me if I dishonored the family by asking for a divorce," he said.

But her mother's sister discreetly advised her to go to court.The bewildered judge who found Nujood on the bench decided to bring her to his house for the weekend. His daughters had a swing and toys she'd never seen. They had satellite television, and for three days she feasted on cartoons.

Once the workweek began, the judge dispatched soldiers to arrest Nujood's father and husband. He placed Nujood in the care of an uncle, her mother's brother.Still, the lawyers and judges had no idea how to handle her case. Nujood and her uncle languished in the courthouse for days until a middle-aged woman, the only one in the courthouse without an Islamic headdress covering her face, approached them."Are you Nujood?" asked Nasser, the lawyer, among Yemen's leading women's rights activists. "Are you the one asking for divorce?"She was, Nujood replied."I couldn't believe my eyes," Nasser says. The girl reminded her of her own daughter, Lamia, 8.

Nasser went to the cell where Thamer, the husband, was being held, and was shocked by the age difference between the two. "Why did you sleep with her?" she demanded. "She's a little girl."He didn't deny it, Nasser recalls. Instead he complained that Nujood's father had said she was much taller and better looking than she really was.

Nasser vowed to Nujood that she would take her case without pay and that she would take care of her. She took her to her upscale home and offered to let her stay there.Outraged, Nasser also called her contacts at the Yemen Times, the country's English-language newspaper. The story of the brave little girl who went to court on her own to stand up for her rights captivated the country. News agencies picked up the story and sent it around the world.

When a sympathetic judge agreed to hear her case several weeks later, reporters packed the courtroom.Verbally, Judge Mohammed Ghadi was merciless to the husband."You could not find another woman to marry in all of Yemen?" he demanded.But legally, there was little he could do. No provision in Yemeni law provides for prosecution on sexual abuse charges within a marriage.

Not only did the husband and father go free, but Thamer demanded $250, the equivalent of four months' salary for a poor Yemeni, to agree to a divorce.A sympathetic lawyer donated the cash.Nujood was elated. "She was smiling," Nasser recalls. "She said, 'I want chocolate. I want pears, cake and toys.' "Nasser bought her some new clothes. Donations began pouring in, with several wealthy Europeans offering to pay for her education. One newspaper held a big party for her. A Yemeni journalist gave her a cellphone.

When the controversy died down, Nujood insisted on going back to live with her parents, most likely because she is very close to her sister Haifa, 8. Her father promised that he would not marry off Nujood or any of her sisters.

The girl has refused to see a psychologist or a gynecologist. She says she doesn't like doctors. And besides, she says, the experience has made her stronger and wiser.She says she's had enough of marriage and domestic life, and looks forward to beginning third grade and pursuing dreams she never knew she had.

"I want to defend oppressed people," she says. "I want to be like Shada. I want to be an example for all the other girls."

First Global Daughter Fair Trade Party!

The first Global Daughter Fair Trade Party took place July 10th at Deborah’s home on the lake. There were about 20 people in attendance, including several “Global Sons.” The guests enjoyed delicious snacks, beverages, learning about Nepal, and of course the beautiful handcrafted product. Deborah received a “Burnt Orange Rose Cushion Cover,” as well as 50% off a product of her choice for hosting the event. Global Daughter and our women artisans would like to thank Deborah and all of the other guests and volunteers who came and helped make this very first party a smashing success!


Table Display


Brianna helping make the GD folders


Cheryl checking out the "lokta" paper


Dick posting up next to the silver jewelry


Everyone loves the nettle and
cotton cushion covers!


Global Mothers



Getting a closer look


Standing room only


My two Global Fathers

Naturally Nepal (pictures)