Modern Day Martyr

Last week there was a conference of Christians serving in Nepal in a small mountain village a few days walk from Lukla. Several Christian leaders from all over Nepal converged on the small town for the conference to discuss sending teams to live in the village. Following the conference the attendees boarded buses to travel back to Kathmandu. The last bus was not completely full so soldiers in plain clothes boarded the bus to travel to a blockade that the Maoists placed in the road and help get it cleared. Apparently there were downed trees blocking the road to Kathmandu.

Shortly after the buses departed the small village they were stopped by a group of Maoists. The Maoists brandished fully automatic rifles and began ordering people off the bus so that they could check to determine if any were soldiers. When they came to the last bus the undercover soldiers told everyone to stay on the bus and refuse to get off. The reason they did this was because they had large rifles themselves and if everyone got off the bus the Maoists would be able to tell who they were.

The standoff did not last long. Some of the occupants exited the bus despite the orders of the soldiers while most stayed on the bus not knowing what to do. The Maoists surrounded the bus and opened fire on it killing several people.

One of those killed on the bus went to our church. He had a wife and two kids who will not see him again. He had gone to the conference to discuss moving his family to the village to help spread the good news and for that he lost his life.

As I finish my time here in Nepal I still cannot come to grips with the devestation that this country has endured. The hardships of poverty coupled with the horrific war that rages in their back yard. Despite the persecution they still endure and many thrive but I must confess that I do not know how.

The Himalayan Times
KATHMANDU, MAY 15, 2004, Jestha 2, 2061

Insurgency: Mainapokhari strains to recuperate after attack
Dev Das Shrestha

Charikot, May 14:
A completely damaged bus and splotches of dried blood inside … clothes
caked with human blood, bags, watches and shoes scattered everywhere. Torn
bus seats and flies hovering over blood-stains testify to a war zone,
created five days ago when Maoists attacked a passenger bus at Mainapokhari
area on Sunday, killing eight security personnel and seven civilians.
When human rights activists and media personnel reached there for details
of the massacre, they were flabbergasted. Even the locals were wary of
their presence. Locals said the security personnel found two bombs inside
the bus the next day, and defused them. Though the bus had been towed 50
metres away from the carnage site, scores of spent cartridge cases were
scattered.
Apart from attacking the bus, the Maoists also burned a civilian's
motorcycle. The man was en route from Jiri to Mainapokhari. Even after five
days, no one had dared touch the burned bike. Locals fought shy of talking
about the incident, largley because of the fear that has engulfed the area.
After much prodding a few said that the security personnel who reached the
site the next day manhandled the locals. They said that the attackers
seemed to belong to the Terai areas and were strangers. They assault party
numbered around 100, with males and females.
The Maoists chose this area for the attack after great deliberation. There
is a jungle on one side. They also made a bunker in the middle beside a
canal. The security forces inside the bus could do nothing when bullets and
grenades came flying at them from the jungle all of a sudden. Five days
have passed and people are still unable to go anywhere due to Maoists'
threat. On Sunday, after the attack the Maoists threatened they would kill
anyone who dared talk, or walk out of the area. Since then, transportation
from headquarters to Jiri has completely halted.

Posted by Jon at May 17, 2004 11:22 PM