The Church continues helping quake victims while Nepal Government dismisses foreign volunteers

The Government in Nepal has asked all foreign volunteers to leave the country because they are no longer needed. While thanking them for their generous support, the government has said that that they and their agencies are able to carry out search and recovery operations. Meanwhile a coordination committee of all the organizations and NGOs involved has been set up and Caritas is helping people affected by the earthquake in remote areas of seven districts.

"The situation remains serious but international support is coming and people are finding a bit of comfort. We are focusing on families and affected villages in remote areas", is what Fr. Silas Bogati, pro-Vicar Apostolic of Nepal says. The priest told Fides: "The important thing is to show unity between all those involved in solidarity and to coordinate the relief efforts. Today the Nepalese are a bit more relieved to see how the help is coming from all over the world. The mobilization of the international community is moving. After the relief phase, reconstruction will begin.

Though the Catholic Church in Nepal itself has suffered few casualties and no major devastation from the powerful earthquake that rocked Nepal on April 25, Church workers are struggling to extend relief to the victims in remote areas of the Himalayan nation.

“As Catholic Church we are fully engaged in this work of closeness and love and we bring people a message of hope: life is not over, hope is alive!” said Fr. Bogati.“We are really worried. The way things are progressing is not satisfactory at all,” Bishop Paul Simick of Nepal told the National Catholic Register May 4 on his way back to Kathmandu, after visiting the quake-devastated Gorkha district, only 80 miles northeast of Kathmandu but five hours of mountain driving from the capital city.

“I saw along the [main] road [to Gorkha] people waiting for food and relief material,” added Bishop Simick. “Many have come down from the mountains, walking miles.” The National Emergency Operation Center on May 3 estimated the death toll from the devastating earthquake, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale, at more than 7,000 people, including 54 foreigners trekking in the Himalayas, who perished in avalanches triggered by the quake.

However, the casualty figures are likely to mount, as thousands have gone missing, with estimates suggesting up to 25,000 people may have died. In the worst-affected Sindhupalchowk district north of Kathmandu, where more than 2,000 dead bodies have been picked up, district officials have declared that at least 3,000 more are still unaccounted for.

On the day the earthquake struck, Bishop Simick was in Okhaldunga village in Ramechap district, 125 miles southeast of Kathmandu, for the ordination of Jesuit Deacon Tek Raj Paudel. While he was coming down a steep hill with his driver after the ordination, the bishop recounted, “I heard a sound like that of a helicopter.”  He added, “The earth was trembling. Houses were falling like packs of cards, and stones were rolling down.”

Later, they crossed a river and drove up to Maithili, where the road had been blocked due to massive landslides. After the path was cleared for walking the next day, they trekked to a church center, from which a vehicle was arranged to drive the bishop to Kathmandu three days later.

Meanwhile, as reported to Fides, Caritas is helping thousands of inhabitants of villages near the epicenter of the earthquake, in Gordkha and Sindhupalanchowk and other outlying districts, such as Nuwakot, Lamjung, Rasuwa, Dhadhing and Okheldhuga. Thanks to the solidarity shown by Caritas present in many countries in the world, dozens of trucks and airfreight have arrived or are en route to Nepal.

Truckloads of relief material organized by church charities began moving across Nepal a week after the Himalayan nation was rocked by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake April 25. "I am glad that much-needed aid is finally beginning to reach remote areas," Greg Auberry, Catholic Relief Services' regional director for East and South Asia, told Catholic News Service May 4.

Auberry had just returned to Kathmandu from Gorkha -- just 85 miles from the capital but five hours of rough mountain drive -- where CRS and Caritas Nepal staff had distributed relief material like tarps, dry rations, hygiene items and water purification tablets.

"Given the mountainous terrain, getting relief supplies to even the most convenient locations for people to collect them is not easy. It took CRS several hours with small tractors -- one getting stuck -- to get the tarpaulins and household supplies to the village of Bukrang near Gorkha," said Auberry, who oversaw relief distribution in the region May 3.

"People walked miles to come," he added. Nine days after the quake, the Nepal government revised the death toll to more than 7,200 killed and 14,300 injured, while thousands have gone missing.

Father Pius Perumana, Caritas Nepal director, told CNS that besides CRS contingent, officials of a dozen national Caritas affiliates like CAFOD, Cordaid and Caritas of nearly a dozen countries had reached Nepal to augment the church relief work. "While relief material is being material sent to different remote areas, our assessment teams also have gone to the worst-hit areas. We are meeting on a daily basis to coordinate the relief work," Father Perumana told CNS.

"Relief materials are being already procured from wherever we can," said Albert Grasse Hokamp, coordinator of Caritas Germany for East Asia. Hokamp, who has spent several years in Nepal with international charities, said food and other relief supplies have been ordered from India, tents from Pakistan and Dubai, and medicines from Europe. "We are working as a team and need to coordinate and plan our relief work," he added.

While top church workers plan out the strategies, church centers and parishes in Kathmandu are a beehive of volunteers and buzzing with activity. Even Hindu volunteers have joined Catholic youth and others to prepare parcels of tea, sugar and lentils for distribution in the villages.

"My friend in Caritas (Nepal) invited me. I am happy to be here instead of idling the time at home with our college shut because of the earthquake," Usha Thapa, a Hindu undergraduate student, told CNS May 1 while filling lentil packets for distribution at Assumption Catholic Church in Lalitpur.

Neeru Shreshta, another young Hindu woman, said she came to the church prompted by Thapa and enjoys the work. "I have been coming here for two days and left last night at 9 p.m.," Thapa said proudly. Three dozen Western tourists also were preparing relief packets at a frantic pace as if they were working in a factory.

After witnessing the death and devastation, even tourists who were in Nepal on vacation have joined the relief effort. In fact, three dozen Western tourists volunteered at Assumption Church in Lalitpur, where packets of food items for families were being packed for distribution by Caritas Nepal. Sitting while filling lentils into small packets on April 30 for distribution in remote areas, Alexander Gawlitza from Mainz, Germany, told the Register, “It is better to do something good for the suffering people than sitting in the hotel awaiting a flight back home.”

"We came here as tourists. But we can't do much in the present situation. When we were invited to come here, we joined gladly," said Tave Teloye of the Canadian province on Ontario. He and his children, Alan and Juliet, formed a packing unit at the Assumption Church hall.  

Doren Graham, a university student from New Zealand, was in his hotel room in Kathmandu when the quake hit, a day after he arrived in Kathmandu. "I came for trekking. Though it is not possible now, I will extend my stay to be a relief after witnessing the devastation and the suffering," Graham said.

Meanwhile, Catholic communities in Nepal were mobilizing all of their resources. "We have eight mobile health clinic vans scattered in Nepal. We have directed all of them to the disaster areas," Jesuit Father Boniface Tigga, Jesuit provincial of Nepal, told CNS May 4. He said they also had sent out truckloads of supplies. Good Shepherd Sister Taskila Nicholas told CNS that "the situation in the villages is very bad."

"People have to walk for five and six hours to reach the roads to get food or any help. I am worried about the old and the injured in the mountains. What can they do?" said Sister Nicholas while traveling to Kathmandu to collect relief material for distribution. "On Sunday, some of our sisters and others walked seven hours to reach relief material to the people in some of the villages," she said.

Logistical Problems

Despite escaping the fury of the earthquake with hardly any major damage, except to a couple of schools, the Church’s relief workers are anguished over the difficulty in delivering assistance.

“Things are moving too slow. We are facing several obstacles,” said Father Pius Perumana, Caritas Nepal director.

Explaining the logistical problems, he noted, “Our only airport [in Kathmandu] is too small and is congested. Roads have been blocked by landslides. We also facing lack of coordination from the government.” Some aircraft carrying relief workers and material have been forced to circle around Kathmandu for hours due to lack of parking space at the airport, while others had to land in airports in India while awaiting landing slots.

A shortage of ground transport is another problem. “The international support has been pouring in. But we are short of vehicles and drivers,” Father Perumana explained. Hundreds of drivers from rural areas have returned to the villages flattened by the earthquake to check on their dear ones and their houses. Despite rushing to Nepal, Catholic Relief Service personnel are among the relief workers whose efforts have been hampered by the bottlenecks. But progress is being made.

“The relief materials we ordered have started coming in from India and other places, and we are dispatching them to far-off places,” John Shumlansky, CRS deputy director for Southeast Asia, told the Register May 4.

Four trucks of relief, including emergency supplies, have reached Gorkha and are being distributed now, Shumlansky said. To overcome the obstacles and speed up church relief work, a dozen Catholic charities, led by Caritas Nepal, have set up a coordination network.

“We are procuring materials from wherever we can — relief supplies from India, tents from Pakistan and Dubai and medicine from Europe,” elaborated Albert Grasse Hokamp, coordinator of Caritas Germany for East Asia, who has worked in Nepal for four years.

Government dismisses foreign volunteers

Meanwhile, Asianews reported that foreign search, rescue and recovery teams on Tuesday started to leave Nepal, a day after the government asked them to leave the country because they are no longer needed. The Interior Ministry made the decision in agreement with the Central Disaster Relief Committee (CDRC).

In an official statement, the Nepalese authorities thanked the international community for "generous support" and said that "the government and its agencies are able to carry out search and recovery" Operations. However, thousands of people still live outdoors, without even a tent as a shelter.

Hundreds of volunteers from 34 countries arrived to help local authorities in the operations following the earthquake of April 25. Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs, explained that the government's priority now is "to speed delivery of materials first aid to people who need it most. We are doing our best. "

However, representatives of various diplomatic missions have complained to the Nepalese authorities, asking the government why foreign aircraft carrying relief materials were not allowed to land on schedule, delaying - in fact - the arrival of aid. The Minister justified this by saying: "We would like you to understand that we are doing our best, taking into account the capacity of our airport and the need to maintain the regularity of commercial flights."

Some representatives of NGOs and charitable organizations have raised questions about the restrictions imposed on them by the government. Pandey has clarified that "there was only asked to work in coordination with local government agencies. We appreciate all genuine efforts of individuals and organizations to find aid. However, it is the duty of the government to regulate public funds and contributions collected for the disaster, so they are not misused".

Chirendra Satyal, communications director of Caritas Nepal, explains: "We are doing our best to help the victims of the earthquake in the most honest and transparent manner. If the government asks us to stop, we will. But I see many people who are still waiting for aid and struggling to survive without food or water, even 10 days after the earthquake."

Narendra Thapa, of Lakarpa (district of Gurkha), admits: "If it were not for the support of Christians and other charitable organizations, we would not survive. We were outdoors and without food for three days, then some associations we found and brought us food, water and tents. Still today, thousands of people have nothing. I try to imagine what would have happened, if we had had to wait for government aid. We saw the authorities only eight days after the earthquake, and they brought us some cookies. Meanwhile, many of us are still waiting to receive a tent. Yesterday the government announced it had bought 500 thousand tents from India and China that should "arrive soon".

(Sources: Fides, NCR, CNS, AsiaNews)