It will break your heart. Everywhere you trek in the Solukhumbu (Everest) region you will see signs of THE earthquake. Everyone you speak with in Pokhara and Kathmandu has a story of the earthquake, maybe even lost a loved one. Every town you come through, you can hear the construction noise of rebuilding efforts. Other towns simply have a donation collection station to get ready to begin the rebuilding efforts. Since 2015, this country is still recreating itself. The earthquake is ever-present and the country is reemerging but still living within the collective PTSD.
In the early days post-earthquake, the world was sending tarps to use as temporary shelter until rebuilding could start. Those tarps are no longer used as shelter but have been repurposed for other things – but they’re everywhere! I saw some from USAID, Pakistan, Germany, Japan and more. These ubiquitous tarps feel like a sweet worldly reaction to wrap a blanket around Nepal’s shoulders.
But some places are simply beyond repair. Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, once a central Kathmandu hangout, with buildings that dated back to the 15th century, is just rubble. This visit, we purchased an expensive ticket to wander across it, but were happy that our ticket price was contributing to the rebuild effort. Bhaktapur, another city in the Kathmandu Valley dating back to a similar era, was less damaged but looked like a giant-sized puzzle with the pieces unscrambled and ready for reassembly. Many stupas and lesser buildings are simply propped up and waiting for a rebuild effort.
We left Nepal in the midst of the most important Hindu festival of the year – Deshain. In this festival people travel back to their villages (few people are actually FROM Kathmandu or Pokhara). One man whom we met in Pokhara explained that his parents were both killed in the earthquake and his birthhome destroyed so there was no point to go home this year. This was his new home and thankfully his wife and kids were all safe. I thought how many more similar stories were out there – of people missing their loved ones this holiday.
I wonder if this earthquake is analogous to our shadow of 9/11… Yes, it hangs over us and changed the country forever within my generation’s lifetime, but as a percentage, not many of us actually lost family, friends or homes directly. Nepal is smaller than the state of New York, so perhaps the earthquake is to Nepal, as 9/11 is to New Yorkers. The rest of the world has moved on from Nepal’s earthquake, but the rebuilding effort, in one of the world’s poorest countries, is still in great need.
