BY D. M. THAPA
Apart from immigrants, even the Gods seem angry with the United States and most of its sidekicks in Europe.
That is why it seems national calamities and other tragedies strike these places, when no other poor country can do anything to them.
One must not forget that the United States was probably one of the few countries which went virtually unscathed after the end of the Second World War. That is why most of the powerful international institutions are stationed in that country. The United Nations, of which most of the countries of the world are members, is stationed there. Similarly the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and others also have their headquarters there.
At this juncture, it would not be out of place to mention the League of Nations, which was established after the First World War to deter another such man created bloodbath. But of course this did not happen and just over two decades later, the Second World War started, with Germany spearheading the war in Europe and Africa and Japan sending its powerful military in the Pacific region and Asia. All these meaningless killings, destruction of many nations and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people ended when Germany and Japan surrendered to the victorious forces led by America and Great Britain.
But all did not become hunky dory after that. The UN established many wings under it and they were meant to help in humanitarian causes, education, agriculture and so on and so forth. And we have to admit they have accomplished a lot in these fields.
Sadly the Cold War started after this and like we wrote in the beginning, as America had remained largely unscathed, it had more funds to develop more dangerous arms, fighter aircraft, a powerful navy and hundreds of thousands of soldiers which it used in the name of quelling the rise of communism under the guidance of the then Soviet Union and later China. Russia also did not lag behind and China followed suit in building a strong army under the iron rule of Mao Tse Tung. That it became a huge economic power to challenge the US followed later after Mao’s death and the opening of its markets and building of industries.
During the Cold War, the US, Soviet Union and many European nations which still had colonies under them, were sowing the seeds of a much long lasting war which would after decades disturb the smooth life and bring destruction in many other weaker nations of the world.
To escape from the Cold War, many weaker nations, including Nepal, joined the Non-Aligned Movement. Of course some nations calling themselves non-aligned, still aligned with one power or the other. One can take the example of India, our next door neighbor, which proudly claims it was one of the founding members of the non-aligned movement, but which enclosed itself in the warmth of Russia during the Cold War. Many other such countries sided with one power or the other.
Now the seeds sown during that Cold War have started blooming and the stronger countries are grappling with one another though they don’t fire bullets anymore. The bullets and deadly armaments are meant for the poorer and weaker countries. The stronger ones are fighting an economic war, with the US leading from the front.
The bombs from unmanned drones kill thousands of people every year and each time, Westerners and the media they control say many terrorists have been killed when actually the bomb may have fallen in a peaceful village gathering, a prayer meeting or just a bus transporting innocent villagers from one place to the another. There is speculation but never any confirmation from the Westerners themselves, when they claim a dangerous terrorist has been killed in one bombing or the other. The countries in Africa and Asia where Brits and other European nation colonized peaceful nations for a long period, seem to be in turmoil all the time. Specially the nations in North Africa and West Asia, where wars have become common and more people have been killed and more destruction have taken place because of the oil and rich minerals they have.
In fact, probably more have suffered and are still suffering in these scattered nations all in the name of democracy, fighting terrorism and bringing development and so on and so forth. Nepal was not directly affected by the two world wars, but the wily Rana rulers of the nation at that time sent thousands of Nepalese youths to fight for the Brits. Brave Nepalese fought in the nooks and corners of Europe, North Africa and in Asia, including India.
While the bigger nations sit in comfort and fight each other an economic war or for some other vested political interests, the smaller nations are suffering from a huge number of human casualties, civil wars and religious conflicts.
Yes, the UN has contributed in some ways to bring development, but in more sectors it has failed miserably, but the UN people don’t seem to care as long as they get their fat salaries which natives of the troubled countries can never dream of. Even in Nepal, the UN boasts of bringing peace and holding democratic elections, but no one seems to care about the thousands of people who lost their lives, many more thousands who were displaced while the real culprits are walking around free and earning immense wealth as well. The human rights fellows, the do good INGOs and NGOs seem to be satisfied in doing what their funders tell them to do and the others seem more interested in bringing more political turmoil in this otherwise peaceful country. What about the so called civil society leaders? Where did they spring up from, wasn’t there a civil society in the country before? In fact things seem to have gotten worse with visionless political leaders, greedy bureaucrats and corrupt policemen now.
God forbid, but will we need another world war for real justice, instead of just a handful of nations making the rules and a few people here and there are getting richer? We see symptoms for such a change not only due to the suffering of immigrants but also in the wrath of the Gods! Beware, all those who think they are too powerful and rich to be touched by tragedies that only poorer and weaker nations suffer from.
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