If someone asks with me a photo of disaster, I always
go to explore the folder of the Fire Disaster in Poverty in my hard disk
because these photos are my first photos of disaster that I took in the
beginning of my photojournalism career. This is the first time in my life which
made me in confusion whether I should act as a social person in disaster or
should I capture the moments of disaster as a witnesses.
The images and the
disaster situation of the fires disaster have made a permanent memory in my
mind. I was in an assignment to take the photos of shifting Cultivation of
Chepang Community in Jogimara Village Development committee of Dhading district
of Nepal. It was early foggy morning of November 15, 2009. I was sleeping
inside my sleeping bag in a house of Chepang, one of the most backward
indigenous ethnic groups of Nepal. Some women shouted in neighbor "Fire!
Fire! Help! Help!
Most of the Chepang people in Nepal don't have registered land and they have been practicing shifting cultivation around their village in the slope area since many generations. It is not possible to produce rice in shifting cultivation and Chepang people can't afford rice because they don't have other source of income except to depend on the shifting cultivation that their forefather taught them to practice. Maize is the main food produced from shifting cultivation with great hard work and is the only staple food of Chepang. Maize is produced once a year from shifting cultivation and which is only enough to serve a chepang family for 4 to 6 months a year. For rest of the months, Chepang people heavily depend on wild and uncultivated foods and or migrate to city areas as low paid labor.
Now I realized why Sher Bahadur Chepang was fighting with the fire not to save cloths and utensils but to save Maize.
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A man from Chepang Community tries to save the
house of Sher Bahadur Chepang from fire disaster. 15th November,
2009. Dhading, Nepal. Photo:Nabin Baral
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Villagers help to assemble the maize that Sher
Bahadur Chepang was able to save.15th November, 2009.
Dhading, Nepal. Photo:Nabin Baral.
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Helpless women and children from Chepang
Community watch the fire disaster.15th November, 2009.
Dhading, Nepal. Photo:Nabin Baral
I quickly got out of
sleeping bag and rushed towards the shout. I saw a house on fire and some
children and women were trying to extinguish it but helpless. One of the women
shouted "water, bring water! There was no water until the moments when
fire ate half of house roof that was made up of straw. Fire showed its maximum
strength in the poverty where there is no fire brigade. Even, the only common
water supply tap in the village was also without water supply. Later I knew
that the only drinking water supply in the village is irregular. How can
villager take help of water to extinguish disaster fire, where there is no
sufficient supply of water to drink? I try to help too but I found myself
helpless, because there was not weapon to fight against this cruel fire.
Suddenly one of the villagers brought pipe with water supply but it was late
and the water supply was too small to fight against the mature fire. Until this
moment I hadn't took out my camera but when the fire was out of control I
decided to capture this tragedy. Most of the villagers were fighting against
the fire.
One thing, I noticed that they were trying to save the
stock maize, which was inside the house, from fire by taking the great risk.
The house owner, Sher Bahadur Chepang, who built this house alone in 6 months
just three months ago, was taking biggest risk with fire to save the stock
maize which is the main food for his two sons and wife, who was crying by the
side of the burning house with one of her son.
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At last they were not
able to save their house but they were only able to save most of the maize
stock. Later my friend Kamal Aryal, who is specialist in Shifting Cultivation
in Nepal, explained me the importance of maize in the life of Chepang.
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The wife and youngest son of Sher Bahadur
Chepang. 15th November, 2009. Dhading, Nepal. Photo:Nabin Baral
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Most of the Chepang people in Nepal don't have registered land and they have been practicing shifting cultivation around their village in the slope area since many generations. It is not possible to produce rice in shifting cultivation and Chepang people can't afford rice because they don't have other source of income except to depend on the shifting cultivation that their forefather taught them to practice. Maize is the main food produced from shifting cultivation with great hard work and is the only staple food of Chepang. Maize is produced once a year from shifting cultivation and which is only enough to serve a chepang family for 4 to 6 months a year. For rest of the months, Chepang people heavily depend on wild and uncultivated foods and or migrate to city areas as low paid labor.
Now I realized why Sher Bahadur Chepang was fighting with the fire not to save cloths and utensils but to save Maize.
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The family of Sher Bahadur Chepang in front of
their destroyed house. 15th November, 2009. Dhading, Nepal.
Photo:Nabin Baral
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