“Better off struggling Abroad” than “Working my ass off…in Kathmandu”

Four years into living and working in Kathmandu, a young female adult -- a conclusion based on her Twitter profile -- has decided that working her ass off in the city is not worth it, and that she was better off struggling abroad. The tweet appears to speak to many others -- they tweeted affirmatively in response.

After living and working in Nepal for most of the last 8 years, I also concur.

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Hold up a Mirror to a Closed and Inward-looking People, They’ll Shatter It

Nepalis on average are a closed and inward looking people. And because of that, when the proverbial mirror is held in front of them, offended, disappointed, or not liking what is reflected back, they generally shatter the mirror. In this blog post, I document one such example from Twitter.

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Pointing out structural issues in Nepal, to Khas-aryas, is…”pointing fingers”

When pointing out systemic and structural issues in Nepal, the structurally privileged, the hill so called high caste Hindus either go on the defensive or offensive. One of the offensive tactics they use is to accuse the person of "pointing fingers" at them! I have had that. What would have been welcome, among other things, is them listening to our analysis and evaluations and working with us to establish a more just and equitable society.

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If protests against Dassain hurt your sentiments…

While, for the hill so-called high caste Hindus, Dassain is the biggest religious festival, for many others, it--along with a lot of the other things--is a symbol of suppression and oppression their ancestors suffered from. So, if, as a high caste, your sentiments are hurt by protests against it, I invite you to reflect and imagine how much and how long the sentiments of others and their ancestors must have been hurt by the suppression of, for example, their festivals.

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