Photo Feature

Death in Nepal

A photo feature by Eivind H. Natvig of WPN/Real Picture

On Wednesday, March 21, clashes in the south of Nepal left 28 dead. The next day the number rose to 29 casualties and 25 of those were brought to the capital Kathmandu by the Maoist organization. Friday the dead were identified, and while the violently beaten bodies rest on the floor of a Kathmandu morgue, fellow Maoist cadres are baffled by the collection of human parts in jars. Outside in the dirt, the father of Rekma Pariyar weeps over his 17-year old daughter lying on the floor inside.

In the centre of the city in an open-air theatre, a parade ground is prepared and the bodies are brought for speeches, flowers and flags by the chief Maoists. A demand is put up by them to honour the deceased as national martyrs before most of the bodies are taken to get a proper Hindi burning. A 21-year old girl is taken to a mosque for a lonely burial, no family present.

Some Maoist cadres, members of the mosque and a couple of curious bystanders attend. After slogans are shouted around the body, there is a short prayer for the dead while the cadres watch from a distance.