来自尼泊尔人民战争的报导
第十三篇：烈士们的亲属：化悲痛为力量
作者：李 奥内斯托
革命工人 1029期 1999年11月7日
今天我们下午很晚的时候才离开住所。大家难舍难分，因为在罗尔帕伴随我们的所有同志都不能和我们一起到鲁孔去。我们和伴我们旅行的那个班的战士们离别。为我们的旅行作出政治和策略指导的同志们也必须回到他们村里去。我们出发的时间终于到了，他们和我们一起离开， 和我们一起爬到第一座大山的半山腰，友好地欢送我们。然后我们都停下来，最后一次分手道别。
我们穿过了鲁孔的边境线，当我们到达下一个住所时，已是太阳快要落山的时候。这个村子里大约有100户人家，人们从早晨开始就一直在等待着我们的到来。我们歇息片刻，吃过晚饭后，天已经黑了。但人们还是聚集在外面为我们举行了欢迎仪式。我非凡喜欢当地的村民和文艺宣传队。她们为群众唱歌跳舞，喜庆地结束了我来到鲁孔的第一天。
第二天，我们整个早上都在会见当地领导人。但我们已经一直不停地旅行了好多天，所以我们决定中午的时候休息一下，这样我就可以洗衣洗澡。自从我们来到鲁孔后，就有一队女同志伴随我们，其中包括Sunsara。她一点英语都不会说，但通过目光和形体语言的交流，她对我表现得非常关心，对我就象母亲一样。我看得出来她是那么热切地希望交流——就像我一样。她重复着我从其它同志们那儿听来的一句话：“假如我们能够用同一种语言交流，我们会谈上很长很长时间，我们会谈上一夜，一起谈谈我们的经历。”
Sunsara帮我洗衣洗澡。一位妇女给我拿来一套莎丽服穿——一种色泽鲜亮、非常宽大的布料，可以象衣服似的披在身上。莎丽服是尼泊尔妇女的传统服饰，妇女们在村子里的水龙头那儿洗澡的时候可以把它用来当作浴帘。今天虽然太阳高高地挂在天空，天色还是有点暗，风也有点凉意。当冷水冲击着我和身体的时候，我直打冷战。当经过许多天风尘仆仆的旅行后，干干净净地洗个澡，感觉还是很舒适的。
我们洗完后，我问Sunsara她是否愿意坐下来和我谈谈她的生活。当她告诉我她五十岁的时候，我感到非常吃惊——我原来猜测她一定比这老得多。但是农村地区的生活是如此艰辛，贫困的生活条件——辛劳的工作、恶劣的条件、缺乏医疗卫生设施——使人民很难提高他们的身体状况和精神面貌。对于生养了许多孩子的母亲来说尤其如此。
我总是为这儿的人民如此有力感到吃惊。即使是小孩也能拖着非常沉重的东西一连多个小时地沿着山路上上下下。但这儿的人们如此恶劣的健康状况使他们非常轻易得各种各样的疾病。现在就在西部地区，在久姆拉和邻近地区，正在发生流感，感染者已超过10000人，已死去400多人。
假如你是在美国得了这种流感，这也许意味着把工作或学习放下几天，但在这儿，由于人民的总体健康状况是如此之差，它只能意味着死亡——尤其是老年人和小孩。这种流感已经流行了好几个月，但政府几乎就不给这些感染地区医疗帮助。我现在才明白为什么尼泊尔的平均寿命只有55岁。
Sunsara是当地妇女组织的积极分子，她向我讲述了她是怎样成为人民战争的积极分子的。她说：
“我是个既不会读也不会写的文盲。七年前，当我儿子七岁，女儿五个月的时候，我丈夫死了。这之后，我和孩子们在家里一起生活了5年。几年前，一些尼泊尔议会的暴徒杀掉了我们村两名人民战争的支持者，反动派加给人民战争的支持者强加的罪名是谋杀。警察来到我们村逮捕了20多人。他们一天要闯到村子里三四次搜捕人民。很多人，包括我在内都离开的村子。我的孩子们现在和他们的叔叔生活在一块，我家里再也没有亲人了。我几个月看孩子们一次。有时警察也来到我家搜寻我。
“现在我这一地区妇女组织的委员会里工作，我已是一名党员了。人民战争发动前两年我就开始在妇女组织中工作了。在党内工作我感到很愉快，因为我不必到学校去就能接受到马列毛主我的教育。我感到集体生活比一个人生活快乐得多。 当我生活在家里时，我碰到了许多同志，并和他们进行交流。我们共同分亨彼此的快乐与忧伤。现在我天天都在预备着为我们阶级的解放而献身。人民战争发动前，我受到了很重的压迫。一方面受到政府的压迫，在家里又受到封建男权的压迫。所有的家务劳动都是妇女做的。
人民战争发动后，许多事情都发生了变化。现在男人和女人共同承担家务。而且，男人还鼓励我们进步，为妇女的解放而战争，参加人民战争。
“当我看望我的孩子们的时候我告诉他们，我想和你们生活在一起，但那又是不可能的，因为假如我那样做，警察就会来抓我。所以在党内工作比在家里还好些。在这样的形势下，这样做是我的义务。因为人民战争正在一天天地发展。我们都要参加人民战争以赢得胜利。你们长大了也会参加战争的。”
鲁孔地区的烈士们
我已经沿着近三来来政府反革命运动镇压最厉害的地区旅行过：东部的Sinduli 和 Kavre 地区，中部的 Gorkha地区，以及西部的罗尔帕和鲁孔地区。在所有这些地区，烈士们的家属是政府镇压人民所犯下罪行的最有力的证实。
当我会见革命烈士们的家属时，他们总是热切地想知道美国人民群众的生活。他们想知道美国人民是否会向政府发动人民战争。我就告诉他她们：美国的警察是如何屠杀和野蛮地镇压人民的，尤其是对黑人和拉丁美洲人。我告诉她们，美国人民是如何与警察的压迫进行斗争并反抗对青年犯下罪行的整个制度。
我和许多在人民战争中失去了儿女的父母亲进行了交谈。当他们听说美国——在全世界都被宣传为“民主自由乐土”的地方也有成千上万的父母亲，和他们一样，当孩子遭到敌人血醒的枪杀时，生活之梦破灭了。
我告诉人们孩子被警察杀害的父母们也会走到一起，相互交流，相互帮助，并组织起来与警察的残暴进行斗争。我谈到了救命计划（ Stolen Lives project），他们用文件证实成千上万人被警察和其它执法机构非法地杀害。当我向烈士们的家属讲起这些事情时，跨越大洋的人们心灵间的沟通产生了。
所有烈士们的家属都向我谈到他们因作为为革命而献身的烈士们的亲属感到骄傲。36岁的Bhadra Kali，丈夫在鲁孔被警察杀害，她告诉我，“虽然我丈夫牺牲了，但作为烈士的妻子，我感到自豪。”
Masta Bahadur Bista在鲁孔被敌人杀害时年仅23岁。她的妻子Man Kumari Bista带着两个孩子（分别为4岁和3岁）来看我，她说，“我丈夫为了民族为了党，为了全世界被压迫人民而献身，作为烈士的妻子，我心中布满了骄傲。假如他因为别的事情被杀害，我会很悲伤的。我希望毛主义党能够为人民做出非常好的事情。我们将踏着烈士们的足迹前进，永不偏离方向，直至胜利。敌人终将反抗不住人民的力量。”
英雄的五一劳动节
在五一劳动节，全世界工人的节日，他们在我们居住的村子里为我举行了欢迎仪式。然后，几位亲人被警察杀害的家庭成员排队向我讲述她们的经历。最先过来坐下和我谈话的是两位妇女，戴着环形鼻饰，穿着色彩明亮的衣服。她们来这儿是向我讲述 Kami Buda的故事的，他于1955年被害时27岁。他女儿 Moti Kali Pun在父亲遇害时才三岁。 Kami Buda的妹妹，今年已经70岁了，这样开始了她的故事。
“Kami Buda在印度军队里呆过，当尼泊尔1949年成立共产党时，他离开军队回到尼泊尔入了党。1952年共产党遭到禁止。当他回到这儿西部地区时和鲁孔的造谣者与骗子（村子里的压迫者）发生了尘锐的矛盾。他参加了党的活动，在久姆拉被政府逮捕。当时包括他在内，被捕的有27人。他告诉当权者他是党的一名领导人，其它人都不是。接着其它人都被释放了，而 Kami却消失了，他被杀害了。当他在监狱里时，他受到了虐待，他要求改善待遇。这激怒了当局，他们把他带到森林里杀害了他。他能读能写，他写过论文和诗歌。他在监狱里呆了一个月就遇难了。他开始住牢时，政府砍去了他的双手让他写不成。——他于是就用脚写。警察就砍掉了他的脚指头，这样，他连用脚也写不成。他是鲁孔牺牲的第一个党员。”
我问 Moti Kali Pun如何看待他父母与现在正在进行的人民战争之间的关系，她回答说，“我父亲为革命献出了生命。他想推翻反动政府。这就是两者之间的密切关系。”
在许多案件中，人民仅仅是“失踪”——他们被警察带走，就再也看不到了。15岁的 Naina Shing Chhinal给我讲了她32岁的父亲 Bhairam Chhinal的故事，她说，“父亲是一位人民战争的强烈支持者，他参加了人民战争。他是当地一个下层人民组织（由缝纫工组成）的顾问委员会的成员。人民战争发动后，警察多次把他带到警所。
他什么罪名也没有，他们问他毛主义者的活动情况。他什么也不告诉他们。1998年10月，他被关进警所，然后就消失了。家人都不知道发生了什么事情，但我们确信他被害了。”
恶毒的告密者
在其它地区，我听说过间谍和密探是如何向警方提供情报并导致党员、游击队员和人民战争支持者的被捕和被杀。许多情况下，这些密探是修正主义者，伪共产党联合马列（尼泊尔共产党[联合马列主义]）的成员。这一地区也是如此。Pawn Kumar Bohra 1998年10月被害时年仅19岁。他哥哥30岁的Dand Bahadur Bohara是下一个过来和我谈话的人。他说：
“Pawn学生时代就开始在学生组织里工作。他通过高考考入了大学。后来他放弃学习参加了党的活动。他成为一名青年团员[YCL (Young Communist League) ]和人民民兵的一名指挥。6名同志躲在隐蔽处预备采取军事行动。他和其它同志挨近警所和一个造谣骗子（靠撒谎骗取农村土地和金钱的骗子）的家观察形势。当时一个联合马列的暴徒知道了同志的藏身地点，就到警所把警察带到了那个地方。警察看到了路上行走的两位志，向他们发起进攻，射击他们。一位同志逃跑了，但我弟弟却被杀害了。其它躲藏在隐藏处的同志们听到枪声及时逃跑了。
当我问 Dand Bahadur Bohara 如何看待人民战争时，他说，“毛主义革命对人民是好事，我们的阶级非常贫穷，除了人民战争，没有其它解放人民的途径。”
Obi Ram B.K被警察杀害是人民认为的另一桩密探向警察告密的案件。Obi1998年被害时23岁，他的父亲Lal B.K和母亲Pabita B.K挨着我坐下，向我讲述了他们的儿子是如何牺牲的。
Mohan讲道，“我儿子自从人民战争发动后就转入了地下。他在学生组织中工作，还是班里的一名队员。1997年他离开学生工作升为班长。他来到地区指挥部带着班里归他指挥的三名战士参加了一次军事行动。他们住在旅馆里，警察发现了他们的行踪，可能是通过侦察得知的。警察来到宾馆逮捕了他们。他们遭到毒打和折磨。警察企图迫使他们屈服并泄露党的机密。但遭到了拒绝。警察盘问了24个小时后就把他们杀害了。
我听到的最揪心的故事是关于年轻的女烈士的。她们大多才十几岁就参加了村里的民兵组织或人民解放军。和大多数尼泊尔妇女一样，她们长大后不许上学读书。
Binita Buda 1998年被害时年仅16岁。 Ghiumali Buda她63岁的奶奶告诉我 Binita是当地革命学生组织委员会的出纳，当地青年团委员会的成员、党员和班里的战士。一位在 Binita牺牲时和她在一起的党员也过来和我谈话，讲述了发生的事情：“ Binita Buda、一个农民和我三个人来到村里观察情况预备采取一次军事行动。警察听说了我们的住所，就包围了那个村子。但我们不知道警察的行动，又来到了住处。还没到达住处，我们就在路上碰到了警察。真是狭路相逢，警察太多了，我们得逃跑。我和那个农民逃到了住处， Binita却没有。不久我们就听说她被捕了，关了起来。警察整夜折磨她，强暴了她，最后把她杀了。她是鲁孔地区牺牲的第二位妇女同志。”
最后一位和我谈话的烈士的亲属是Shankar Lal Gharti，他是烈士Bhadra Bahadur Gharti（1998年牺牲，49岁）的24岁的儿子。Shankar说：
“我父亲是人民战争的强烈支持者。我和其它同志整夜睡在森林里。一大早，我们就来到了父亲家。我们不知道警察就在四周。当我们来到屋里，母亲招呼我们喝茶。当茶水预备好时，警察来到了包围了房间。警察向房屋和其它同志射击， Chain Buda被击中了左臂。我们明白警察想杀掉我们，我们和家人握握手，说，即使警察害掉了我们，他们也杀不掉我们的思想和政治路线。我们在屋子里写下标语：‘人民战争万岁！’‘尼泊尔共产党（毛主义）万岁！’‘马列毛主义万岁！’”
“警察命令我们出来，并声称假如我们不出来就烧掉房子杀死所有人。我决定出去。我们先让我母亲出去，她一出门就被警察逮捕了。接着我妻子出去也被捕了。然后我父亲出去，他们逮捕了他。
“只有我们两个留在了屋里，最后我们也出来了，他们逮捕了我们，把我们绑了起来。他们折磨我们，用棒子和枪托打我们，想让我们诉他们党的秘密和我们的行动。我们什么也没说，警察问地方如何处理，得到了杀死我们的命令。他们便不再盘问我们了。
“警察把 Chain Buda带走还想从他身上得些情报，他纵身一跳想跑掉，他们向他射击了10到12枪，打死了他。接着警察带走了我父亲，也杀死了他。当 Chain Buda拼命逃跑的时候，我试着想跑，但被警察抓住了，他们把我反绑着。但我还是跑开了，当我跑了大约60米的时候，更多的警察把我抓住了，其它人从我背后向我射击，我被击中后背倒下了。警察以为我死了，就走了。后来一些农民把我抬到了一个安全的地方。后来我被送到加德满都养伤。”
*****
当我和这些烈士们的亲属谈完话，外面天色开始变暗了。几乎到了吃晚餐的时间。我和所有家属来和我谈话表示感谢，并向他们保证，将把他们的故事传达给美联社国人民和其它国家的人民。我对他们说，他们面对失去亲人的痛苦，依然如此保持革命的力量和反抗的意志，其它国家的人民会从中受到鼓舞。我还代表美国人民和革命者向他们表达了诚挚的慰问，并向他们致以无产阶级国际主义的问候。
我问她们是否愿意让我为她们一个一个地拍张照片，她们便走到外面做好了预备，她们每个人都挺直地站着，自豪，直视着照相机，好象她们在努力通过眼睛传达坚守的信心。
和这些勇敢的人们一起度过五一节是种权利。他们使我从另一个方面看到为什么政府想要粉碎这场人民战争是如此之难。警察残妒忍地杀害了数百人民，但正象28岁的烈士Kal Sing Chhinal的父亲Bhiusan Chhinal所说的那样，“我儿子在一场为了民族和人民的战争中献出了生命。现在，成千上万的其它子女在为实现我儿子的目标而且斗争。”
Dispatches: Report from the People's War in Nepal
Part 13:
Families of Martyrs:
Turning Grief into Strength
By Li Onesto
Revolutionary Worker #1029, November 7, 1999
This is the thirteenth article of a new series of dispatches from this exciting trip. (See RW #1014 through #1020, #1022-1024 and #1027-1028 for Parts 1 through 12.)
Today we leave our shelter late in the afternoon. This parting is hard because the whole group that has been accompanying us in Rolpa will not be crossing with us into Rukum. We will have to say good-by to the squad that has been traveling with us. And the comrades who have been providing political and tactical leadership for our trip are also returning to their villages. When it's time for us to go, they initially leave with us, walking partway up the first mountain to give us a kind of send-off. Then we all stop to say our last farewells.
We cross the border into Rukum and when we arrive at our next shelter it is close to sunset. There are about 100 families in this village and people have been waiting for our arrival since this morning. By the time we rest a while and have a meal it is after dark. But people gather outside for a program to greet us and I especially enjoy the local villagers and the cultural squad who sing and dance for the crowd and provide a festive ending for my first day in Rukum.
The next day we meet all morning with some local area leaders. But we have been traveling non-stop for days. So we decide to take a break at noon so I can wash my clothes and take a bath. Since we crossed into Rukum, a group of women have been traveling with us, including Sunsara. She doesn't speak any English, but through eye contact and gestures, she has been acting very concerned and motherly towards me. I can see that she wants to communicate so badly--as I do too. And she repeats another phrase which I have heard from other comrades--"If we could speak the same language we would be talking for a very long time, all night, sharing our experiences."
Sunsara helps me clean my clothes and body. One of the women gives me a sari to wear--a brightly printed, very wide piece of material that is wrapped around like a dress. Saris are traditionally worn by Nepali women and they are also used as a kind of "shower curtain" when the women take baths at the village water tap. Today it's kind of overcast and even though the sun is high in the sky, the wind has a slight chilly edge. The cold water hits my body, sending me into shivers. But it feels good to get clean after days of dusty travel.
After we finish I ask Sunsara if she will sit down and talk with me about her life. I am surprised when she tells me she is 50 years old--I had guessed by looking at her that she was much older. But people's lives here in the countryside are so hard. And the impoverished conditions of life--backbreaking work, bad nutrition and lack of health care--take a huge toll on the physical state and appearance of the people. This is particularly true for women who have borne and raised many children.
I am constantly amazed at how strong people are here--how even small children can lug very heavy loads up and down mountain paths for hours. But the overall poor health of the people makes them very susceptible to all kinds of disease and sickness. Right now in the Western Region, in Jumla and adjoining districts, there is a major flu epidemic that has already struck over 10,000 people and killed more than 400.
If you got this kind of flu in the U.S., it might mean a few days off from work or school. But here, since people's overall health is so poor, it can mean death--especially for older people and young children. The flu epidemic has already been going on for a couple of months, but the government has done little to provide medicine to the affected areas. I can now see why the average life expectancy in Nepal is only 55 years.
Sunsara, who is active in the local women's organization, starts off by telling me how she became active in the People's War. She says:
"I am an illiterate woman who cannot read and write at all. Seven years ago, when my son was seven and my daughter was five months, my husband died. After this I lived in my house for five years with my children. A few years ago some Nepali Congress goons killed two sympathizers in our village and the reactionaries accused sympathizers of the People's War of doing the murder. The police came to the village and arrested over 20 people. They came into the village three to four times a day looking for people. So many people left the village, including me. My children are now with my uncle and there is no one living in my house. I see my children every few months. Sometimes the police come to the house looking for me.
"Now I'm working in the main committee of the women's organization in this area and I'm also a party member. I started working in the women's organization two years before the initiation. I am very happy to be working in the party because I did not get to study in school but now I'm being educated in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. And I feel collective life is happier than living an individual life. When I lived in my home I met many comrades and talked with them. We shared our happiness and sorrow. Now I am committed to sacrifice in every way to liberate our class. Before the initiation I was very oppressed--on the one hand by the government, and on the other hand by the men in the family. All the housework was done by women.
After the initiation of the People's War there have been many changes. All household work is now done by men and women. Beside this, men inspire us to go forward, fight to liberate women and participate in the People's War.
"When I visit my children I tell them, I want to live with you but that is impossible because if I did the police would come here and arrest me. So it is better to do work in the party than live in this house. It is my duty in this situation because the People's War is growing day after day. We are all involved in the People's War to get victory. And you will also be involved in the war when you grow up."
The Martyrs of Rukum
I have traveled through the districts hit hardest in the last three years by the government's counter-revolutionary campaigns--Sinduli and Kavre in the east, Gorkha in the Middle Region and now Rolpa and Rukum here in the west. In all these places the families of martyrs provide stark testimony of the government's crimes against the people.
When I meet with the families of revolutionary martyrs they are always very curious to hear about what life is like for the masses of people in the United States. And they want to know if people in the U.S. are waging struggle against the government. I tell them how the police in the United States murder and brutalize people--especially in Black and Latino communities. And I tell them how people are waging struggle against police repression and against the whole way the system criminalizes the youth.
I talk with many mothers and fathers here who have lost sons and daughters in the People's War. And they are surprised to learn that in the U.S.--billed around the world as the "land of freedom and democracy"--there are thousands of parents, just like them, whose lives were shattered when their children were gunned down in cold blood by the police.
I tell people about how mothers and fathers of children killed by police have come together to share experiences, help each other and organize to fight against police brutality. And I talk about the Stolen Lives project--how it is documenting thousands of cases in which people have been unjustly killed by police and other law enforcement agents. When I tell the families of martyrs all this, a connection gets made, across the globe.
All of the martyrs' families who come to talk tell me how proud they are to be the relative of someone who has given their life for the revolution. Bhadra Kali, whose 36-year-old husband Shyam Bahadur Pun was killed by the police in Rukum, tells me, "Though I lost my husband, I'm very proud to be a martyr's wife."
Masta Bahadur Bista was only 23 years old when he was killed in Rukum, in 1996. His wife, Man Kumari Bista, who comes to see me with her two daughters, ages four and three, says, "My husband died for the nation and the party and all the oppressed of the world. My heart is full of pride to be a martyr's wife. If he was killed in another way I would be very sad but it was not so. I hope the Maoist party will do very good for the people. We follow the way of our martyrs and will never leave this path until we get victory. Enemies cannot stand up to the power of the people."
May Day Stories of Heroism
On May Day, International Workers Day, there is a program to greet me in the village where we're staying. And afterwards, several family members, who have had relatives killed by the police line up to tell me their stories. The first to sit down and talk are two women, adorned with nose rings and dressed in brightly colored clothes. They are here to tell me about Kami Buda, who was 27 years old when he was killed in 1955. Moti Kali Pun, his daughter, was only three years old when her father was killed. Kami Buda's sister, Aas Mali who is now 70 years old, begins the story:
"Kami Buda was in the Indian military. After the Communist Party was established in Nepal in 1949 he left his job in the army and came back to Nepal and joined the party. In 1952 the Communist Party was banned. When he was here in the west there was a sharp contradiction with liars and cheaters [oppressors in the villages] in Rukum. He was involved in party activities and the government arrested him in Jumla. At that time 27 people were arrested, including him. He told the authorities he was a leader in the party, but that the others were not. Then the others were released, but Kami was disappeared, he was killed. When he was in jail he was mistreated and he demanded better treatment. This angered the authorities and they took him to the forest and killed him. He could read and write and he wrote articles and poems. He was in jail one month before they killed him. First the government cut off his hands in jail so he could not write--so then he used his feet to write. Then the police cut off his toes so he couldn't use his feet to write. He was the first communist martyr of the party in Rukum."
I ask Moti Kali Pun what she sees as the link between what her father did and the People's War now and she says, "My father lost his life for the revolution. He wanted to overthrow the reactionary government. Now the Maoist revolution wants to overthrow the reactionary government. So there is a close relationship between the two."
In many cases people have just "disappeared"--the police take them away and they are never seen again. 15-year-old Naina Shing Chhinal, who comes to tell me about his 32-year-old father, Bhairam Chhinal, says, "My father was a strong sympathizer involved in party activities. He was a district advisory committee member of a lower caste organization--the caste which sews clothes. After the initiation the police called him to the police post many times.
He was not charged with any case, but they asked him about Maoist activities. He didn't tell them anything. In October 1998 he went to the police post and he was disappeared. Formally family members don't know what happened, but we are sure he was killed."
Deadly Snitches
In other places I had heard about how spies and snitches give information to the police that leads to the capture and murder of party members, guerrillas and sympathizers. And many times, these snitches have been members of the revisionist, phony communist party, the UML (Communist Party of Nepal [United Marxist-Leninist]). This has also happened in this area. Pawn Kumar Bohra, was only 19 years old when he was killed in October 1998. His brother, 30-year-old brother, Dand Bahadur Bohara, is the next to come talk with me and says:
"Pawn worked in the student organization when he was a student. After he passed the high school examination he went to college and then later left his studies to become involved in party activities. He became a full-timer YCL (Young Communist League) member and commander of a people's militia. Six comrades were taking shelter waiting to take a military action. He and another comrade went near the police post and the house of a liar and cheater [someone who tells lies to cheat peasants out of land and money] to make a survey of the situation. At the time a UML goon knew about where the comrades were taking shelter and went to the police post and brought the police back to the area. The police saw the two comrades walking on the way and attacked them, shot at them. One of the comrades was able to run away but my brother was killed. The other comrades in the shelter heard the sound of gunfire and were able to run away and escape."
When I ask Dand Bahadur Bohara what he thinks about the People's War he says, "The Maoist revolution is good for poor people. Our class is very poor and there is no alternative way to liberate the poor class without people's war."
The police murder of Obi Ram B.K. is another case where people think a spy might have snitched to the police. Obi was killed in 1998 at the young age of 23 and his father and mother Mohan Lal B.K. and Pabita B.K. sit down next, to tell me about the death of their son.
Mohan says, "Our son was underground since the initiation. He worked in the student organization and was also a squad member. He left student work in 1997 and was promoted to squad commander. He went to the district headquarters for a military action with three squad members under his command. They took shelter in a hotel and the police found out about their presence, perhaps from a spy. The police came to the hotel and arrested them. They were beaten and tortured and the police tried to get them to surrender and give information about the party. But they refused. The police tried for 24 hours to get them to talk and then killed them."
Some of the most heart-wrenching stories I hear are about young women martyrs. A lot of these women joined village militias or the people's army when they were only teenagers. And like most women in Nepal, many of them were not allowed to go to school when they were growing up.
Binita Buda was only 16 years old when she was killed in 1998. Ghiumali Buda, her 63-year-old grandmother, tells me that Binita was the treasurer of the area committee of the revolutionary student organization, a member of the area committee of the YCL, a party member and squad member. A member of the party who was with Binita when she died has also come to talk with me and recounts what happened: "Three of us, Binita Buda, a peasant, and me, went to the village to survey the situation in preparation for a military action. The police knew abut our shelter and encircled the village. But we didn't know about these police activities and we went to the shelter. Before reaching the shelter we met the police on the way. There was a face-off, but there were so many police we had to run away. The peasant and I reached the shelter, but Binita did not. Then after some time we heard she was arrested and taken into custody. The police tortured her and raped her the whole night and then killed her. She was the second woman martyr of Rukum district."
The last martyr's relative who I talk to today is Shankar Lal Gharti. He is the 24-year-old son of Bhadra Bahadur Gharti, who was killed when he was 49 years old, in 1998. Shankar says:
"My father was a strong sympathizer of the People's War. I and other comrades slept in the forest all night and early in the morning came to my family's house. We didn't know the police were around. When we entered the house my mother asked us to wait to drink tea. When the tea was ready the police came to the house and encircled it. The police fired into the house and another comrade, Chain Buda was injured in his left arm. We realized the police wanted to kill us and we shook the hands of all our family members. We said, if the police kill us, they will not kill our ideology and political line. Inside the house we wrote the slogans, 'Long live the People's War,' 'Long live the CPN (Maoist),' and 'Long live MLM.'"
"The police told us to come out of the house and said if we didn't they would burn the house down and kill everyone. I then decided to go outside. First we sent my mother out and when she went out the police arrested her. Then my wife came out and they arrested her also. Then my father came out and they arrested him.
"Only two of us were left inside and we came out last and they arrested us and tied us up. They tortured us, beating us with sticks and the butts of their rifles and tried to get us to tell abut the party and our activities. We didn't say anything and the police called the district to ask what to do. The order was given to kill us and they stopped asking us questions.
"The police took Chain Buda away and tried to get information from him. He jumped away and tried to escape and they shot him 10 to 12 times and killed him. Then the police took my father away and killed him also. When Chain Buda tried to escape, I also tried to run but the police grabbed me and tied my hands behind my back. I was able to escape after that and run away. When I ran away, after about 60 meters, there were more police who caught me and the other ones fired at me from behind. I was shot in the back and fell down. The police thought I was dead and went away. Then some peasants carried me to a safe shelter and I was taken to Kathmandu for treatment."
*****
By the time I have talked with all these relatives of martyrs, it is starting to get dark outside and it is almost time for our evening meal. I thank all the family members for coming to talk with me and assure them that their stories will be heard by people in the U.S. and beyond. I tell them that others will be inspired by how, in the face of such deep personal loss, they have maintained their revolutionary strength and defiance. And I extend, on behalf of the masses and revolutionaries in the U.S., sincere condolences and greetings of proletarian internationalism.
I ask them if they will let me take their photos and one-by-one they come outside to pose. Each of them stands tall and proud and looks straight into the camera, as if they are trying to send a message of determination through their eyes.
It has been a privilege to spend this May Day with such brave people. And they have given me another look at why the government is having such a difficult time trying to crush the People's War. The police have ruthlessly killed hundreds of people. But as Bhiusan Chhinal--the father of 28-year-old martyr, Kal Sing Chhinal--said, "My son lost his life in a war for the people and nation. But there are thousands of other sons who will now fulfill my son's aim."
| To be continued. |
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
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