Sube que baja

Yet another song by Aris Garit. "Sube que baja" is a love song of a different kind.

Enjoy, more stuff from Nepal coming soon,
the d.

[cuba] Aris Garit - Mi vieja guitarra sucia

this was filmed while I was in Cuba, and not published yet.

So here it is. Click with glee. Aris Garit, tu trova me encanta.

[picpost] Bhutanese Refugees

Back in the Thamel. Again.

Coffee, power, all of life's necessities, wrapped up in a concise little place called Thamel. Touristy as it might be, it's simply what the people in (post?)industrialised countries take for granted and consume every day.

Bhutanese Refugee camps are a whole different story.
And it's not a pretty one.

Driven from their homeland in southern Bhutan 18 years ago, 108.000 people currently sit without any citizenship in the south-eastern provinces of Nepal.



There are a lot of interviews, and I want to provide you with an accurate translation before going into detail.
Summarising the translations I got from T.P. Mishra (founder of the Bhutan News Service and perhaps the only internationally active refugee journalist without a citizenship):

It wasn't ethnic cleansing in the classical sense, but it got quite close to it.



The religious aspect was present, but not central. The holy threads were reportedly cut from the Brahmans, Hindus were forced to kill cows. Quite serious, actually.


The people there basically haven't been able to work legally since the early 1990s.
Resettlement to third countries is hope and possibility for many, but it remains a half-baked solution.


Culturally, the southern Bhutanese have lots of rituals, "puja", offerings, equipment, stuff they can't reasonably leave behind because of their spiritual beliefs.
Actually, these things are a bit to heavy for the planes, though. And the money to afford an additional luggage charge is neither available of affordable.

I'll be working on the video for the next week or so, so expect few updates, and another dave's away with true content and message.

cheers,
dave out.

AFK : going to Jhapa.

Yeah, really. Now it's time to pack that backpack again and get out there in the wild, wet and hot southeast of Nepal.

Yeah, still Nepal. I like it here, so I decided to stay a bit longer (End of June, actually). Manu, you knew it, didn't you?

I'll be back with lots of tasty footage and a new vid in a week or so. Wish me luck and absence of strikes (at least not too many).

dave out. (and away)

dave's away V - Why so serious?

Well, dear followers, readers, watchers and snoops,

here it is, the official version of dave's away V. I haven't published it on my blog yet (because I was waiting for anyone to get seriously pissed off), but that hasn't happened as of yet.

So, here it is. My own good self is mainly keeping my mouth shut in this one, and I let people speak who have a closer relation to the whole situation. (Namely, Ben Peterson and an anonymous student).

As to the current situation: It's all progressing peacefully. The opposition has produced a leaked video which seriously questions the Maobadhi's democratic commitment. It has clearly been around for some time (It's from 2006) and the fact that it got aired one day after Prachanda stepped down indicates the opposition had this ace up their sleeve and just waited for the right moment to play it.

Well, enough background, here's the vid. To the honourable CIA members and employees reading this: Have fun. (The US still labels the democratically elected UCPN(M) a "Terrorist Organisation" so I have no idea how much trouble I can get in just for posting some pics. )




cheers,
the d.

dave's away IV - hippie concentration camp

Freak out, you flower people! Here's the fulfillment of the 3-day plan: Another vid, some facts and enough (bull)shit for everyone! Enjoy, take a deep breath, and dive in.

dave's away III - preach, run and live.