A New Chapter for Nepal

29-year-old Pawan Kumar Bogati is busy sharpening his knife to take honey out of the beehive.

Pawan, along with his three neighbours, puts on his special white hat.

They’re now ready for honey harvesting.

Pawan is now a beekeper, a profession that he has just learnt.

For the past five years, he belonged to the People’s Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

“Lots of my friends died in front of me. I was working in the health sector, so we had to treat the injured fighters. But we didn’t have enough medication and adequate equipment so we weren’t able to save their lives...”

The Nepalese Civil War was an armed conflict between government forces and Maoist fighters which started in 1996.

More than 15,000 people were killed and an estimated 150,000 people were internally displaced during the war.

The conflict ended with the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed in 2006.

More than one thousand ex-combatants chose to join Nepal’s National Army.

Pawan is among nearly 14 thousand others who chose to take voluntary retirement.

“I gained some skills during our stay in the cantonment. I’m confident that I can do something else, outside of the army. I thought it would be better to remain a civilian, not join the army. And the politics of integrating into the army is not good. That’s why I chose retirement.”
 
In return, he received government funding of more than 12,000 US dollars.

“With the money, we bought some land and built a small house. I’m still saving some of the money to start my own business. I've started beekeeping to earn money.”

Pawan and his wife Sonu, now live in Masuriya Village, nearly 700 kilometres from the capital Kathmandu.

In the village there are 200 other ex-combatants who are new residents.

43-year old resident Subash Dangi says the villagers welcome their new neighbours.

“There are so many ex-combatants here that have started different types of work. They now realise that they should work for their future and that politics is not enough to survive. Some of them now own small factories or start their own businesses. They’re now self-sustained, that’s good and we should appreciate it. We can learn about hard work from them.”

32-years-old Chitra Bahadur Chaudary is cooking a meal for guests in his new guesthouse.

He used to be one of the commanders in Maoist companies.

During the armed conflict, the Maoists used to destroy hotels, accusing them of selling alcohol.

But now Chitra and his wife Rama are running their own guesthouse.

“After taking retirement, we thought that the hotel business would be an easy way to earn a living. We’re running this guesthouse in a village, not in a big town, we aim to earn 50 to 60 US dollars a day. But for now we only earn 10 US dollars a day. Things aren’t that good for us at the moment.”

But Chitra doesn’t regret his choice.

“I’m not interested in politics anymore, although the party still asks me to join their meetings. I said no. We were only used by the Maoist leaders. Now I want to find a job abroad. My passport is ready and I’m planning to find jobs in Malaysia or one of the Gulf states.”

But for others, life is better than before.

Pawan and Sonu have collected 40 kilograms of honey today. He plans to sell it to the nearest market for 80 US dollars.

“Life is now very comfortable. I have a daughter and I work for my family. We get support from the local people, they encourage us, saying that we’re doing well. I want to concentrate on my daughter’s future now.”