These were the words in the last letter that Deepa surreptitiously sent to her mother Sushila Oli from a Nepal Army (NA) barrack in Chinchu, Surkhet.[break]
Sushila, a resident of Latikoili VDC-9 in Surkhet, never heard from Deepa since her last letter sent on October 26, 2003. “I don´t know if my daughter was killed inside the barrack,” says Sushila, adding, “Neither have I met her alive nor have I found her dead body yet.”
Deepa, then just 17, was allegedly detained by NA personnel in Ramghat of Surkhet on August 6, 2003. An avid dancer, she used to perform her dances even at cultural programs organized by the Maoists. Sushila believes that Deepa was arrested on the charge of being involved in the Maoist movement.
In the first three months after being detained, Deepa used to write letters to her mother, evading the watchful eyes of the guards. After October 26, Sushila never received any other letter. Nearly after a decade, Deepa´s emotional words continue to disturb Sushila.
On the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, Sushila was in Kathmandu on Thursday to exert pressure on the both parties involved in the Maoist war. After lighting a lamp in memory of her daughter, Sushila told Republica over phone that only the ones whose near and dear ones have been disappeared can understand her pain.
“Those who are at the helm of the government can´t realize our pain,” the 46- year-old told Republica. “This is why our voices have fallen on deaf ears.”
In the course of the armed conflict (1996-2006), hundreds of people were illegally detained by the NA personnel across the country. The Maoist rebels also kidnapped hundreds of civilians. The whereabouts of a significant number of people disappeared by the NA and the Maoists are still unknown. On Thursday, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) published an updated data of the disappeared people.
According to the ICRC report, the whereabouts of a total of 1,401 people are still unknown in Nepal.
In Surkhet alone, whereabouts of 36 people remain unknown. As of now, only 12 of the families of the disappeared have got relief money from the government. “The government has delayed relief even after we verified their cases as being genuine ones,” says Mohan Thapa, coordinator of Local Peace Committee of Surkhet.
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