Tue, 16 Apr, 2024

Kabul Bomb Blast; Innocent Dead

By Nisha Dhungana

Picture Courtesy:ndtv.com

On 20th June 2016, a devastating news hit the country. Twelve of our brothers were killed on their way to work. Those innocent souls were taken away by the targeted suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. A bus carrying 14 security workers recruited by one of the British security agency and sent to Afghanistan to work as security guards in the Canadian Embassy got hit just after leaving for the Embassy. According to local and global news, the attack has been confirmed by Taliban, a huge terrorist organization through a tweet.

It was another typical day. The Canadian embassy was just a little far from the place where the workers resided. Two buses were dedicated to pick them up from home. As usual, the bus arrived to picking them up and left the place on time. But only one bus was able to reach the destination while other got blasted just after heading out from the gate. Twelve brothers and sons of Nepal bled and burned in the cruel fight in which they were not involved. The bus carried 14 passengers, all were dead in which 12 were identified as Nepali while the remaining 2 were not identified.

The reason for this crime was hatred between two groups of people which has now led to a maze of war with many people trapped in its’ many dead ends. Sometimes the one group that has to pay is one that is not involved. This time, that group happened to be the ill-fated Nepali citizen who went abroad in the hope of prosperity.  The government of Nepal has forbidden Nepali citizens to work in Afghanistan in posts other than the security officer for the government or the UN due to the brutal civil war in Afghanistan. But hundreds of Nepali citizen every year head to Afghanistan in illegal ways via Dubai or India. The 12 Nepalese thankfully went through legal procedures but ended up victimized by the Taliban.

Poverty and lack of employment opportunities in Nepal lead a capable citizen to head abroad. It is not a choice but an obligation because the government is not being able to feed its citizens two meals a day. Many people live under poverty line and in illiteracy. The one way to survive in poverty is to leave family behind and work abroad so that their families could live a little better life than they did.

Who should be blamed for these murders? Taliban- who blew up a car to demonstrate their power to people and the government of Afghanistan? Nepali Government- which depend on its remittance for above 50% of its economy? Those Nepali themselves- for leaving their country and risking their life in a war prone country like Afghanistan? Or poverty – for causing them to risk their life to earn a living. Well, the answer is unknown but one thing is sure, the war does not solve anything rather create a lump of dead bodies of people who have no idea what the war is for.

Maybe more Chandra Bahadur will replace him in Canadian Embassy. Maybe more Krishna Bahadur will wave goodbye and head abroad. Maybe Nepali economy will rise with more of Madhusudan and Lil Bahadur but who will replace a son from the life of his mother? How will a sister get her brother back from death? How will a wife find her life-partner? And how will a child ever meet his father? RIP brothers. May your soul rest in peace.