Porter's plight and the Government's apathy (nepalnews special)
By Pratibedan Baidya
People in remote Laprak village in western district of Gorkha are still shocked. Eight out of eleven Nepali porters and support staff who were swept into a gorge by an avalanche while on their way to the 6,981 metre-high Mount Kang Guru last month were from this village.
Those killed on October 18 include first Everest summiteers from the district and managing director of Churen Himal Treks and Expedition Pvt. Ltd, Iman Singh Gurung, and seven other porters from this village. “My grand son said he wanted to earn both name and fame. But now I have lost my only support in this ripe age,” Kamini Gurung, grand mother of Iman Singh Gurung told Samay weekly magazine, with her eyes full of tears.
Those killed in the avalanche include 27-year-old Chandra Man Gurung, Sahila Gurung (29), Dolal Gurung (26), Kami Gurung (25), Shir Bahadur Gurung (40), Man Bahadur Gurung (45), Birlal Gurung (45)—all of them from Gorkha, Laprak.
Of seven French mountaineers who were killed in the avalanche, two bodies have already been evacuated. Rescue teams have abandoned their rescue efforts due to bad weather.
The majority of the porters in Nepal are not like famous Sherpas, who carry loads at the high altitude for foreign expeditions, but they are impoverished substance farmers in rural areas who travel from lower elevations to trekking and expedition routes in search for works. They even do not know basic things about mountaineering. Like trekkers and climbers many porters suffer from altitude sickness, hypothermia, snow blindness and frost-bite but most of the time don’t get proper medical or psycho-social counseling services.
There have been reports of porters being abandoned by tour groups when they fall ill. Porters have even been abandoned in life threatening blizzards while trekkers were rescued by helicopters.
As per the government rules, expedition teams require to pay 250 rupees (approx. US$ 3.60) a day to the porters in a trek up to 3,700 meters and 300 rupees (approx. US$ 4.30) a day above the 3,700 meters. Likewise, group leader should get 300 to 350 rupees per day in both treks.
The porters and leaders should get insurance facility of Rs. 250,000 and Rs. 300,000 respectively besides medical insurance facilities as well. But most of the Nepali porters are deprived of these facilities. Interestingly not a single case has been filed with the authorities so far, highlighting ignorance and unorganized nature of the service among Nepali porters.
It is estimated that the trekking industry employs some 100,000 porters in peak seasons. Around 40,000 porters work in the Himalayan region from east to west on a regular basis throughout the year carrying local businessman's goods. The flaring conflict of the country has exacerbated the porter's problem. The number of porters is increasing while the employment opportunities are decreasing thanks to the decline in the arrival of tourists.
The throat-cut competition among porters has endangered their lives as they are involved in challenging job. The money they earn from the trekking is the only livelihood for them and their family so if they are killed on the way it affects the whole family. Besides, guides exploit them by giving lower amount as wages and forcing them to carry more goods than they are supposed to carry.
Trekking porters are found mainly in Nepal but also in Pakistan, Peru and other South American Countries Tanzania and Papuwa New Guinea. Although their life and conditions of work is different they share similar problems like lack of appropriate clothing and footwear, lack of appropriate food and shelter and lack of medical care and insurance. Apart from these life threatening issues porters also face problems like lack of education on mountain safety, environment issues and hygiene.
Talking to Nepalnews, assistant secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Lok Bahadur Khatri, said the Ministry will take action against trekking agencies if they fail to provide facilities to porters as per the government's rules and regulations. He, however, acknowledged that there is no monitoring mechanism to find the wrongdoings and the ministry could take action only if cases were filed at the Ministry.
Though some initiatives have been taken by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the welfare of porters, these are not sufficient. Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN) www.taan.org.np , officials said they were making shelters for porters in different places.
The Trekking agencies, which make sure that their clients get proper care, including all the mountain accessories, health insurance and helicopter rescue service usually do not even provide warm clothes and shoes to the porters.
President of TAAN, Narendra BC, admits that Nepalese porters are passing through very difficult mode. He, however, claimed that all the registered trekking companies were following the government rules and regulations and that the porters’ condition is improving day by day.
International Porters' Protection Group (IPPG) www.ippg.net , has recommended some guidelines for the safety and security of the porters but Nepali porters are yet to receive any of these facilities till date.
Experts say the government's passivity is the main reason leading to the exploitation of the porters. They say the government should make policies for the welfare of porters and develop effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that government policies are implemented effectively.
Of late, foreigners are showing serious concern over the condition of Nepali porters. The Nepali tourism industry especially the adventure segment might suffer a severe setback if concrete efforts are not made for the welfare of the porters.
According to Porters Progress Nepal (PPN) www.portersprogress.org , an NGO working for the welfare of porters, out of 836 porters registered at its branch office Lukla 41 are child porters.
PPN has been providing training to Nepali porters on basic health issues, such as first-aid treatment, HIV AIDS and mountain sickness apart from free supplementary English lesson to them. Chief Executive Officer of the PPN, Ang Chokpa Sherpa, told Nepalnews that the organisation is making a clothing bank, which provides sleeping bags, sown jackets, wind proof trousers, gloves, woolen caps, trekking shoes and sunglasses to the porters with a refundable deposit of Rs 1,000.
She added that though they are advocating for USD 10 per day as minimum wage to trekking porters. But many porters were working for nearly half that amount due to competition among porters. According to her, lack of fix wages and insurance facilities to the porters are the main challenges being faced by Nepali porters.
Prakash Adhikari, chief executive of the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), says though porters are the backbone of the trekking industries, Nepali porters are compelled to live in misery and have not been able to get due respect in the society. “If the porter’s profession is made dignified and fruitful, it will definitely contribute not only to trekking industry but also to the economy of the country. Unfortunately, the government is not making any concrete effort for the welfare of porters,” he added.
Nepali porters are working to give life to the deteriorating tourism industry of the country but their own life is also not safe. Before the authorities forget the plight of eleven Nepali porters and support staff-- who were buried in the high Himalayas last month-- it is high time that the concerned agencies launch campaigns to ensure justice to these forgotten heroes. nepalnews.com Nov 14 05
