Introduction
Young people comprise over 30% of the overall population of Nepal and the decade long conflict has had a profound effect upon their future. However, the generational hierarchy which pervades all sectors of social, economic and political life has resulted in the exclusion of youth voices from key arenas of debate and dialogue. This, in turn, has resulted in a general failure to recognise the particular needs and experiences of different groups of young people during policy making. Now, facing a lack of educational and economic opportunities, many of these young people are disillusioned, frustrated and angry.
A growing minority of young people are now resorting to violent protest because they are unable to get their voices heard in other non-violent arenas. This is particularly true in the Eastern Terai, where the social, political and economic impacts of the emergent conflict have meant that youth have not benefited from the peace dividends that have been enjoyed by other young people in more peaceful regions of the country. This has exacerbated tensions and resulted in yet more anger and frustration. If this segment of the population continues to be denied any ownership of the peace process and barred access to constructive channels through which to get their voices heard, it is unlikely that peace will be sustainable in Nepal. It is critical to work with youth to understand their security needs from a community perspective and to harness their energies for change.
The Project Process
Between September 2007 and January 2008 International Alert and Friends for Peace conducted a research and dialogue process with affected youth in Sunsari and Morang. The overarching aim of this project is to strengthen youth voices on community security needs and perspectives across different identity lines in the eastern Terai. The aim of this paper is to outline the key community security concerns voiced by young people in Morang and Sunsari districts and reflect these voices up to policy and decision makers at the national level.
Key Issues identified by youth in the eastern Terai
During this process a number of key issues relating to youth perceptions and concerns about community security were identified. These can be divided into four main categories: increasing criminality; ethnic, political and regional factionalism undermining a common youth identity; lack of access to opportunities and exclusion from decision making processes.
Increasing criminality
Increasing levels of criminality in the region were identified as a key immediate threat to community security. Youth participants linked increasing criminality in the eastern Terai to a combination of factors:
- The open border between India and Nepal – leaves Nepal vulnerable to smuggling of weapons, drugs and saleable goods and gives a sense of impunity to criminals who can disappear back across the border.
- Increased activity of criminal gangs in the region – exacerbated by increasing difficulties in differentiating between political factions claiming to be fighting for an autonomous/secessionist Madhes state and criminal gangs.
- The impending escalation of violence – it is feared the situation could deteriorate very rapidly and that the riots and violence in Kapilbastu could be repeated. The concern is also that the security forces and district administration would be unable to prevent this.
Ethnic, political and religious factionalism undermine any common youth identity
The increasing division of society and communities along ethnic, religious and political lines was raised as a key concern by youth in both districts. The division of young people along various identity lines was attributed to two key factors:
- Self-interested political manoeuvring – which has led to the use of the ‘ethnic card’ by local politicians and political leaders in order to further their own political gain.
- Lack of education which has left youth in a position to be more easily exploited by groups claiming to represent a particular ethnic minority or identity group and/or offering political or economic protection.
Lack of access to opportunities
A lack of access to opportunities for young people is seen as a fundamental obstacle to peace in the eastern Terai. Particular factors emerging from, and contributing to, the lack of access to opportunities include:
- Nepotism and elite capture of resources – has exacerbated frustration and led to a feeling of powerlessness thereby reducing the incentive for youth to ‘prove themselves’ through study and hard work.
- Lack of access to basic services and natural resources (such as roads, higher education and electricity) – has contributed to the inability of youth to access opportunities, has increased feelings of insecurity in rural areas and, with inadequate irrigation and farming technology, meant few rural youth see a future in farming.
- Unemployment – the ongoing conflict in the Terai has meant the local economy continues to decline and economic opportunities are few and far between. There are high levels of unemployment and many youth seen no alternative to going to India or overseas to make a living.
Exclusion from decision-making processes
The exclusionary nature of Nepali society coupled with strongly enforced notions of generational hierarchy, particularly in rural communities, means that young people have little say in community decisions. This exclusion is felt in a number of ways:
- Political party co-option of youth – alignment with political parties is seen by youth as the only way to get their voices heard but they are often recruited with false promises and, instead, used on the front line, for example to enforce bandhas.
- Government failure to constructively enlist participation of youth – lack of access to policy making channels has alienated voices from outside Kathmandu from the peace process. Neither local nor national level politicians are seen by youth to address their specific needs and concerns.
- Gender dimensions – exclusion has been felt particularly acutely by young women who struggle to be heard in the patriarchal society that prevails in the Terai. Even where opportunities do exist they remain sidelined and frustrated.
Youth priority areas for peace
During the course of the project youth in the districts identified several key areas in which action by the government or international donor community could bring about considerable positive change. The nature of the areas identified also demonstrates the integral link between development and peacebuilding priorities.
- Tighter border regulation – was seen as a key way of reducing criminality.
- Vocational training – targeted skills training could improve access to employment opportunities.
- Rural reform – could improve access to basic resources, such as water, land and forest, as the lack of access is seen as a barrier to sustainable peace
- Mechanisms to include youth in policy-making – through the establishment of a government mechanism which would focus on including youth voices in policy-making.
There was also recognition that youth could also take positive steps themselves to address these issues. Some potential action points for youth identified by participants in Morang and Sunsari districts include:
- Building VDC-level networks between youth groups, student organisations, sports clubs etc;
- Strengthening existing youth networks by building connections between them at the local level to strengthen advocacy and awareness-raising on key issues (e.g. between trafficking networks in relation to problems associated with the open border).
- Mobilising the local media to cover issues of importance to young people (for example by writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper about political party misuse of young people).
Conclusion
There is a broad consensus amongst youth in Sunsari and Morang about the issues and concerns affecting their community security and, more broadly, sustainable peace. However, there is a limited understanding of, and indeed scope for, how they can take action to improve the situation within the space created by the peace process.
There is a belief amongst the affected youth that there is no way for them to engage constructively in tackling the community security issues that affect them. In this context, it is therefore unsurprising that there is limited constructive youth-based action taking place on this issue in the eastern Terai. However, raised expectations amongst youth about their rights, combined with the feeling of impotence about how to take responsibility for claiming them, is only serving to exacerbate grievance.
This highlights the need for development and government actors to work closely with youth to build their capacity to identify ways in which they can act constructively, both individually and collectively, at local and regional levels, to ensure that their needs are recognised and addressed. The media and national level youth networks can also play an important role in building the confidence of local youth in their ability to constructively address problems.
