(ANS - Kathmandu) - After several weeks of silence, we have received an update on the situation in the Himalayan country which was struck last spring by two violent earthquakes. Sadly, the news is not good. "We pray for the people of Nepal, because they are suffering again, and this time not because of a natural disaster, but because of human actions," says George Menamparampil, head of "Bosconet" of New Delhi.

"I have just made my third trip to Nepal since the quake. We were able to go only to the nearest village, on account of the severe shortage of fuel. But that visit was enough" he writes.

The gratitude of the people towards the Salesian Family is huge: "The village chief told us 'for us Don Bosco is God'. I know he did not mean that for him the person of Don Bosco was God, but that what the Salesians of Don Bosco have done for them after the earthquake represented God himself coming towards them with open arms, with hands full of the things they needed and with a heart full of love. (...) I was also happy to see their optimism and the new houses they have built as they work for the betterment of their village."

However, the socio-political situation remains uneasy. The unrest following the approval of the new secular, democratic Constitution is still going on more than three months after the promulgation of the legislative text.

At the southern border with India, a kind of block has developed. This is a real problem for the people of Nepal, because the roads linking the country to China, on the northern border, are extremely difficult to pass in the winter, as well as being very long.

"Nepal is a small poor country, the 19th poorest in the world” says Fr Menamparampil. “It does not produce oil, or natural gas, and does not meet its requirements for many essential goods, including building materials. The economy is paralyzed. Government officials are not in their offices. The documents for the renewal of the registration of our Company and the documentation regarding the accounts ... are locked in a government office." Fuel is rationed and the supply that Fr Jijo John had the foresight to lay in a few days before rationing started is almost gone.

Published 26/11/2015