Something’s wrong with the world today

It’s been wrenching to see the recent turmoil and tragedy in some of the places that I’ve travelled in in the past year. As you’ll remember I was in Egypt at the time of the cartoon controversy but as a westerner was still treated very well. So its devastating to read of the bombs in Dahab, a relatively small Sinai resort town killing 23 people and injuring many more. 2 months ago I visited Dahab for a week diving. My idyllic memories are now stained with blood. The resort village just doesn’t look like a target like nearby Sharm, it’s too small, quiet and friendly. For me this isn’t a bombing a million miles away, something you just shake your head at and move on with life, it’s much more real. Travelling sure adds perspective.

And it doesn’t stop there. For the last 3 weeks Nepali’s have been defying curfews declared by the king Gyanendra and taking to the streets in their hundreds of thousands demanding democracy be restored. I was in Kathmandu 2 years ago when the King (supposed incarnation of Vishnu) suspended democracy, and I remember reading in the local papers about the political arrests of those agitating for democracy. Just how suspending democracy was ever supposed to put down a Maoist threat was always beyond me. The Nepali people impressed me when I was in Nepal. Many seemed well educated and weren’t prone to radicalism. Marching peacefully were ordinary men and women until police fired teargas and rubber bullets, stampedes broke out, and hundreds were injured, perhaps dozens killed. The king with his heavy handed tactics managed to turn pro democracy marches into anti monarchy protests. Now that the king has finally folded to the demands of the people it is left to the government to prove it can work. Its track record is suspect. In the past it has been better at fighting for democracy than making it work. At least the Maoists have declared a ceasefire.

So on to Sri Lanka, where a suicide bombing in Colombo killing 10 provoked government airstrikes in retaliation. Is the ceasefire holding between the government and the Tamil Tigers? So far by accounts

This entry was posted on Monday, May 1st, 2006 at 2:13 pm and is filed under Political. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.