https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVs9hoIwFUc&amp;feature=youtu.beAt a donor conference after the 2015 earthquake, more than $4 billion was pledged to Nepal by the international community, multilateral banks and aid agencies. Germany was prompt in signing a reconstruction agreement with the Finance Ministry in December 2015, for €30 million.Three years and three agreements later, a part of the negotiations suddenly broke down last month, as the German government decided to withdraw from a project to restore monuments, schools and streets in Bhaktapur <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/tourists-trickle-back-to-Bhaktapur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">destroyed by the earthquake</a>. This was surprising since Germany, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19496#.WxElhu6FPIV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involved in Bhaktapur’s restoration since 1970s,</a> had allocated a third of its total outlay for earthquake reconstruction to Bhaktapur.At a time when only 75% of the aid pledged in 2015 has actually materialised, and only 16% of the money has been disbursed, the cancellation of a €10million restoration initiative for Bhaktapur was a big loss for the country. Nepali Times has tried to piece together what went wrong.This was the first time that the German Embassy in Kathmandu contracted German Development bank (KfW) as an implementing partner in heritage conservation. The bank has been active in Nepal’s hydropower, health and sustainable development projects. Being a bank, KfW had different and stricter operating procedures than the German aid agency GIZ and other non-profits.Previously, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19495#.WxElh-6FPIW" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur had rebuilt monuments</a> like the historic 55 Window Palace with local means and expertise. But KfW’s rules required international bidding, and its inability to alter this procedure as demanded by fiercely independent-minded Bhaktapur leadership after last year’s local elections, led to a deadlock.“<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapur-shows-the-way-by-rebuilding-itself/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Locally-led construction</a> gives better quality at lower cost,” says Mayor Sunil Prajapati, pointing out that Bhaktapur is already working with local user committees to rebuild damaged monuments, and 27 have been restored by the municipality and the Department of Archaeology.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2299c7e80680e033313jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="2707"/><figcaption>Vatsala mandir was damaged in 1934 and again in 2015 earthquake. Rejecting modern materials even in such a fragile temple, Bhaktapur is adding traditional style wooden pillars to this formerly stone structure. Pics: Monika Deupala</figcaption></figure>However, these are smaller monuments with budgets up to Rs15 million each, and larger complexes like the Pujari Math, Phasi Dega, National Art Museum (formerly a Rana palace) still await restoration.Piecing together accounts of the negotiations from both sides, what appears to have led to the deadlock was a clash of cultures. The Germans, used to lack of transparency in other projects in Nepal, wanted to ensure full compliance with the rules of its banks on the tendering process.Bhaktapur’s leaders, on the other hand, didn’t want to be told what to do when they felt perfectly capable of carrying out their own restoration.The main point of dispute appears to have been KfW’s insistence that the reconstruction contracts be open to a global tender process, international consultants, and the possible use of modern construction materials as has been done in previous German restoration here, including the octagonal Chasin Dega.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e22d9c7e80680e033314jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="761"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2319c7e80680e033315jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Bhaktapur has finished rebuilding 27 monuments, including the gate to Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Bhaktapur has always aspired for independence, not just from foreign donors, but Kathmandu. Its political landscape has been dominated by the Nepal Worker’s Peasants Party (NWPP) under <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Bhaktapur-dear-leader,3010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Narayan Man Bijukche</a> who is not shy about his open admiration of the North Korean ideology of self-reliance called ‘Juche Idea’.Mayor Prajapati is from the NMKP and won a landslide in last year’s municipal elections. In an interview with Nepali Times last week he sounded defiant: “We will not tolerate foreign interference in the name of aid. We will not let our sovereignty be compromised.” (See full interview online.)Bijukchhe has now retired from politics, but is still the driving force behind the party. He has urged the government to take reconstruction upon itself and not depend on foreign aid. In the absence of elected officials before last year’s local elections, NWPP members had been present at negotiations with KfW at every stage. The party is confident it has public opinion in Bhaktapur on its side in the dispute.German Ambassador to Nepal, Roland Schäfer, admits that after two years of negotiations, "One had to come to the conclusion that KfW had to defend modalities for a reconstruction grant because of its general mandate, not related to Bhaktapur, and that this could not be adapted to where Bhaktapur's leadership saw the city moving between 2015 and 2017."  (Full interview below.)<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2359c7e80680e033316jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="5472" height="3648"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The city’s pride and self-reliance are all well and good, but we asked Mayor Prajapati if a compromise could not have been reached, especially because Bhaktapur stood to lose so much promised aid at a time when cash crunch is the main reason for delayed reconstruction. Prajapati was adamant: “Without foreign aid, it may take us longer to rebuild these monuments, but we have now decided that it is the best way.”Some experts are not convinced that losing the KfW aid was good for Bhaktapur. “That amount would have been enough to reconstruct all of Bhaktapur’s monuments, and more,” said Rabindra Puri, Bhaktapur’s noted heritage conservationist. “It is a great loss for Bhaktapur that the two parties could not come to an agreement.”For others, this is a lesson in how not to negotiate in Nepal’s new federal state structure, where local elected leaders are much more vocal about what they want. Bhaktapur’s politicians may have blocked the agreement when they found out architects and engineers at Khwopa College would lose out in the bidding system. Meanwhile, KfW could have predicted the fiercely-independent spirit of Bhaktapur’s leaders, and fielded locals who spoke Newari for the negotiations.With inputs from Monika Deupala in Bhaktapur<h2>"Sovereignty is foremost"</h2>Bhaktapur mayor Sunil Prajapati explains why independence is so important to Bhaktapur, and how it plans to rebuild monuments on its own.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e2399c7e80680e033317jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1840" height="1564">Nepali Times: How is the reconstruction of monuments in Bhaktapur going?The reconstruction is forging ahead in good speed, according to the economic means of the municipality. We are building monuments like pati, pauwa, sattal, temples and ponds of each ward though user committees. When we work through user committees, people feel ownership of the monuments, and they also contribute voluntary labor. We get more value out of it than the money we spend on it. That is why we choose to work with user committees. 27 out of 35 infrastructures, 27 out of 47 monuments, and 24 out of 28 roads that were approved for reconstruction have been completed, the rest are under construction.The municipality is using its own funds and collecting donations from local residents, at a time when the German government has withdrawn its grant of 10 million Euro. Is that a loss for Bhaktapur?Not everything is about money. Our independence is important, and we should never forget our sovereignty. Though we are prepared to tolerate everything, we should not let our independence, sovereignty, and self respect be compromised. We say this to everyone. After the 2015 earthquake, the German government had signed an agreement with Nepal government, to give €10 million to Bhaktapur to rebuild its monuments. There were many points of the agreement that we did not agree with.What was the disagreement about?For example, the audits would have to be done according to German regulations. If there are any disputes, they would have to be taken t German courts. Many monuments here are very sensitive, but the agreement required an international bidding process to restore them. We said that we have skilled experts right in Nepal who can complete the restoration, and the people here are willing to help. We have repaired Nyatapola, 55 window, Bhairabnath on our own. We want to go through user committees. But maybe they don't know what are user committees, they just did not agree to it. Plus, 20 percent of the cost would be ours, so we are already putting so much money in it ourselves.In Bhaktapur we have two engineering colleges, and many people who are very skilled in traditional craft and techniques. We said we will do it on our own, and will accept your help when we need. Bu they said we would have to do exactly as they said: use materials and techniques they specified. They would call for bidding, they would appoint the technicians, and they would specify the building materials. If that happened, we would look like mere eyewitnesses.We don't always need to take from the world, we can also give to the world. The 315-year old Nyatapola temple, the valley's tallest temple, is an example. It was not destroyed even in 1934, nor in 2015. Our technologies last 315 years! We are very rich in technology.Does that mean that the local government here is powerful?The law has made us powerful. We adhere to the law. The constitution has given us the right to make rules, working procedures, etc. We have prepared our own regulations regarding education, cooperatives, and sports. We make rules convenient to us in a way that they do not clash with federal laws.In Bhaktapur we don't easily give permission to anyone to work in the town. We take our own decisions.  That is what independence means. If we do as foreigners say, that is not independence.How do you plan to take the restoration forward, since money is still a problem?We have prepared our own designs for restorations, with a committee of 9 architects, 2 civil engineers and 2 senior advisors. Yes, we have some economic needs, and we have thanked those who come to our aid. But we do not agree to their conditions. In fact we agreed that the operating procedures of KfW are not appropriate for this project. We should not forget our identity. We also want to convey this to all Nepalis. If you have self respect, you will not bow to money or power, and you should not do so either. We should always think about what interests the other party has. It is wrong to be a slave for money.We are so independent, and so were our ancestors. If we cannot even restore the monuments that our ancestors left for us, how can we claim to be citizens of the 21st century? Though our ancestors were not as educated as us, they were advanced in arts and crafts. And we want to do justice to their art by restoring them to their glory. If we work with this spirit, then it probably won't be difficult to bring change to the country.<h2>“History with a capital H”</h2>German Ambassador Roland Schäfer talks to Nepali Times about Germany’s ties with Bhaktapur, and the latest controversy over a restoration project.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111144/6368e23d9c7e80680e033318jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1512" height="1430">Nepali Times: Why does Bhaktapur hold such fascination for you?  As a young student, I trained as a historian. We have a shared history with Bhaktapur, and I often talk to those who remember. I was fascinated to see that the relationship between Bhaktapur and Germany is History with a capital H. This relationship is interwoven with Nepal's decade-long struggle for democracy and local autonomy, and it changed both Bhaktapur and Germany.It changed Germany. German development cooperation came in the late seventies to reconstruct or preserve some of the world heritage treasures Bhaktapur harbours. What many people don't know: the encounter with Nepali politics in Bhaktapur had a deep influence on how the Germans thought and acted. The German development cooperation changed their original ideas, the methods, and even the staff.I also believe that it also changed Bhaktapur. The city’s political leadership adapted to those "foreigners" who stubbornly wanted to help, and they kept this relationship alive over the decades. Over the decades, Bhaktapur's success was a shared success story.Today, if you walk through Bhaktapur, the people of the city point not just to the buildings which still stand or function because of this relationship. They also tell you the stories about those who spent parts of their lives talking, negotiation, building and restoring in the city, and they reminisce that also the water supply ion the city was improved, architects were trained and schools flourished, because of this relationship.I believe our relationship is strong because it was able to incorporate big political change. Change over decades is the most important ingredient in the success story which German development cooperation shares with Bhaktapur.I am therefore confident that this relationship is there to last, and that it will be able to adapt again. To new capacities in the city, new challenges and to citizens which enjoy more rights than ever before.  I think we will again be able to see the city as a whole. Not just the havoc which the 2015 earthquake wrought over the city, but a living political entity with manifold and amazing capacities.Why did the German government pull out of the agreement to restore Bhaktapur monuments? "Pulled out" does not describe what happened, if you allow me to say sp. KfW cannot just "pull out". KfW, the German Development Bank, is an instrument of German Development Cooperation, a very valuable one, but it does not take those kind of decisions.What happened is that after two years of negotiations, one had to come to the conclusion that KfW had to defend modalities for a reconstruction grant because of its general mandate (not related to Bhaktapur), and that this could not be adapted to where Bhaktapur's leadership saw the city moving between 2015 and 2017.The conclusion was reached by the German Government and communicated to the Nepali Government before I reached Nepal. The recently elected mayor and myself, the new German ambassador, we have now the task to take stock and do what predecessors have done in the past: adapt to the realities and keep the relationship moving. For that is certainly what we want to do.I do not wish to discuss whether this disappointment could have avoided, because I was not there when all this happened. I prefer to think that those involved did actually try their best and that they still wish to help those who have to pick up the pieces where they lie and move on. If one modality of cooperation does not work, for a short period of time, that is not the end of the world, is it?Will the budget set aside for Bhaktapur be used elsewhere? By the end of the year, I expect the Nepal and German governments to take decisions on the current earthquake recovery funds in their entirety -- that is an immediate administrative necessity. That has to be awaited. But we have been transparent with the leadership of Bhaktapur during the preparation of this decision.What is at stake now is to listen very carefully to the political needs which Bhaktapur's leadership seen in a new, federal environment. We need to do this in a really holistic way. My hunch is that it will be very interesting to listen to Bhaktapur, not just for the Germans, but for many mayors and reconstruction experts in Nepal. That is what we think is a way forward.Bhaktapur, today, is not the Bhaktapur of the 1970s. But also the Government of Nepal is not the Government of that period of a king's rule. In this environment, Bhaktapur must be listened to, and I call on Bhaktapur to talk, teach, demonstrate and help analyse all things related to municipal development. How does it relate to tourism, local economy, religious heritage, infrastructure and buildings? That is at stake for so many more cities in Nepal, and we Germans want to use our contacts in order to be able to join the learning process.If in this process, good ideas emerge and people come together who have the courage to make them happen, the Germans will be part of it. I am sure we will find the best modality for cooperation in this new context. KfW was a possible instrument, but not the only one.Readers write<a id="js_blp" dir="ltr" href="https://www.facebook.com/devendra.basnet?fref=ufi&amp;rc=p" target="_self" data-ft="{" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=100000012551306&amp;extragetparams=%7B%22is_public%22%3Atrue%2C%22hc_location%22%3A%22ufi_admin%22%7D" aria-describedby="js_blo" aria-owns="">Devendra Basnet</a> As the saying goes 'there's no free lunch.' Specially when it comes to the world of foreign aid.<a href="https://twitter.com/KtmAktivist" data-user-id="2449702855">Amit Aryal‏ </a>This is inspiring on so many levels. Thank you for being a visionary leader! This is not only a learning moment for our cultural preservation but for Finance Ministers and Nepali bureaucrats that are often too eager to accept foreign assistance without realising its pitfalls.

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Clash of cultures in Bhaktapur

Sixty years ago Nepal established diplomatic relations with Germany when both countries were emerging from dark and difficult times, and both were trying to establish a new identity. They wanted to open up to the world and define a new place for themselves within it.Look at Nepal today: it has overcome decades of profiteering by a rent seeking elite, it has overcome a decade of civil strife, it has given itself a new, democratic, republican and federal constitution, and the Nepali people have validated all this by voting massively last year, installing the most <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/government-to-governance-editorial,4200" target="_blank" rel="noopener">powerful government</a> in Nepal’s modern history.This government, carried by a united party, knows it has to fulfill the promises which got it elected. It has the power and the wisdom to reconcile the country with its past and help it look boldly to the future. Building the future on the foundation of a well understood past shared by all will be a process.It cannot be achieved by the stroke of a pen or the handing out of some money from state coffers. But if this process gets to a credible start now in the coming two to five years, it will be empowering Nepali women and men like never before in history.From many conversations in the last nine months here, I am confident to say: It seems to feel good to be a Nepali today. And I can tell you myself: it feels good to be a German today.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6cb9c7e80680e0314a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1372" height="1832"/><figcaption>Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and German Ambassador Roland Schafer unveil the logo for the 60th anniversary of Nepali-German diplomatic relations on Monday. Pic: German Embassy</figcaption></figure>We have been holding joint consultations on the next two years cycle of development cooperation between Germany and Nepal. Germany will continue to engage in the health and energy sectors, and will continue to work on enabling Nepali small and medium sized enterprises for a competitive world market.Our cooperation builds on decades of common work. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19496#.Wwb1vzSFN0x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur</a> may have the longest story to tell about successes in our cooperation, about trust built, even after initial failures were overcome. This learning process never ends. I am happy to further engage with this proud, able city and its citizens on a cooperation that makes best use of what Bhaktapur can give to the nation and of what a modern Germany can contribute to this long standing partnership.Not all is government to government cooperation. We want to make Nepal a place for German and European industry to invest in. Employment will be created durably and reliably in this competitive world through private sector engagement.I thank Nepal for extending support to Germany in the upcoming election to non-permanent membership of the United Nations. We count on the support, so that we can work for multilateral peace-making, something to which Nepal’s army is contributing so much.And look at Germany today. The country is reunited, its 80 million people are part of a European Union of 500 million citizens who freely trade, travel, work and transfer assets among themselves. The European Union ensures the rule of law for all and organizes the outside protection of the Union territory.Germany has established its own particular brand of foreign and security policy – not so much by talking, but by how we behaved. We have taken on responsibility such as intervening militarily against dictatorship and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, offering the parties to the conflict the option to become members of the European Union. But we refused to participate in the invasion of Iraq at the beginning of the century. The most important point for us today: the European Union as a whole is establishing its own Foreign and Security policy of which Germany is fully a part.Excerpt of a speech by Roland Schäfer, Ambassador of Germany to Nepal, on 20 May to mark the 60th anniversary of Nepal-Germany diplomatic relations.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/Memory-and-forgiveness-internation-holocaust-day,1109" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memory and forgiveness</a>, Roland Schäfer

Six decades of cooperation

This year, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/quo-vadis-un-80-9vthn7mg">United Nations is marking its 80th anniversary</a> and it is being celebrated with special events across the world to commemorate its establishment on 24 October 1945. It has also been 75 years since the first UN adviser, the Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, was sent to Nepal to explore development opportunities. In 1950, there were no roads and Hagen walked on foot across the length and breadth of Nepal’s mountains, valleys and plains. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Nepal, and much of Hagen’s work laid the basis for the UN’s involvement in education, health, and connectivity in Nepal’s future development. Despite frequent changes in government and political system, Nepal has made remarkable progress. The poverty rate has gone down by half in the past 30 years to 20.27% of the population. Much of it has to do with remittances from Nepalis working overseas, but it is also a result of the Nepal government’s investment in education, health care and social welfare.&nbsp; There have been special initiatives like the Prime Minister’s Employment Program that have provided jobs to nearly 800,000 people in the country’s 743 municipalities — especially in those areas with lower Human Development Index (HDI) like the far-west and the Tarai.&nbsp; This year’s HDI report by UNDP shows that Nepal’s score had risen to 0.622, whereas it was only 0.404 in 1990. In the past 33 years, the average lifespan of Nepalis has risen by 15.6 years to 70.4 years, whereas it was only 54.8 in 1990. However, the country’s HDI ranking is still 145 among the world’s 193 countries. “Yes, there has been significant improvement in living standards in the past 60 years, road connectivity has improved, the maternal mortality rate has gone down dramatically, almost everyone has phones, there are schools,” says Saru Joshi of the thinktank Nepal Policy Institute. But, she adds: “It is still difficult to get citizenship papers, especially in the name of the mother, and this has excluded many women from banking services, inheritance. After all our progress in physical infrastructure, Nepal now needs to prioritise inclusive social development.”&nbsp; Some of this is also happening. Eighteen years ago, Nabaraj Subedi, 49, of a village in Baglung decided not to join his peers &nbsp;fleeing the Maoist conflict to find work overseas. He invested Rs500,000 to buy a diesel generator and start a small furniture business.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251024071044_eeef308e19a73de507a425b2c6afc47269884549cf4c8fac07ca9a4898c8e031" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nawaraj Subedi"> <figcaption>Nawaraj Subedi, 49, proprietor of Tarakhola Furniture Factory. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, with the installation of the 380 kilowatt small hydroelectric plant, he does not need to depend on his unreliable generator to power his equipment anymore. There is now a road connecting his village, and Subedi has generated local jobs, opened a sales branch in the city, and gets orders from as far away as Pokhara and Chitwan. “My costs have gone down drastically because of the electricity, and sales have gone up because of the road connecting my furniture to markets. My business has expanded,” Subedi says. Back in 1960 in a report he prepared for the Nepal government on behalf of the United Nations, Toni Hagen had emphasised just this: investing in electricity generation and connectivity to uplift the remote rural areas of Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251024081024_188ab121dc3cf2816ee71a72cb3687493eda37ab99ecc04802d647c8c9b4cd2d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Tarakhola Furniture Factory"> <figcaption>Subedi's staff at the Tarakhola Furniture Factory.</figcaption> </figure>  Subedi’s furniture factory gets its electricity from the nearby Tarakhola Hydropower, a company set up eight years ago with financial and technical support from UNDP’s Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL) project. &nbsp; “The project completely transformed living standards in this village,” says municipality chair Dhan Bahadur BK. “It has helped create jobs locally, there is now money to invest in education and healthcare. Households can pay their electricity fees electronically through smart billing.”&nbsp; After working with the government on rural electrification, UNDP is focussed on using that power for local employment creation. A women’s group, for example, has bought an electric-powered potato processing machine that can produce chips.&nbsp; “We are 12 of us mothers, daughters, daughters-in-law who process, package and market the potato that we grow ourselves, and it has raised our income,” says Sukmaya Roka, 57, who chairs the group.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251024071044_70b22418699178bcdd0abb0aa308796980ecd29634bcda6ff113a7624e709751" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Sukamaya Roka"> <figcaption>Sukamaya Roka, 57, chair of Sipa Aalu Chips Utpadan Samuha from Tarakhola Rural Municipality, Baglung. </figcaption> </figure>  Today, 6.1 million households in Nepal (92.2% of total) have electricity in their homes, up from 17.9% 30 years ago. Access to electricity has not just brought lights to homes, but improved everything from productivity, quality of education, healthcare and phone connectivity.&nbsp; “To see what electricity and roads can do, just look at our municipality,” says chair Dhan Bahadur BK, “citizens have become more self-reliant, more aware of the outside world.”&nbsp; NETTLES INTO CASH&nbsp; Just a little bit of training, resource backup and local empowerment can uplift the living standards of Nepalis. The progress made in harvesting abundantly-available allo (nettles) and turning it into household products is an example. When a landslide swept away his home and farm in a flood 40 years ago, Buddhi Purja of Parbat became destitute. But he took part in a government training program supported by UNDP and Australia to harvest the wild nettles that grew on mountain slopes and turn the fabric into bags.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251024071048_56c440c478dffbc13911369b6f4133baf658cc3667773cdb44b7c40e006463ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rhitu Saugat Handicraft"> <figcaption>A worker at Rhitu Saugat Handicraft making a bag out of nettles.</figcaption> </figure>  “After the landslide, we had to go hungry if we did not get a day job,” Purja recalls, “but after this training we have found that we can turn nettles into cash.” His allo bags are now hanging in tourist shops in Pokhara Lakeside and Thamel.&nbsp; The idea that nettles can be processed into useful fabric has not spread across the country, and new ecologically conscious consumers in Europe and elsewhere now import Made in Nepal nettle products.&nbsp; Purja started out with an investment of Rs500,000, and had a Rs20 million business that employed 25 workers. The Covid crisis in 2020 affected the sales, but Purja has recovered from it, sent his daughter off to study abroad, and is thinking of diversifying his product range.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251024071044_ab6d15abcbb9a643e12a384f4bc488b7e210a8c95303fbe1b2f77716d26eede9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Buddi Purja"> <figcaption>Buddi Purja, proprietor of Rhitu Saugat Handicraft in Pokhara.</figcaption> </figure>  While UNDP’s project has made successful businessmen out of people like Purja, nationwide it has created 187,000 jobs in rural medium-scale industries. Much of what has worked in Nepal has been at the community level with decentralised projects like these that use the entrepreneurship of people like Buddhi Purja, Navaraj Subedi, and Sukmaya Roka. It is tantalising to imagine how much more progress Nepal would have made if their work could be replicated nationside and upscaled to the state-level.

Think locally, invest locally

Public anxiety about immigration has become a powerful political currency across many liberal democracies. In Australia, as elsewhere, legitimate concerns about housing and economic fairness can be, and increasingly are exploited by anti-democratic actors who frame migration not as a policy issue but as a cultural threat.&nbsp;
When these narratives move from online spaces to public rallies, they do more than divide opinion; they erode the social trust and pluralism on which democracy depends. Understanding how populist and far-right movements weaponise migration debates is crucial to recognising the early challenging signs of liberal democracy.
Immigration has become one of the most politically charged issues in Australia, not only because of the numbers but because of its entanglement with cost-of-living pressures, housing shortages, and rent spikes.&nbsp;
The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) <a href="https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/september/how-we-live-latest-hilda-data-gives-insight-into-a-changing-australia">data</a> shows rising household financial stress as Australian households spending more on rent and income tax. These changes likely reflect a mix of economic and policy factors but create a lot of room for people to hold inaccurate and occasionally contradictory attitudes on these issues.&nbsp;
While net overseas migration has started to decline from its post-pandemic peak, public concern remains high, amplified by populist rhetoric. Some surveys have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/04/australians-want-less-migration-but-oppose-cutting-international-student-numbers-study-finds">revealed</a> a nuanced picture: most Australians want lower migration overall but oppose cutting international student numbers, and support targeted skilled migration to address workforce gaps.&nbsp;
As former Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil <a href="https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/how-australia-broke-its-migration-system.aspx">argued</a> in 2023, Australia’s migration system is “broken and un-strategic”, not delivering for business, for migrants, or for the larger population. This is a situation that frustrates both sides of the debate and makes immigration an easy political flashpoint.
The recent <a href="https://marchforaustralia.org/">March for Australia</a> rallies turned these anxieties into street-level mobilisation. Tens of thousands <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjmre371l1o">protested</a> at what they called ‘mass immigration’, while far-right groups seized the opportunity to inject xenophobic slogans and calls for ‘remigration’ into the public space. These demonstrations were not only about visa caps or housing and jobs; they became performances of who is entitled to belong.&nbsp;
When immigration is framed not as a policy question but as a cultural test of Australianness, it risks shrinking the demos, the very community that democracy is meant to represent.
What made the March for Australia so striking was not only its size but its composition. Recent investigative reporting <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/don-t-mention-hitler-and-you-re-sweet-the-great-march-for-australia-deception-20250909-p5mtlc.html">revealed</a> that neo-Nazi groups were not merely present at the March for Australia rallies but played a role in covertly organising them. They amplified messaging online, coordinated attendance, and sought to mask their involvement to broaden appeal.&nbsp;
This highlights that democratic erosion is rarely spontaneous; it requires actors who deliberately exploit social grievances, mistrust, and polarisation to mobilise anger for their anti-democratic ends. The banners reading ‘<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/01/how-do-i-feel-safe-after-march-for-australia-anti-immigration-protest-ntwnfb">Stop Immigration</a>’ revealed that public hostility towards migrants, <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/pressure-mounts-for-price-to-apologise-to-indian-australians-20250908-p5mt7x">particularly</a> from the Indo-Pacific, is growing.
For many migrants, these displays are more than conceptual debates about white national identity. They are experienced emotionally. Writing shortly after the rallies, Melbourne-based writer Jafrin Kabir <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/01/how-do-i-feel-safe-after-march-for-australia-anti-immigration-protest-ntwnfb">reflected</a> that she had never felt so foreign on Australian soil. She pays taxes and inflated rents, contributes skills in the national interest, cheers for the Tillies and calls Melbourne “home”, yet suddenly felt unsafe because of the origin and colour of her skin.&nbsp;
Similarly, Chinese national interviewed by media outlet <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3325127/i-feel-insecure-chinese-nationals-australia-blindsided-anti-immigration-marches">reported</a> cancelling weekend plans and feeling “blindsided” by the scale of the marches.
Scapegoating migrants especially in times of economic stress is an age-old phenomenon and is not just limited to Australia. Across the democratic world, from the United States to the UK and parts of Europe, hostility toward migrants and minorities has become a route for anti-democratic forces. Populist actors often <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/27/peter-dutton-keeps-blaming-migration-for-the-housing-crisis-but-can-it-really-be-that-simple">use</a> cultural anxiety and demographic change to justify illiberal and undemocratic measures, claiming to restore order while actually dismantling checks and balances.
By analysing democratic decay, scholars like Lydia Khalil at the Lowy Institute, <a href="https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/democratic-erosion/">argue</a> that democracies rarely break down at once. Instead, they incrementally weaken through vicious cycles: declining trust in institutions, entrenched division based on hate, the normalisation of political violence, and the bit by bit removal of norms and guardrails.&nbsp;
Though some of the conditions are present in Australia to be exploited by anti-democratic actors, for example, almost two-thirds of Australians believe their leaders intentionally mislead them, according to the <a href="https://www.edelman.com/au/trust/2025/trust-barometer">2025 Edelman Trust Barometer</a>, &nbsp;but their presence is not determinative.
Australia’s democratic guardrails remain strong: independent courts, transparent elections run by the AEC, and a free press continue to hold power to account. Federalism and active civil society further diffuse power and create space for contestation.&nbsp;
But if public trust continues to erode and social divisions deepen, these safeguards will come under strain. Early recognition and action are crucial to ensure that today’s street-level hostilities do not translate into institutional regression.
Preventing such outcome requires a socially embedded understanding of migration, an understanding that goes beyond simplistic optimistic and pessimistic views. Policy makers should go beyond Push-Pull models, functionalist and neoclassical and historical-structural theories.&nbsp;
Consulting the work done by <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/The-Age-of-Migration/Haas-Castles-Miller/9781462542895#:~:text=International%20Population%20Movements%20in%20the%20Modern%20World,-Hein%20de%20Haas">Hein de Haas</a> et-el, migration should be conceptualised as an intrinsic part of broader processes of development, social transformation and globalisation rather than a 'problem to be solved'. We need more nuanced views that have an eye for the complexity of migration processes and the diversity of its causes and impacts.
Sohail Akhtar is a Melbourne- based researcher focusing on governance, public policy, and migration. He contributes to Lowy Institute Sydney.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from <a href="https://toda.org/global-outlook/2025/is-street-level-hostility-a-challenge-to-liberal-democracy-reflections-from-australia.html">the original</a> with their permission.

Is street-level hostility a challenge to liberal democracy?

Imagine a high-end fair trade tea brand from Nepal that has done everything right, with ethical sourcing practices and international certifications. It has built a loyal base of socially conscious, premium customers in an export market and focuses on quality over quantity. Then one day, a government in the export market introduces a new ‘listing criteria’ that requires exporting a certain amount of tea to at least three countries in the past five years. But this was never a numbers game, it was about a niche market of socially responsible tea lovers. Suddenly, fair trade tea companies are restricted from exporting tea to that country. Pretty unfair for the company, for consumers, for the tea sector. More importantly, for tea farmers and families benefiting from fair standards. The overseas labour industry is facing a similar risk as recruiters, including those that have adopted ethical standards, may soon be barred from finding workers for Malaysia. On 27 October, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent letters to five countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan and India to ‘rationalise the number of licensed private recruitment agencies permitted to facilitate recruitment and placement of workers to Malaysia’.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_050274dddc6cf10224b0ad9283eec7b3bc3c0acd650543a808a8ea473ecf40db.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251030141040_050274dddc6cf10224b0ad9283eec7b3bc3c0acd650543a808a8ea473ecf40db" data-rendition-name="original" width="961" height="1135" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  The letter includes 10 criteria for private recruiting agencies including at least five years of operating experience, deployment of 3,000 workers in the past three years of operation, experience sending workers to at least three countries, a 10,000 sq m office maintained for three years, valid licenses and good conduct certificates, five employer testimonials, and operating their own training and accommodation centres. Two conditions stand out as potentially harmful to Nepal’s ethical recruitment movement. First, although the letter cites a minimum of 3,000 workers, it says three years in the heading and five in the body text. A big enough difference to affect a significant number of recruiters from making the cut, but problematic regardless. Second, the requirement to send workers to at least three countries disproportionately impacts responsible recruiters in Nepal and elsewhere. Turning the selection of workers into a numbers game is dehumanising. Responsible recruiters deprioritise volume, focus on quality of jobs even when business sustainability comes under threat as ethical opportunities that do not require workers to pay any feed and ensure greater transparency are difficult to come by. Sending workers is further impacted by a series of external shocks. For example, in the Malaysian context Nepal banned emigration to Malaysia for two years followed by the Covid pandemic, and then Malaysia’s decision to stop the intake of foreign workers for the last two years.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_b1b88b3ae2e94c6bc077529ac6f2a4e380a385ee9a22219edfed25067c9d25a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251030141040_b1b88b3ae2e94c6bc077529ac6f2a4e380a385ee9a22219edfed25067c9d25a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="595" height="841" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141040_2cf252908d18aaf09c875002eef2d92ab45897a56b560addd2dc02311725c8a7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251030141040_2cf252908d18aaf09c875002eef2d92ab45897a56b560addd2dc02311725c8a7" data-rendition-name="original" width="590" height="238" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  Many ethical recruiters have focused on Malaysia because it is a more common labour market for responsible recruitment than other destinations like the Gulf. There is no credible justification to why responsible recruiters well regarded by scores of Malaysia-based multinational companies and with decades of experience should be ‘disqualified’ for not diversifying. Finding jobs for Nepalis in new markets is difficult given fierce competition, challenges identifying companies which follow the employer-pays principle, lack of networks and shortcomings in marketing strategies. These factors hit responsible recruiters harder because profit-motivated employers are often unwilling to cover the costs and fees associated with workers’ recruitment. “The volume of deployment does not determine a recruiter’s capability or the quality of services provided,” says Sujit Shrestha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA). Nepal recently scrapped the licensing renewal requirement that mandated sending at least 100 workers a year as it was impractical. The new Malaysian criteria is similar in nature, he added. The ball is now in Nepal’s court at a time when the interim government does not even have designated heads in the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labour, Employment Employment and Social Security. When rumours about the Malaysian action started circulating, NAFEA had raised the issue, but was assured that this was not an attempt to set up a syndicate.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251030141044_83c8a174ef116603f747d1cd254c4d353e8b855a41fb99feec54e701f5fc4c3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251030141044_83c8a174ef116603f747d1cd254c4d353e8b855a41fb99feec54e701f5fc4c3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="3456" height="5184" loading="lazy" alt="Malaysia recruitment"></figure>  How will governments and recruiters in other origin countries now respond? There is precedence from Bangladesh. Dhaka-based journalist at the Daily Star, Porimol Palma who says, “Earlier, the Malaysian authorities had selected 101 Bangladeshi recruiters unilaterally, despite Bangladesh’s call for a syndicate-free recruitment mechanism.” Between 2022-2024, 450,000 Bangladeshis were recruited under this system with workers paying between $4,500 and $6,000, even though the legal limit was $750. Palma attributes part of the high fees workers had to pay were for commissions or bribes to recruitment syndicates. Adrian Pereira heads the North South Initiative in Malaysia says: “The criteria seems a bit fishy, as they do not appear to address the actual problems in the the recruitment of foreign workers. Some of the criteria seem to encourage a system of monopoly or syndicate rather than a rights-based approach. Every government has the right to set criteria for recruiters, but conventions and ILO (International Labour Organization) standards on recruitment exist. It looks like we’re back to square one.” Whether migrant origin countries including Bangladesh and Nepal accept the terms sent without reservations or push back in good faith remains to be seen. In an ideal world, a collective stance should put workers’ needs and welfare at the centre. How rational is the proposed ‘rationalising strategy’? What aspects of it are promising to curb recruitment abuse and what merits serious reconsideration? Even if the move from the Malaysian side is well-intentioned to address rampant malpractices migrant workers face, Nepal should deliberate on the conditions set, the collateral damage especially on the responsible actors and small but capable recruiters. Alternate options that might serve everyone better before rushing to respond with a chosen list by 15 November. If the proposal is accepted, how would it be done in a transparent and accountable way? It is noteworthy that Indonesia was not listed even though it has the most workers in Malaysia among the 16 countries that send migrants to Malaysia. The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the ILO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and certification programs like On the Level (OTL) also need to use their leverage to ensure that recruiters, including those they have trained or certified on ethical recruitment principles, are not penalised. This is more than just about protecting the ethical recruitment movement, but raising even more basic questions: Who can legally be a recruiter in Nepal? There are already obligations like hefty security deposit and minimum office requirements. But requirements to have building facilities with ‘accommodations’ or ‘testing centres’ are not among them. There are 1,150 plus players in Nepal’s recruitment sector, with a few hundred engaged in the Malaysian market. A unilateral selection criteria could risk foul play, or lead to unintended, unfavourable consequences. To be sure, overseas recruitment in Nepal is known for ‘settings’, corruption, dog-eat-dog competition, and collusion. The profiteering is out of control, often at the expense of workers. But the solution does not lie in stifling the industry with criteria like deployment volume, building worker accommodations or expanding office floors. The focus should instead be on enforcing rules and laws in both countries that govern the industry, and the Malaysian labour agreement that has not been renewed since October 2023. Meddling in the industry in ways that harms fair competition and ethical actors means workers suffer. The only issue that should be taking precedence is: how will Malaysia’s 10-point criteria and planned arrangement affect migrant workers? We have seen how for identical Malaysia-based jobs, one worker might pay zero while another pays up to Rs400,000, depending on the employer and recruiter. It is unclear if the 10-point selection criteria rewards the employer. As a longstanding host country for Nepali migrants, Malaysia deserves credit for nurturing the small but growing ethical recruitment industry here. Export-oriented companies in Malaysia need responsible recruitment partners and have mentored recruiters to strengthen their practices and move away from worker-paid models. The business case for ethical recruitment standards has led many recruiters in Nepal to pivot with many now in various stages of transition from traditional to hybrid or purely ethical practices. This progress needs to be acknowledged and built upon. Large, well-networked recruiters with large physical assets and high volume of workers seem to be the winners of Malaysia’s 10-point criteria after two years of waiting for the Malaysian market to reopen. Responsible recruiters endure long periods of minimal or no deployments that threatens their survival. The letter now sitting on the desk of the interim government in Nepal deepens the concern: rather than just failing to recognise or reward responsible recruiters, does the international recruitment market actually punish them? Upasana Khadka heads Migration Lab, a social enterprise aimed at making migration outcomes better for workers and their families. Labour Mobility is a regular column in Nepali Times.

Who gets to recruit for Malaysia?

Intricately painted Buddha, Aryatara, Krishna, and Parvati gaze serenely at visitors at the Kathmandu Art Gallery under muted amber lights. Moving from one artful devotion to the next, a quiet, profound connection to the divine envelopes the visitor. This transcends art to the realm of the spiritual. &nbsp; The gallery’s latest exhibition, Masters of Devotion, features art by 22 artists all from Bhaktapur. They also include Ajay Karmacharya, Purna Prasad Hyoju, Nhuche Kaji Bajracharya, Rajani Sinkhwal, Shashi Dhar Sainju, Surya Bahadur Chitrakar and Sundar Sinkhwal from the Khowpa Paubha Chowmi Pucha. Paubha are religious and devotional art depicting deities and mandala that date back to the 7th century, when Newa artists began to paint images of the gods on cloth. For the artists who practice this craft, the art form is as meditative as it is meticulous.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041028_de34b51d48bcee50ae391301e2ff1890be7ecba3df7e563537c273818825aad5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251025041028_de34b51d48bcee50ae391301e2ff1890be7ecba3df7e563537c273818825aad5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="art review "> </figure>  The exhibition at the newly-opened space Kathmandu Art Gallery coincides with the festival season and is a collection of extravagant works done in mineral and stone colour, sakura and gouache. The vintage art space is located at Babar Mahal Revisited and is a fitting accompaniment to the paubha featured in the exhibit.&nbsp; Sundar Sinkhwal’s vividly painted Harihara is among the more eye-catching works. “Half of the painting is Shiva and half is Vishnu, hence the name Harihar,”explains Sinkhwal. “Together with their consorts Parvati and Laxmi, I have painted Uma-Maheswor and Laxmi-Narayan.” Nandi and Garuda, the vehicles of the two gods, complete the vibrant painting.&nbsp; In contrast, for his piece titled Lakshmi, Sinkhwal shrouds his canvas in dark colours to paint Kuber, the deity revered as the custodian to the wealth in the Hindu pantheon, accompanied by two khyak apparitions —one black, the other white— both mythical creatures in Newari folklore.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041032_1bde6de442b742c300bb8c9278ea8886445aa8df47076fd9aa362ce1f8bef903.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251025041032_1bde6de442b742c300bb8c9278ea8886445aa8df47076fd9aa362ce1f8bef903" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="art exhibition"> </figure>  “The black khyak is considered inauspicious, while white ones are a symbol of good luck,” explains Sinkhwal. Purna Prasad Hyoju has used mineral paint on canvas for a powerful depiction of Ardhanareswar, the composite form of Shiva and his consort Parvati.&nbsp; “I drew inspiration from the Newari Swasthani story about the separation of Shiva and Satidevi,” says Hyoju. Legend has it that Shiva, unwilling to part from his consort, reincarnated as a unified dual gender form of himself and Parvati. Hyoju has painted goddess Parvati in bright yellow, in homage to one of her other manifestations, Gauri, which means radiant.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Ratna Gopal Sinkhwal’s Kurkula Devi, done in stone pigment, is radiant on the cotton canvas. “Kurkula Devi is a tantric goddess whose traces are found in the Sadhana Mala,” says Sinkhwal. “The stone pigment is what makes the goddess look like she is gleaming.” One of Sinkhwal’s other works draws from stories in the Mahabharat to depict Bhimsen, Draupadi, Dushasan and Akash Bhairav in confrontation, expressions fierce.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251025041028_72eea52c8504eccb8b3be7cd4cef616dfb8efd821e8b1e1ae8f440f10782be11.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251025041028_72eea52c8504eccb8b3be7cd4cef616dfb8efd821e8b1e1ae8f440f10782be11" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="854" loading="lazy" alt="art exhibition"> </figure>  The opening of the exhibition last week also featured a music session, during which some of the artists sang traditional songs. Their voices joined the rhythm of the madal and melody of the harmonium, adding warmth to the crisp autumn evening.&nbsp; Each painstakingly detailed paubha reflects the artists’ devotion to divinity and mythology, as well as their heritage. Masters of Devotion showcases the work of veritable masters of their craft, and is a must-visit for art connoisseurs and devotees alike. Says the gallery’s Sangeeta Rana Thapa: “It is our honour to celebrate the artists’ work—to stand among pieces that embody both devotion and mastery, and to witness a tradition that continues to inspire us.” Masters of Devotion Kathmandu Art Gallery Baber Mahal Revisited Until 22 November

german-embassy

Clash of cultures in Bhaktapur

Six decades of cooperation

Think locally, invest locally

Is street-level hostility a challenge to liberal democracy?

Who gets to recruit for Malaysia?

Artful devotion