<img width="1360" height="680" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/6372037e9c7e80680e0b2811jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Ours is the Age of Angst. It is an era of anger, apprehension, fear, confusion, division, polarization, and an increasing distrust in and disdain for institutions. Thanks to the proliferation of digital technologies, we are both spectators and gladiators. We can switch roles in the blink of an eye, whizzing back and forth between the audience seats and the dry, dusty arena. Social media platforms have become the Colosseum of the twenty-first century. In these digital arenas – small and large, local and international – <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-social-media-contagion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a new fight is staged almost every day</a>, and though the contenders tend to change often, the language of loathing and mistrust remains constant. But whereas the ancient Romans were entertained by their brutal and bloody spectacles, we moderns are only made angrier by ours.The etymology of the word is important. Anger comes from the Old Norse angr, which connotes distress, affliction, sorrow, agony, hurt. Anger is directly related to pain of a kind that so many of us, East and West, now feel, though we might not express it in those terms. Underlying the shouting matches and pervasive silences, driving them, is the simple truth that we are hurting.Not that long ago, the world felt like a different place. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, optimism abounded. But it was an optimism that verged dangerously on complacency. History, many commentators maintained, could move in only one direction: linear, forward. Its arc would inevitably bend toward justice. Back then, we easily used expressions such as ‘being on the right side of history’. The underlying assumption was that tomorrow would be more democratic, inclusive, egalitarian, and interconnected than yesterday.The biggest optimists of those days were the techno-visionaries. Their buoyancy knew no bounds. Whenever they left Silicon Valley and took part in international conferences or cultural and literary festivals, they confidently assured us that information had become pure gold. It was all we needed to build a better future. With more information, and then even more, people would surely make the right political choices. The speedy spread of information would topple dictatorships and bring about much-needed social change.Sound and furyThe <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-e-conomy-rapidly-goes-digital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growth of digital platforms</a> would carry democratic ideals to the farthest corners of the world. Even those countries that were lagging behind in democratisation would sooner or later have to join ‘the civilised world’. At the beginning of the Arab Spring, this mood was so prevalent that many took it for granted that Facebook was having a positive impact on the world. Pundits and experts <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/06/evaluating-irans-twitter-revolution/58337/">hailed</a> the post-election uprising in Iran in 2009 as the ‘Twitter Revolution’.Around the same time, a young Egyptian couple <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Egypt_Christiane_Amanpour/egyptian-names-baby-facebook-sites-role-revolution/story?id=12964978">named</a> their newborn daughter ‘Facebook’. A few months later, a family in Israel <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13417930">named</a> their third child ‘Like’. I often think about those kids, Facebook in Egypt and Like in Israel. What kind of a world have we given them?The spread of information of course neither guaranteed nor generated democracy. Today, there is far too much information (let alone random misinformation and malicious, systemic disinformation), but very little knowledge and even less wisdom. They are completely different things, and in focusing solely on information, we have neglected knowledge and abandoned wisdom.Information is about speed, discrete snippets of data, numbers. Between ‘numbers’ and ‘numbness’ there is more than rhythm and rhyme. When we are bombarded with so much information, we do not process what we read or what we hear. A constant overload of information gives us the illusion that we have knowledge about anything and almost everything.Little by little, we have forgotten how to say, ‘I don’t know.’ If we are unfamiliar with an issue, we can easily Google it, and in the next five to ten minutes we will be able to come up with something to say about it. And if we take a few more minutes, we can even convince ourselves that we are experts – even though those snippets of information do not amount to knowledge.How can we decrease the amount of information we deal with on a daily basis, but increase our knowledge and ultimately our wisdom? For knowledge, we need to slow down and beware of dogmas, not least our own. We need to get up and leave the audience seats and the dry, dusty arenas. Knowledge requires books, reading across disciplines, slow journalism, in-depth analyses, nuanced conversations, avoiding hasty judgment. And wisdom requires us to unite the mind and the heart. For wisdom, we need not only purely rational analysis but also emotional intelligence, empathy, a sense of humility, and compassion.We need to hear each other’s stories and pay attention to the silences.The Roots of WisdomAt the beginning of the pandemic, when Londoners were allowed to go out for walks in public parks, I started noticing signs placed here and there. ‘When all this is over, how do you want the world to be different?’ they asked. Beneath the question, passersby had scribbled their own answers, using their own pens. Someone had written, ‘When all this is over, I want to live in a world where I can be heard.’It is a sad irony that in an age when we were all supposed to have a voice thanks to digital platforms and the inevitable, unstoppable spread of liberal democracy, almost the opposite has happened. Millions of people around the world feel voiceless. Amid the deafening cacophony, they know that they are not being heard.Our daily lives are replete with negative emotions that we do not know how to process or where to channel. But we do not like to talk about it, certainly not in the United Kingdom, my adopted land, where expressing emotion is considered a sign of weakness. And certainly not in my homeland, Turkey, where many absurdly presuppose that women are emotional beings whereas men are more rational.Human beings of all ages and genders are emotional creatures. When we connect with each other, we do so through stories and emotions. What we believe in or fight for depends on stories and emotions. And what we remember and take with us even when we are uprooted and deracinated, we remember through stories and emotions.I have always regarded every emotion as a source of raw energy, like a mineral that can be processed into various forms, a metal that can be sculpted into different shapes. Rather than trying to suppress our emotions, it seems healthier, and perhaps a little wiser, to recognize their existence, talk about them openly, and create inclusive spaces where we can understand and explore how our mental health is strained.It is okay not to be okay in an age such as ours. It is okay to feel worried or displeased in the face of all that is happening. The crucial question is not whether we are angry or distressed, fearful or frustrated, but what we will do with these feelings. Can we turn raw emotions into something positive and constructive, both for ourselves as individuals and for our communities and societies?Liquid TimesAt the end of the day, if there is one thing that is far more destructive than any emotion, it is the lack of all emotion: Numbness. Indifference. Lethargy of the spirit. The moment we become so desensitized to the deluge of information that we barely register what is happening in another part of the world, or just next door, is the moment we are completely severed and disconnected from each other. And that is a far more dangerous threshold. We are at a crossroads. The decisions that we make today will have long-lasting consequences for the planet, for our societies, and for our individual and collective mental health. This might be the Age of Angst, but from here to the Age of Apathy is but a short and fateful step. We need to make sure we do not take it.Many years ago, when I lived and wrote my novels in Istanbul, I was interviewed by an American scholar who was in the city researching ‘Women Writers in the Middle East’. We had a nice conversation, and in passing, with a soft, amiable smile, she told me that it was understandable for me to be a feminist: I was Turkish, and I was in Turkey. The way she spoke made it clear that she saw no reason why she should be a feminist: she was from America, a country where women’s rights had already been achieved, and where democracy was solid, stable, and safe.Yet ever since 2016, this dualistic view of the world has become incoherent. After Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the rise of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-message-is-the-medium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">populist nationalism </a> across Europe and beyond, the erosion of liberal democracy, and the emergence of ‘illiberal democracies’ flirting with authoritarianism, this deep-rooted duality has lost its purchase in the minds of even its staunchest advocates.Now we know that there is no such thing as ‘solid’ countries. We are all living through liquid times, to use a term <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Liquid+Modernity-p-9780745624099">coined</a> by the late sociologist and political thinker Zygmunt Bauman. History does not necessarily advance in a linear way. If these are liquid times, it feels like the current has accelerated with the pandemic, the climate crisis, and the widening and deepening of inequalities – social, digital, racial, gender, class-based.This is a moment when we need global sisterhood, global solidarity. We need feminism everywhere, just as we need to care about human rights and freedom of speech and minority rights everywhere. Whether we are dentists, students, engineers, or poets, whatever we do and wherever we live, we do not have the luxury of apathy. From the possibility of another pandemic to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">environmental catastrophe</a>,  from cyber-terrorism to refugee crises, we have massive global challenges ahead, none of which can be solved with the rhetoric of nationalism, isolationism, tribalism, or group narcissism.We must connect with nature and understand our responsibility to our planet. We must connect with each other and strive to become engaged, involved, knowledgeable, and wise citizens. Connecting is our only way forward.While stories bring us together, untold stories and entrenched silences keep us apart. Our voices might not be heard by those in power. But we are not powerless, and we are not voiceless. We are capable of changing the world. © Project SyndicateElif Shafak is one of Turkey’s bestselling writers. Her books include <a href="http://www.elifsafak.com.tr/books/23">The Bastard of Istanbul</a> (Viking, 2006), <a href="http://www.elifsafak.com.tr/books/31">Three Daughters of Eve</a> (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019), and, most recently, <a href="https://www.elifsafak.com.tr/book/the-island-of-missing-trees">The Island of Missing Trees</a> (Viking, 2021).

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The Alchemy of Angst

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95ad9c7e80680e05dc1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="629" height="420"/><figcaption>Photo: ERICK KABENDERA/IPS</figcaption></figure>Using armies of online fans, trolls and, automated ‘bots’, the world’s authoritarians and populists are increasingly using the web to drown out opponents and swing public opinion and elections their way, a new study says.<a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Freedom on the Net report</a>, compiled annually by Freedom House, a US government-funded research group, confirms the fears of many online activists and paints a bleak portrait of how the internet is straining democracies.The 32-page document, released earlier in November and titled <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2018">The Crisis of Social Media</a>, found that more than half of the world’s 3.8 billion web users live in countries that censor the internet and use pro-government trolls to manipulate the online realm.Freedom House President Mike Abramowitz warned of online propaganda and disinformation spreading ahead of elections in 24 countries. The group assesses web freedom in 65 countries that host 87 percent of the world’s webusers.“Governments are finding that on social media, propaganda works better than censorship,” Abramowitz said in a statement. “Authoritarians and populists around the globe are exploiting both human nature and computer algorithms to conquer the ballot box, running roughshod over rules designed to ensure free and fair elections.”Researchers found that officials had worked with celebrity yes-men, business titans and semi-autonomous “online mobs” to spread clickbait, conspiracy theories and misleading memes from “marginal echo chambers to the political mainstream”.The report spotlights Brazil, where Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential election win in October 2018 was preceded by misleading news, anti-gay rumours and doctored images being spread by the right-winger’s fans via YouTube and WhatsApp, researchers said.In Egypt, the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi blocked some 34,000 websites to stifle debates about whether el-Sisi should be allowed to hold power until the end of 2030 ahead of an April referendum, the report said.Hundreds of thousands of online trolls spread fake news to swing voters behind two main parties in April-May elections in India this year, it added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘NaMo’ app was reportedly relaying users’ data to a private analytics firm.The world’s two biggest economies — the United States and China — come in for special scrutiny. In the US, much like in the 2016 presidential election that brought Donald Trump to power, online trolls spread “disinformation” during the November 2018 mid-term vote and during the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.Meanwhile, US immigration officials are increasingly demanding access to the mobile phones and laptops of visitors and snooping on immigrants’ social media feeds, operating with “little oversight or transparency”, the report says.China remains the “world’s worst abuser of internet freedom” — a title it has held for four consecutive years, and where a phalanx of online commentators known as the 50 Cent Army pushes government messages online.Beijing clamped down harder on web users ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on 15 April and got tighter still in the face of ongoing anti-government protests in Hong Kong, the report says.Adrian Shahbaz, the group’s research director for technology and democracy, warned that even governments of smaller economies can now afford large-scale “advanced social media surveillance programs”.Last month, Facebook sued NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm, for using the WhatsApp messaging service to hack the phones of some 1,400 dissidents, journalists, diplomats, officials and others for their clients, understood to be governments and spy agencies.“Once reserved for the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies, big-data spying tools are making their way around the world,” said Shahbaz. “Even in countries with considerable safeguards for fundamental freedoms, there are already reports of abuse.”Researchers noted that officials in 47 countries, armed with such sophisticated web-snooping tools, had arrested web users between June 2018 and May 2019 for posting political, social or religious messages online.“The future of internet freedom rests on our ability to fix social media,” said Shahbaz.“Since these are mainly American platforms, the US must be a leader in promoting transparency and accountability in the digital age. This is the only way to stop the internet from becoming a Trojan horse for tyranny and oppression.” (IPS)

Online trolls, bots & snoopers imperil democracy

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56e29c7e80680e0547adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="439"/>The surest sign that Nepal has already become an online society is the spreading practice of ‘digital detox’, where <a href="Nepal%20is%20becoming%20a%20nation%20of%20net%20addicts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addicted users</a> completely abandon connected devices, or at least take steps to drastically limit their online time.When checking, then rechecking, devices becomes such a daily distraction that it starts to disrupt our work, sleep or relationships, it is time to take a step back and evaluate the benefit of clicking yet another link to reveal the umpteenth bit of information for the day and ask: ‘Is it really necessary?’To be sure, there are many benefits also of the digital world for Nepal. The internet has democratised information flow, levelled the playing field, and in many cases turned citizens into actors and content providers themselves. #occupywallstreet morphed into <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2013/04/06/solidarity-for-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#occupybaluwatar</a> and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-women-take-to-media-to-expose-abuse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#Metoo movement</a> encouraged long suppressed revelations about sexual assault in Nepal.Whether we see <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing digitalisation</a> as positive or negative, one thing is sure: it is both, and Nepal will be even more digitised in the coming decades. A recent survey showed that 90% of Nepalis now own mobile devices, with half of them producing smartphones when asked, 95% of households have mobile phones for an average 2.5 devices per home<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/facebook-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">, 88% of us use Facebook frequently</a>, and a whopping 8.5 million Nepalis are on the platform today. 45% are on messenger, 35% use IMO for instant messaging and 34% are regularly on YouTube.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32527&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> So, you want to quit Facebook?,</a> Reeti KC <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32537&amp;preview_nonce=96e6eb44eb&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal’s new digital landscape,</a> Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32431&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Message is the Medium</a>, EditorialThese trends already have a major impact on where Nepalis get their information, what information they believe, and how that affects the trust between individuals and the institutions at the heart of a democratic society, including media and government.The survey found most Nepalis still consider mainstream media as generally reliable, as opposed to information on the Net, which very few believed. But as recent cases of Rabi Lamichhane, protests against heritage destruction, violence against women and corruption have shown: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/social-media-and-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media content is now driving mainstream media coverage</a>. It is setting the agenda, and with it the potential for manipulation is growing.The Nepali Net is affecting politics because the young middle-class is now wired. Half of Nepal’s population is under 21, and this networked youth bulge will have huge political implications in the 2022 general election. Where new voters get their information, how they get it and what kind of information it is, will determine who rules Nepal and how in future. If the information is correct and credible, exposes wrongdoing, is fair to all concerned, and lets voters make up their own minds, the New Media will strengthen Nepal’s fragile democracy.If not, expect to hear more cries of ‘fake news’ and the growth of a digital media landscape that is likely to fuel the ‘digital detox’ trend.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj Chapagain<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's changing media landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/new-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New news</a>, Editorial

Digital detox

<figure><img width="1400" height="1042" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a358d9c7e80680e0482b7jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepal Media Survey 2019</figcaption></figure>When enumerators from Sharecast Initiative Nepal fanned out across the country in January, they asked more than 4,100 respondents if they had mobiles on them — 91% produced phones. Of these, half were smartphones. Eighty-eight percent of them said they used Facebook, and 45% were on Facebook Messenger, and 35% on IMO which uses less bandwidth, many to communicate with relatives and friends working in the Gulf.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=24696&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook nation</a><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=24646&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis are drifting to digital media</a>, Madhu Acharya and Bhumiraj ChapagainInformation technology is changing Nepali society faster than many of us realise. It is rapidly transforming the ease and speed of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/landline-to-online/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">communication</a>, and where we get our news and information. The changed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/social-media-and-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> consumption pattern has created a crisis for Nepal’s mainstream media, which has found that the revenue model has collapsed. The subscription and paywall methods do not work, online advertising is limited and has low yield, and the Nepali Net has a long tail of new portals vying for the same ads. Four years ago, there were less than 4 million Nepalis with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/face-to-face-with-facebook/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> accounts, today it has more than doubled. In last year’s Sharecast survey, 81% of respondents who used the Internet said they used Facebook, that number has risen to 88%. Even usage of the Nepali app HamoPatro has increased from 1.3% last year to 4% in this year’s survey. Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=24724&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal is becoming a nation of net addicts</a>, Sabina Devkota Facebook is not only used to exchange holiday pictures among friends and relatives, it is also increasingly the main source of news and information about local, national and international happenings. As the results of the Sharecast survey in this edition show, it is a one-way street. Most Nepalis do not seem to post much local news on their walls. Also, while they use Facebook a lot, they do not seem to trust the content on the platform very much. The other surprising finding is that the most trusted source of news and information for most Nepalis is not the media at all, but their neighbours, friends and family. More than 64% of respondents said they relied on that network for local news, and one-third depended on acquaintances for even national and international news. Interestingly, Province 2 ranks highest for its dependence on family and friends as a source of news, with half the respondents saying they depend on them for news and information. YouTube use has soared dramatically from almost nothing last year to 34% in this year’s survey. The Facebook-owned platform Instagram is used by a much lower proportion (4.2%), although that increases among urban educated youth. Twitter usage is almost negligible (1.2%) even though the media fraternity and some politicians seems to think it is hugely important. In response to a multiple choice question, 99% of respondents said they do most of their Interneting on mobile phones. Only 6% of Nepalis use laptops or tablets to browse the Net, and less than 1% use PCs. As smartphones and mobile data packages get cheaper, Internet use is going to grow.  Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepals-media-landscape-is-being-transformed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's Changing Media Landscape</a>, Sharecast Initiative Today, about 60% of those who use the Internet on their phones have mobile data, 34% use wifi. Despite this, there is still a yawning digital divide: asked how often in the past six months they had used the Internet, 67% of 4,125 respondents said they had never logged on. Interesting also is the number of people who said they had not read a hard copy newspaper in the past six months – over 73%. And even more revealingly, when asked why they do not read physical newspapers, an overwhelming 57% said it was because the papers never got to their area, or delivery was unreliable. Only 3% said it was because they rely on some other medium for news and information. Mainstream media owners and editors blame the Internet for the loss in readership, but maybe they should be blaming their distribution departments. Of those who said they still follow the mainstream press, 94% were still reading the paper newspaper, 14% read it on apps, and 6.4% went to their home pages online. Nearly all survey respondents found newspapers and magazines trustworthy.  The take-home message from the survey for the Nepali media and public is that the mainstream press still has a check-and-balance role in our democracy. Internet usage is growing rapidly, but that is not the reason people are not reading newspapers less.  Facebook may be omnipresent, but most users are sceptical about its content. As in most countries, <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-new-reality-of-nepals-virtual-celebrities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media</a> platforms will be dissemination tools, Internet sites will be more and more entertainment-driven, and it will be the portals with the higher credibility and exclusive multimedia content that will be rewarded with clicks. 10 years ago this week The page 1 item of the #446 edition of Nepali Times of 10-16 April 2009 delved into Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s thin skin for criticism: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal appears to be increasingly frustrated with the delays and has been trying to use his deft negotiating skills to try to convince the leaders of the UML and NC to smooth things along.   The prime minister has been barely able to hide his frustration. A day after returning from a week-long visit to Norway and Finland, during which he assured leaders there that he was serious about protecting democracy and the free press, he lashed out publicly using abusive language at his colleagues in the NC and UML. The next day, he turned his aim at the media, accusing publishers of being “smugglers” and under the control of “feudalists, capitalists and reactionary forces”.

New news

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

On Saturday, Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar, a region where there are an estimated 2 million Nepalis working to send money home. In addition, thousands of Nepalis were preparing to board flights to Kathmandu from West Asian cities this weekend to vote in the 5 March election. Many are said to be stranded at various aviation hubs. A Qatar Airways flight from Doha took off just before the air space was closed, while Air Arabia and Kuwait Airways have diverted or cancelled flights. Nepalis in the West Asian region said things were relatively calm where they were, although some heard loud explosions at about noon local time. In Dubai, some thought they were Ramadan fireworks.&nbsp; In Kuwait, nearly 2,000 Nepalis working in the US military base as security guards and cleaners were evacuated before the strikes. In Bahrain where the US Fifth Fleet naval base is located and which was hit by two Iranian missiles, workers contacted by Nepali Times said the situation was under control and the authorities had told everyone to stay indoors and not use highways. The conflict also coincided with the beginning of Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering season, and tourists were either on their way or planning to leave European and North American cities for Himalayan hikes. Most of them transit through Doha, Dubai or Kuwait and all three airports are closed. Turkish Airlines flights via Istanbul are still operating.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97" data-rendition-name="original" width="1864" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Qatar and UAE airspace closed"> <figcaption>Qatar and UAE airspace closed. Credit: Flightradar24</figcaption> </figure>  However, the main impact for the world could be a spike in the price of petroleum products if the strategic Strait of Hormuz is blocked. China relies on Iranian oil for their refineries, and Nepal could be affected indirectly if the economies of its neighbours are hit. Nepal imports all its diesel, petrol, LPG and aviation fuel from India which sources it mainly from the Gulf, and until recently from Russia. Petroleum makes up 25% of the value of all imports, and that is more than Nepal earns from all its exports. Saudi Arabia this year overtook the UAE as the main destination for Nepali workers, with the number now totalling 400,000. There are said to be as many in the UAE, and another 350,000 in Qatar. There are another 100,000 mostly women in Kuwait, and 50,000 each in Oman and Bahrain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="West Asia Iran conflict"> <figcaption>Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar on Saturday.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal receives nearly $11 billion a year in remittances from overseas Nepalis (not counting India) through official channels, although the total is said to be much more. &nbsp;This makes up more than a quarter of Nepal’s GDP equivalent — one of the highest proportions in the world. More than half of the overseas remittances to Nepal comes from its workers in the Gulf, and it is the mainstay of the country’s economy. Nepalis in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE alone send home more than $3 billion a year, much of that helping support their families back home. An average Nepali worker in the Gulf sends home nearly $2,500 a year, and this is spent mainly for household supplies, children’s education and healthcare. There are also an estimated 7,000 Nepali caregivers and healthcare workers in Israel, and most of them are women. The Nepal Embassy has asked Nepalis in Israel to take caution and move to bomb shelters.

West Asia war and Nepalis

Of the nearly 19 million eligible voters in next week’s election in Nepal, an estimated 5 million are abroad and cannot cast their ballots. Many others within Nepal must travel to their home districts, and might decide not to because of the cost.
Flights into Kathmandu these days are full of global Nepalis returning just to vote, but almost as many are leaving for overseas jobs. Most of those coming or going are in the 20-40 age group, and a majority want Nepal to see a change in leadership.
Bangladesh held an election this month in which citizens overseas could vote by mail.&nbsp;
“Bangladesh made maximum use of technology not just for campaigning but also for polling itself. We could have also managed this, so people within Nepal did not have to travel to their home districts to vote,” says Mohna Ansari, former head of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission who was an election observer in Bangladesh.
A 3-day holiday has been declared so people can travel to their home constituencies to cast ballots. Even if there was not enough time to manage ballots for overseas Nepalis, it could have been done for Nepalis within Nepal.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel reckons that physical voting in countries with a large Nepali diaspora would have been a logistical nightmare, but in the PR system, using electronic voting machines or paper ballot could have been piloted in some places. It is not possible to manage the entire voting process until we introduce the internet voting system.
“First of all, there needs to be political will to bring the policy and be ready to undertake that level of investment and it is not a one-time cost,” Pokharel says. “A government formed by the GenZ could have atr least issed an ordinance ensuring this right, piloted out-of-country voting where possible, which could have built pressure for the future Parliament and the government. It would have given people hope. It is a lost opportunity.”
All major political parties called for voting rights for global Nepalis in their manifestos, but these very leaders blocked legislation allowing it despite a 2017 Supreme Court ruling out of fear that it would be anti-incumbent.&nbsp;
<h2>Why so late?</h2>
Bangladesh delivered election results in just one day, but the final results of Nepal's last local polls in 2022 including that of Kathmandu constituencies took nearly a month.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said this week that the results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) ballot counting would “likely” be published within 24 hours of the poll closing at 5PM on 5 March. But many are skeptical.
“I wonder if we lack the capacity or know-how to announce results as quickly as possible,” says Mohna Ansari.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Pokharel says manual ballot paper counting in Nepal is inherently slow because of the large numner of political parties and/or candidates on the ballot, the counting mechanism, the political behaviour of the candidates/parties and some managerial issues during counting.
“Our present policy is to count all the ballot papers at the returning officers' officies, located at the district headquarters. It requires collecting ballot boxes safetly first. This takes time, and there have been cases of ballot boxes being damaged or stolen during transport. In a few highly difficult, geographically remote polling centres, we use a helicopter or transport. But sometimes, accommodating the party and candidates' representatives remains challenging,” explains Pokharel. A solution could be counting ballots at the very booths where they are cast.
Another reason for the delay is simply the number of political parties, and the need for each ballot paper to be examined by booth representatives for consensus. In close races, the smallest difference can lead to tense situations, further delaying results, even though counting centres are protected by metal fencing so there is no disruption.
After this, then it is the turn of Proportional Representation (PR) ballots to be counted. Weeks pass by the time the results of candidates and parties are tallied and verified. But the most common delay is because election officers think ballot counting is a nine-to-five job.&nbsp;
“The efficiency of poll station officers is most important, and they are incentivised for this,” says Ansari, adding that counting can even start within an hour after voting closes.
In remote areas, local resources could be mobilised to make counting quicker, but there is a crisis of trust, adds Ansari.&nbsp;
That could be easily solved with electronic voting which the EC implemented in the 2008 polls but discontinued because political parties felt the machines could be hacked or manipulated.

Nepalis Select Who To Elect

This is the 86th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. <h2>Thinking about the country</h2> Pappu Mahara, Malaysia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_b8bbe881acfbe3eda31f8127bfad743cb672f8777ee145be68b60176bfffda45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260223120244_b8bbe881acfbe3eda31f8127bfad743cb672f8777ee145be68b60176bfffda45" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="2278" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I came to Nepal on vacation and managed to time it around election. In Malaysia where I have been working for over two years, it is all about elections. In our rooms. Online. In fact, the discussions around elections felt more heated in Malaysia than back home in the village here in Mahottari.&nbsp; Even when you find out someone is going to Nepal, Nepalis who are unable to come home ask who we are voting for and remind us to tell everyone to vote for Balen. I gave my colleagues a thumbs up and assured them: only Balen. &nbsp;That is the message we come home with. And that is the reason I pasted Balen even in my suitcase as I came home. I wanted to show the world that those of us who are working hard overseas support him.&nbsp; In the past, my family voted for another party but they failed us. Even to get jobs we qualify for we need connections. Where are the jobs? The factories? Development?&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_5fd78fb1c7aae55b75f687d7e34d362854dc0b7167ee0755766401650fa05fb2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260223120244_5fd78fb1c7aae55b75f687d7e34d362854dc0b7167ee0755766401650fa05fb2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1002" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  Unemployment is high. Costs are rising. It is not just jobs in Nepal, even to get access to good overseas jobs, we need connections now. And money. There is corruption everywhere.&nbsp; Our expectation from the new government is to think beyond only their close networks and personal gain, to think about the country. What is the point of repeating mistakes from the past if those who are going to benefit are the sisters, nieces and nephews of those in power? It is good that some of us got to come home, even one vote can make a difference.&nbsp; Each ballot can create a mountain, that is why we have come home to vote.&nbsp; <h2>Coming home to support my son</h2> Rishiram Khanal कोही छन् विदेशमा, कोही यता शहरमा, जीवन उकास्न भोग्दै कहरै कहरमा। शून्य भयो गाउँघर, मान्छे लाखापाखा हुँदा, जुनकीरीको पिल्पिल् हरायो सुनसान डहरमा। Some are abroad, some here in the city,Enduring hardship just to lift life.Villages empty as people scatter far and wide,Fireflies don't flicker anymore over barren paths. I came home to Nawalpur from Bahrain to support my son, Manish Khanal, who is running in the election as an RSP candidate. I migrated to Bahrain 15 years ago where I work as a security guard. It was for my children’s education and future. That is the story of the majority of us, a compulsion.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_6e0cce852d3b0b1c2d3004952569386674fa5d08cbaa9d77effd1af6ad735dee.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260223120244_6e0cce852d3b0b1c2d3004952569386674fa5d08cbaa9d77effd1af6ad735dee" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1778" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  It would have been better if we did not have to leave our families behind. But we migrate to secure a future for our children. Mine have done well for themselves, they are educated and disciplined. This motivated me to stay on overseas. And now my son’s achievement has further motivated me. From childhood, Manish was a hard-working student who did well throughout his school. He got into politics through Bibeksheel and has now made his way to RSP where he is contesting from Nawalpur. Everyone has their reason for joining politics. My son was drawn to it because the country was deteriorating and corruption is rife. Many youth are leaving. The Gen-Z revolution in which many young lives were lost made him even more committed to run for office. I come home every two years on vacation, but this time it was special when I arrived three days ago. I was overjoyed. Even on the plane, people recognised my son on videos. He is from an ordinary Nepali family, but is getting noticed globally. &nbsp;I had never imagined this reality is possible, such a life-changing opportunity has opened up for him at such a young age. He is the second youngest candidate running for office.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_b5a8fbc1a268445798a573e6f9e837a1ed620d494a2c06492a4a14d790a7a319.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260223120244_b5a8fbc1a268445798a573e6f9e837a1ed620d494a2c06492a4a14d790a7a319" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> <figcaption>Rishiram Khanal (left) with his son Manish Khanal.</figcaption> </figure>  I want to see him run the country. I want him to ensure that the youth can get decent jobs in Nepal itself. I am encouraged by the feedback I have received from fellow workers in Bahrain. They support me and congratulate me for raising a son with such integrity. Here in Nawalpur, the environment is positive and I am also helping campaign for my son. The support for the RSP abroad is high. People are calling up family members back home to tell them to vote for घन्टी. We have long duty hours so don’t travel around much but from what I saw, there is a lot of support for the party. No matter who is running from whichever party, I hope that the priority will be Nepal’s prosperity, they should focus on building the nation. Nepalis should not have to leave in such large numbers.&nbsp; As for my son, I wish him the very best and hope he goes far. I want him win and become Nepal's son, not just mine. I want the world to know of him as an honest, selfless Nepali who will fulfil his duties for the nation earnestly.&nbsp; <h2>If not now, then when?</h2> Narendra baral, Oman  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_f8d421d93e8668b794e606198ee5b29d8e6b1af1640c91577b6f984c93d088f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260223120244_f8d421d93e8668b794e606198ee5b29d8e6b1af1640c91577b6f984c93d088f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="606" height="689" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  Just like elections have taken over Nepal, those of us abroad are equally excited and engaged. After the GenZ movement in particular, we Nepalis abroad have become even more involved. Friends are also keen to return to Nepal to vote. The mentality that no matter who wins it won’t matter and nothing will change has now been replaced by: if not now, when? There is a growing consensus that youth need to lead the nation. In that regard, the leadership change in the Nepali Congress (NC) has encouraged overseas Nepalis because we view Gagan Thapa, with his experience and sacrifices, as the right person to lead the nation. What he did recently to change the face of the NC has rejuvenated hope. For far too long, the musical chairs among the same old people had led to a sense of disgust with the state of the politics.&nbsp; Now, with new parties and new leadership in old parties, we feel emboldened to talk and engage positively and with hope. He has already won people’s confidence by allowing new faces to contest the elections, and even those who had started feeling skeptical or discouraged with Congress are now strongly supporting the party. I first migrated to Dubai in 2006 and returned five years later to start a poultry farm and fresh house in Nepal, but it did not go very far, so I decided to remigrate to Oman in 2016. It is a pity that overseas Nepalis could not vote in this election either. We saw Bangladeshis mail their votes just recently, while Filipino colleagues do so online.&nbsp; We even submitted a petition to the embassy on this issue, and the ambassador was positive given that there are just 25,000 Nepalis in Oman. Let’s hope the next election will be different. I am glad that this issue has been addressed in recent manifestos shared by the parties. Other than allowing diaspora voting, the government should also create a platform for those of us abroad so we can channel our investment and skills back home. We are investing in Oman and would like to do the same back home and create jobs for youth. Those of us who can manage are coming to Nepal to vote. Some of us have timed our vacations that way. Others have taken a week’s leave. <h2>Every vote counts&nbsp;</h2> Prajwal Poudel, Saudi Arabia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260224130228_0b2e9f6cbfc40a4fbd90ee93ede9bfe66dfb7011785376e6d290ce12578f69a6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260224130228_0b2e9f6cbfc40a4fbd90ee93ede9bfe66dfb7011785376e6d290ce12578f69a6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="878" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I was not sure if I would come to Nepal from Saudi Arabia for this election. But as election came close I really wanted to come home, I thought every vote matters. It is a basic right of every Nepali citizen and this is the right time now in Nepal where things are building up for change.&nbsp; All five of us roommates are returning. We all came together to Saudi Arabia to work and are going back together to vote for RSP. Our contract was about to end a couple of weeks after the elections so my roommates decided to forfeit a few weeks of salary to come home to vote. My situation was a bit different because I had made up my mind to stay on. I can always migrate overseas, if I have to go again, I can arrange it but the GenZ movement is a once in a lifetime event and this positive environment for change might not come again. I have resigned from my job with the slogan: each vote counts. I also am hopeful that the same employer will bring me back if needed as I have built a good rapport with them and worked hard throughout my contract. I am supporting Ghanti this time but if they do not deliver I will again choose another party next time.&nbsp; For me it is about choosing the right leaders. Some of my colleagues are telling me I should not have made this decision to return. My father was telling me to remain overseas so I have not told him properly that I am coming home with no return plans. My mother knows the reality and seems excited and she brought my citizenship card to Jhapa.&nbsp; If things don’t pan out as I have planned and the same old faces win, I will again migrate. Perhaps that is why I am coming home to avoid that possibility. The stakes are high this time. <h2>I am coming home to vote</h2> Bimal Subedi, Qatar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_8c0597047c2aa87a1dc8d3c062f46071107c16a3d8331df12627db9b14ce2756.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260223120244_8c0597047c2aa87a1dc8d3c062f46071107c16a3d8331df12627db9b14ce2756" data-rendition-name="original" width="924" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  The political ups and downs in Nepal brought me to Qatar 21 years ago, but even from the diaspora, I have continued my engagement with the NC in various capacities. The democratic change of 1990, led by the NC opened Nepal to the world. &nbsp; From a country that did not even allow ordinary people to have passports, the government took steps to provide unemployed youth access to overseas jobs and the international market. This outmigration intensified after the Maoist conflict, and now there is a significant population overseas. Foreign employment has helped us send money back home, which has improved our living standards and helped us come out of poverty. Foreign employment can be beneficial if we make good use of it to maximise our skills and capabilities. I have been able to establish myself as a senior accountant in an international travel company and have also improved my family’s living standards. In the past two decades, I have come home 70 times, in fact, it is easier for me to travel to Kathmandu from Qatar than for someone from Dolpo.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120244_1f89301a33ee6ed0858d7047aeb7ad4c73289c7be58a451c6d1c98d6930d2bc2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260223120244_1f89301a33ee6ed0858d7047aeb7ad4c73289c7be58a451c6d1c98d6930d2bc2" data-rendition-name="original" width="924" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  The recent GenZ movement was a fight for equal access to education and basic services. Someone in Dolpo should have access to the same opportunities as someone in Kathmandu. But inequality transcends borders. Someone working in the same five star hotel overseas versus in Nepal sees a large salary difference. Only the one abroad can make meaningful savings. How do we create a labour market in Nepal that provides quality jobs so people can afford a decent living? The narrative being painted, especially on social media, that only the new is good is misleading. We have long advocated for change that touches the grassroots level and provides equal access to opportunities and services. The latest changes within NC leadership and the manifesto have made it evident that reform is coming, and we are coming home to show our support. Some are returning just to vote, while others have arranged their vacations during election time. This time I am coming home with the hope that the new government will ensure everyone has equal access to healthcare and education. That Nepali diaspora overseas will be provided a platform to invest in Nepal and help create world class jobs.&nbsp; I am coming to vote for a Nepal that we can all be proud of. <h2>Possibility of real change&nbsp;</h2> Sachin Thakur, Malaysia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223120248_40a23a8aa46cc22999de1bfafe6e77a30c88253ea280473c7213d40d35d3acd5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223120248_40a23a8aa46cc22999de1bfafe6e77a30c88253ea280473c7213d40d35d3acd5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Homecoming at election time NT"> </figure>  I am coming home for the first time after working 40 months in Malaysia. I came to vote for Balen. I went overseas looking for jobs, just like my father who had spent five years in Qatar as a construction worker and who returned prematurely from the UAE after a failed migration experience.&nbsp; Malaysia is filled with Balen supporters. We have a company canteen where ten of us met constantly to discuss politics. We talked about corruption and the need for better jobs back home. The non-RSP supporters are in the minority at our workplace and perhaps across Malaysia. I came home to vote. I was lucky to be able to time my vacation that way. I look forward to spending time with family but also have plans to get together with the boys to campaign for RSP.&nbsp; For those of us who are overseas, the expectation is that the government will negotiate better terms of employment including higher pay. And that we can eventually come home. I want to resume my business making gold jewelery.&nbsp; What Nepal needs is leaders who focus on improving the basics: education and health, and everything else would work out on its own. We are betting on Balen because he has made a difference in Kathmandu as mayor, and now it is time to think about the whole country. It is not guaranteed how much he will be able to accomplish, but there is an actual possibility for real change this time and that is what matters.&nbsp;