Spring 2005

It is unbearable,
to know of tragedies of our time.
Perhaps a person who is of an advanced age,
is affected to a greater extent by such occurrences
if a long Christian life has made him
more sensitive.
That which is unbearable is the misery of the person,
the person who has been healed in our eyes.
How can one do nothing,
when one sees,
how a person is a victim of mankind?

Frère Roger Schutz

Dear Friends of our
Shanti Family,

On 1 February, the Nepalese king dissolved Parliament, had the politicians apprehended or placed under house arrest and officially seized all power in Nepal. The airport was closed down, it was not possible to make contact by telephone, not even within Nepal or even Kathmandu. The King wants to solve the problem of the Maoist terror with military force.
Marianne Grosspietsch wanted to fly to Nepal via India at the beginning of February but initially became stranded in India due to the airport being closed down. She now plans to remain in Nepal until mid-April at the earliest. She must invest all of her strengths in the work which is to be carried out in the station. In this edition of the "News", I shall once more allow you to simply participate in her everyday life and quote from the reports and thoughts which she sent to Dortmund.

10 February 2005

I have now been here for the past three days and I am thankful for this. I understand that you would prefer to have me in Dortmund, where you know that I am safe but I would like to ask you to understand me too: I cannot leave ours alone in this situation. I must help them to act now in a clever and calm and collected manner and react to the growing misery in a creative way.
The town is full of police and military. We are controlled every few metres on our way to the station or home.
The newspapers delight us with wonderful, large pictures of spring flowers or cute cats on the front page. We also learn lots about the diverse royal families (outside Nepal!) or actors. We do not however learn anything about the situation here in Nepal. Complete columns or text blocks are simply empty. Members of the armed forces sit in all of the editorial offices in order to ensure that no wrong words are written.

11 February

Food is becoming increasingly expensive every day as the Maos have blocked all four access roads leading to the valley. The lorries with vegetables and other food are unable to reach us in the valley. The vegetables perish. The farmers simply pour them onto the road.
I am so thankful that we have our own vegetables! I had an idea a short time ago which I immediately discussed with our team: we could cook soup for everyone every day – then they do not have to worry about the rising prices. We would then deduct a small amount of money from their salaries.
I have hot soups cooked in winter and in the summer heat, cold broths with copious amounts of fresh herbs. By doing so, I can also do something against the frequent dehydration. Bladder stones are unbelievably wide-spread in Nepal, even with children. I would like to work in a preventative manner here.
I have an idea that the soups should be repeated in a 14-day rhythm, perhaps every three weeks. I have already worked on the first recipes with the chef. If we add a couple of kilograms of rice and potatoes, their appetites are satisfied and the feeling lasts.
Today, we shall organise the expansion of the large kitchen.