Jimi Hendrix could have sung ‘All along the watchtower’ about the dilemma of the 21st century Nepali people. He sang the first few lines: ‘There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief, “There’s too much confusion. I can’t get no relief. Businessmen – they drink my wine.’ The joker could be the Nepali people and the readers are free to make their own conclusion about the identity of the thief in the song. The way out for many is the Gulf and Malaysia which until now have been welcoming millions of Nepalese with open arms. People are confused. They receive ‘no’relief. Even the Chinese government’s invitation to them is hijacked by the local leaders who replace the genuine April quake victims with the illegal ones, mostly their own kith and kin (“Maoist leaders’ kin off to China as quake victims”, THT, Dec. 12, Page 1). The real victims meanwhile languish in temporary shacks for months. Rs. 27 billion of donors’ money meant to ameliorate their lot have been spent without even smashing a coconut. There is even more confusion in ‘akanda pashchim’. While the heroes and builders from one of the most backward regions of the country flock to the Newar Valley, crowding the political and banking corridors with their ingrained mindset and mannerisms, their ‘intact west’ turns into a vibrant breeding ground of social diseases of the ancient times (“Caste discrimination rampant in Bajura”, THT, Dec. 12, Page 2).

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Illegal funds

Apropos of the news story “Country records illicit financial outflow of $5.67 bn in10 years” (THT, Dec. 11, Page 9), this is enough to put fiveof our countrymen in the prestigious Forbes’ list of billionaires. This money should be enough to turn the entire restive dirt-poor Tarai into a rich, vibrant and peaceful economy. The only problem is, all this is illicit money the volume of which would shock even the billionaire Republican Presidential front-runner candidate, Donald Trump. Since our government cannot do much to stop the outflow of such mountain of illicit money except colluding with the

Hanuman-worshipping businessmen, we should seek active help from international community to get it back to the rightful owner: Nepal. To spring them into immediate action, we can warn the US that such illicit flow of money from such a dirt-poor country could easily fall into the hands of ISIS. Folklore has it that when a Bombay-based gangster was graduating from the humble station as the son of a lowly-paid constable, he used his contacts to high profile people in the Himalayas. Such money always has the chance of falling into the terrorists’ hands and, therefore, a matter of great interest to the US and NATO that are fighting to wipe out the scourge of terrorism, drugs and other evils from the face of earth. This money can easily buy a vast armory for any organisation or a country.

1. Talchabhadell, Bhaktapur