Wednesday, November 08, 2006
More from Nepal...
PREVIOUSLY in Nepal, it was evacuation by elephant as the Monsoon enveloped us. Then there were snakes surrounding the telephone at the local grocery store as we tried to make arrangements to move out of the jungle. And then the mosquitoes began to bite. Don’t even ask about wading through the flooded River Narayani and all those silly dangers we’re trained to avoid.
This time, it was going to be alright.
Oh, I see, so why are we are in Maoist strongholds where a Westerner (any) is a great prize. A journalist? How tasty! Let’s kidnap and torture! Gonnae no dae that. Please.
This time, no problems. Well, until engine failure on the take-off from Kathmandu at the end of it all. As we took off, there was an almighty bang, the plane lurched to the right (David Cameron is affecting everything these days) and shuddered. The passengers froze. Just another day in paradise.
Choices for the pilot: return to base below or burn off fuel to Qatar and an emergency landing in the Middle East?
Why did those crew members run up and down the aisles with torches, looking at the wing? Yes, really, they ran. Why did it take 12 minutes and seven seconds for the Captain to say all was well, and it was a minor bird strike? Yes, as an old radio man, I counted him in and out.
Earlier, as I boarded, a young Nepali had offered me his seat at the window instead of mine on the aisle. “We should at least learn each others’ names, in case we have to call in the dark to save each other,” I offered. “And by the way, thanks for the seat change,” as I pondered the failed engine immediately outside my windae.
“I’m Raj,” he said. Guid, I thought. We can call that in any emergency and find most of the passengers answering.
At least at this moment we weren’t flying low over Baghdad as we had been on the trip in. Flying low, Americans above us, guarding and guiding our jet through Iraqi airspace? How safe we feel.
But before all that skyborne excitement, the joys of trying to help bring back democracy to Nepal through helping develop the media. It’s an important part of the Peace Process, and the most democratic set of Guidelines I have ever worked on.
Along with the Nepal Press Institute and the British Embassy in Kathmandu, Caledonia Media is working on a new set of ethical guidelines for the Nepali media; setting a new standard for the journalists to aspire to.
Winnie Ewing once told me in an interview in Inverness that the people were ahead of the politicians; in Nepal, the people and the media are ahead of the politicians and preparing for a new generation where they demand democracy and a free, responsible Press.
We publish the new standards in February.
Last time it was evacuation on elephants, this time, I learned to ride a motorbike; cook and enjoy fantastic Nepali food; barter with the best of them in Freak Street, Kathmandu; go home hoping that Peace Will Prevail in Nepal; and that business will invest heavily, swiftly and remember the debt we owe the Nepalese. Not least for the marvellous Ghurkhas.
Charles Fletcher
charles.fletcher@caledoniamedia.com
PREVIOUSLY in Nepal, it was evacuation by elephant as the Monsoon enveloped us. Then there were snakes surrounding the telephone at the local grocery store as we tried to make arrangements to move out of the jungle. And then the mosquitoes began to bite. Don’t even ask about wading through the flooded River Narayani and all those silly dangers we’re trained to avoid.
This time, it was going to be alright.
Oh, I see, so why are we are in Maoist strongholds where a Westerner (any) is a great prize. A journalist? How tasty! Let’s kidnap and torture! Gonnae no dae that. Please.
This time, no problems. Well, until engine failure on the take-off from Kathmandu at the end of it all. As we took off, there was an almighty bang, the plane lurched to the right (David Cameron is affecting everything these days) and shuddered. The passengers froze. Just another day in paradise.
Choices for the pilot: return to base below or burn off fuel to Qatar and an emergency landing in the Middle East?
Why did those crew members run up and down the aisles with torches, looking at the wing? Yes, really, they ran. Why did it take 12 minutes and seven seconds for the Captain to say all was well, and it was a minor bird strike? Yes, as an old radio man, I counted him in and out.
Earlier, as I boarded, a young Nepali had offered me his seat at the window instead of mine on the aisle. “We should at least learn each others’ names, in case we have to call in the dark to save each other,” I offered. “And by the way, thanks for the seat change,” as I pondered the failed engine immediately outside my windae.
“I’m Raj,” he said. Guid, I thought. We can call that in any emergency and find most of the passengers answering.
At least at this moment we weren’t flying low over Baghdad as we had been on the trip in. Flying low, Americans above us, guarding and guiding our jet through Iraqi airspace? How safe we feel.
But before all that skyborne excitement, the joys of trying to help bring back democracy to Nepal through helping develop the media. It’s an important part of the Peace Process, and the most democratic set of Guidelines I have ever worked on.
Along with the Nepal Press Institute and the British Embassy in Kathmandu, Caledonia Media is working on a new set of ethical guidelines for the Nepali media; setting a new standard for the journalists to aspire to.
Winnie Ewing once told me in an interview in Inverness that the people were ahead of the politicians; in Nepal, the people and the media are ahead of the politicians and preparing for a new generation where they demand democracy and a free, responsible Press.
We publish the new standards in February.
Last time it was evacuation on elephants, this time, I learned to ride a motorbike; cook and enjoy fantastic Nepali food; barter with the best of them in Freak Street, Kathmandu; go home hoping that Peace Will Prevail in Nepal; and that business will invest heavily, swiftly and remember the debt we owe the Nepalese. Not least for the marvellous Ghurkhas.
Charles Fletcher
charles.fletcher@caledoniamedia.com
