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Cultural Survival Stands in Solidarity With Nepal in the Wake of the Earthquake

Cultural Survival offers its deepest condolences to all the victims’ families of last Saturday’s earthquake outside of Kathmandu, Nepal.  The thoughts and prayers of all Cultural Survival Board and Staff are with the many affected by this disaster.  We especially stand with the Indigenous Peoples of Nepal who make up 40 percent of the national population (26.5 million) and face marginalization in the long term recovery efforts. Even though they constitute a significant proportion of the population, throughout the history of Nepal Indigenous Peoples have been marginalized in terms of language, culture, and political and economic opportunities. The 2011 census listed the population as belonging to 125 caste and ethnic groups, including 63 indigenous peoples, 59 castes (including 15 Dalit castes) and 3 religious groups (Muslim, Sikh and Bangali) (IWGIA). The Government of Nepal has, however, since 2002 recognized only 59 Indigenous Peoples.

With massive attention and focus on the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu, we are extremely concerned that affected Indigenous communities in remote  and mountainous areas will last to obtain basic releif assistance.

We are relieved to know that our longtime Board member Stella Tamang and her family are safe, however living outdoors due to gross damage to their home. Stella is a member of the Tamang, one of Nepal’s largest Indigenous groups. She founded Bikalpa Gyan Kedra, an organization that works to eradicate child labor among the Tamang by offering alternative educational opportunities to girls. Currently Bikalpa Gyan Kedra has become a shelter for over 300 families.

We encourage our supporters to donate to a special fund for Nepal that we have set up to support Stella and Bikalpa Gyan Kedra in providing basic needs to earthquake survivors.

We mourn with the people of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh in the aftermath of this dreadful natural disaster and offer our support and our prayers to those injured and rendered homeless by the strongest earthquake that has rocked Nepal in eighty years.