Kamaiya movement: Chaotic rehabilitation was the mistake

Freed Kamaiyas (Bonded laborers) who were declared freed on 17 July 2000 have not been satisfied even after 6 years of their emancipation, rather thousands of individuals claiming themselves to be Kamaiyas have intensified the movement demanding the proper rehabilitation. Kamaiya leaders and intellectuals say unsystematic process in identifying the Kamaiyas and chaotic rehabilitation is the cause for what Kamaiyas are doing to grab the rights now.

The Kamaiyas who were excluded in the freed Kamaiyas' list raised the voice from the very beginning government finalized the statistics of the Kamayas of Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts to provide 5 katthas of land, 35 cubic of timber for constructing building and Rs.Ten thousands cash to each family. The government had classified the Kamaiyas in 2 categories. However many Kamaiyas holding even red card have not received the rehabilitation packages.

Even many Kamaiyas have rejected the land accusing the government that it provided unproductive stream beach to them. Ex Kamaiya of Saudiyar VDC Chulbu Chaudhary and Janu Chaudhary of Bharatpur of Tribhuvan Nagar Dang say they have officially registered an application that they will not go to the rehabilitated place.

The ex Kamaiyas have two major demands that include the rehabilitation and employment.

The fresh agitation of new Kamaiys have fueling the fire to the existing problem of ex Kamaiyas. Pashupati Chaudhary, president of Freed Kamaiyas Society says that they will continue the protest until the government hears their demands. According to Chaudhary, Kamaiyas have been sheltered seizing 2 thousands bighas of land in the five districts following the government's apathy to pursue the Supreme Court's (SC) order. SC had issued an order in the name of the government to provide the previously announced facilities to the freed Kamaiyas and furnish the details to the monitoring committee.

Chaudhary says unsystematic collection of the statistics and unmanaged rehabilitation was the cause why they are going to the streets. It is reported that some 20,000 Kamaiyas are yet to receive such facilities. Similarly more than 10,000 freed Kamaiyas are supposed to be wanderers, without any land or job while around 5,000 Kamaiyas who were given lands find it insufficient and some 4,000 "freed" Kamaiyas have received land in the form of landownership certificates provided by the government.

Though Human right organizations and several NOGs and INGOs have been coming up with the support for Kamaiys, they are not satisfied to some NGOs misusing the issue of Kamaiyas and funding.

Advocate Bhimarjun Acharya also says that there is no controversy in saying that poor and unsystematic rehabilitation was the cause of Kamaiyas protests. Stressing to the systematic rehabilitation advocate Acharya points out that misuse of the sum allocated by the government and several NGOs and INGOs is another cause of the problems freed Kamaiyas are facing.

The unofficial estimation is that at least Rs. 7 billion has been spent in the name of retailing freed Kamaiyas. However the problems of the Kamaiyas still persists. 

 By Narayan Bibas