Diya smiled at me with her big, soft eyes. “Bec mamu, things will get better. I always have hope for a better future. It can’t be worse than this.” This tiny girl who had experienced more pain and loss in her short life than most people do in a lifetime, continued to have hope, to believe in a better future, even with the odds stacked against her.
Hope is a wonderfully powerful concept. “High
hopers” have been shown to embrace a goal with more emotional zeal and energy
and to demonstrate a greater ability to develop alternatives when faced with
challenges. I wondered whether hope had the same power on a national level as
on an individual one when I was struck by the headline in The Economist’s
Special Report on Emerging Africa in March 2013 - “A hopeful continent”.
I reflected on the power of hope, the
motivation which springs from it as I read the on: “African lives have already
greatly improved over the past decade. The next 10 years will be even better.”
I smiled at the image this created, inspired by the optimism and celebration of
success so far, “a picture at odds with the Western images of Africa.” The
media-driven images of controlling dictators, war, and poverty while definitely
an accurate depiction in some respects, only told part of the story. These things
have become rarer. The report acknowledges that “[p]eople still struggle to
make ends meet, just as they do in China and India. They don’t always have
enough to eat, they may lack education, they despair at daily injustices and
some want to emigrate. But most Africans no longer fear a violent or premature
end and can hope to see their children do well. . . . . The biggest reason to
be hopeful is that it takes time for results from past investments to come
through, and many such benefits have yet to materialise.”
I wished something similar could be said
about Nepal, my adopted homeland, a wonderful country with so much to offer the
world, but so little hope. Years of civil war, followed by years of ineffective
and self-obsessed government had drained these patient and fatalistic people of
their belief in the possibilities of a better future.
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Travelling back to Nepal after a few weeks
in Australia, the Straits Times hailed a cry of hope from the Singaporean prime
minister – “PM: A bright future for S’pore’s babies. He urges citizens to work
with the Government to keep the country a good place to raise children.” For a
spirit of national hope to thrive, it needs to be led by the government,
inspired by the government and communicated by the media. Singapore seemed to
have found a way to share its inspiration. Nepal’s media on the other hand, was
communicating a message from its government which had a very different
approach.
“Consensus again eludes big four” shouted one
headline. “Differences delay new gov’t. Leaders disagree on army rank, TRC,
voter registration” proclaimed another. “NBA opposes CJ-led government.
Threatens protests if parties go ahead.” And finally “After days of
dilly-dallying, CJ accepts PM offer. SC statement says Regmi not guided by
personal interest”.
The “big four” had been arguing for months
and still hadn’t managed to pass the new constitution. A few months later in
August and the November election date has just been abandoned because some
parties are refusing to participate because they don’t think they have the
numbers yet – um, so let them not contest it! But no, the country remains in a
downward spiral while the politicians fight for power. Is it any wonder the Nepali
people have lost hope?
Bhutan, known for its innovative Gross
National Happiness, also recently made a decision to issue condoms to monks.
Even though monks are supposed to be celibate, the government was concerned
that sexually transmitted diseases were being reported and so decided to tackle
the issue head on rather than ignoring it and allowing it to get bigger. This
is the kind of proactive, unafraid, committed government Nepal needs in order
to inspire its people to rediscover their hope.
The story in Nepal needs to change from the
“Nepal is a poor country which needs lots of help” narrative that they are
taught in schools and which is reinforced by the amount of aid coming in and by
the government’s disorganised self-obsessed mismanagement to one of hope. Maybe
Diya is right, it can’t get worse so we have to hope it will get better.
Perhaps Nepal needs to develop a new form of national measurement, inspired by
Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness – Gross National Hope.
Imagine what could be achieved if Nepal was
a country of “high hopers” with the passion and energy to achieve their dreams.
Imagine if The Economist’s headline was about Nepal – “a country of hope”.
