Democracy For Nepal: Mass Action For Relief And Reconstruction

Friday, May 01, 2015

Mass Action For Relief And Reconstruction

I am worried. Deeply worried. There are early signs the government might mess it up.

I think there is need for mass action to pressure the calling of an emergency meeting of the Nepal parliament. The parliament would pass a bill that would make room for a website run by a large team of Nepali IT volunteers in Nepal and around the world that will:

Gather as much information as possible on the damage, in rich media, and help disseminate all that over social media channels for the global audience, asking Nepalis and friends of Nepal to share
To get them to donate to a list of organizations (including the Nepali government)
That would be required to participate in 100% transparency, in how much they collect, where they spend it, in what amounts, and for what.

As long as that 100% online transparency is maintained, they do not have to go through the Nepali government. Such a bill needs to be passed urgently. This model can work not just for relief but also reconstruction. We could get donors across the world to adopt families. I don't think it will be hard to find 500,000 donors who would adopt 500,000 families to help rebuild their homes, only this time cheap, earthquake proof homes. This family to family connection is key, and there you need 100% transparency and social media communication. If you can show people where their 500 bucks might be going, they will happily chip in.

This can be a grassroots effort. You don't have to be running a political party or ministry to do this. This is not an anti Nepal government effort. The Nepal government should do all it can and do so at full speed. But it better not get in the way of everyone else who is trying to help.

Nab the corrupt ones and send them to China. The Chinese know how to deal with corrupt ones.