Sabina Adhikary (pic) joined the Maoist militia when she was just in Grade 8. For the next ten years of the People’s War, she fought on the frontlines of more than three dozen major battles, sustaining bullet wounds in both her legs. Since the end of the conflict, Adhikary struggles to make ends meet, living in a small hut in Tarakhet of Rolpa.
The commander who trained her during the war, Nanda Kishor Pun ‘Comrade Pasang’, is now the Vice President of Nepal but former combatants like Adhikary struggle both economically and socially. Former Maoist combatants say that they feel let down by the party, which failed on its promises.
Adhikary said that even though their commander during the Battle of Beni on 20 March, 2004 is now the VP, most living guerrillas are no longer politically active. “As the anniversary of the battle nears, the wounds open up again,” she told benionline.com.
Instead, most injured combatants who fought at Beni, including Adhikary’s husband Tenzing Garbuja, have left for work in the Gulf. Former fighters say it is difficult to find a job and assimilate back into society since the 'class enemies' they beat up and abducted during the war are still around.
“We have to struggle for our livelihoods in the same places we waged our class struggle,” said another former combatant. He added that instead of caring for the families of the injured and deceased combatants, the leaders were too busy accumulating wealth for themselves. They say the wounds and injuries they sustained during the war are constant reminders of all that they lost.
Still, many injured guerrillas from a decade ago have yet to receive compensation from the government, having to take out loans for their treatment. The District Administration Office cites 26 cases of unattended injured former combatants.
“The state still thinks of us as the enemy. False victims have collected cheques while real victims like us have not received any relief,” said Adhikary.
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