Far from the capital, in the mid-western hills of Rolpa, the people are cheering because the war is formally over. But they are still frightened with the present political scenario. They fear if the peace process fails, the war will begin again.

Thabang village of Rolpa was the former headquarter of rebels. Here they made their plans, sheltered their guerrillas and trained their cadres.

Thabang village lies in northern Rolpa. It takes two days on foot to reach this village from the nearest road. The village was the most vulnerable in the war time. Brutality, from state as well as from rebels, never ended in this village.

“More than 50 houses were bombed and burned and 30 people were killed. In the crossfire we had to flee from the village to save our lives. In doing so, many women gave birth to their children in the forests, small children saw their houses burned, and some saw their family killed in front of them,” remembers Jay Kumari B.K., a local resident, who gave birth to a son in the forest as they fled from their village in the crossfire.

In the post conflict situation, villagers here want sustainable peace in the country. This place had been isolated from the outer world for ten years. Development activities were almost nil during the conflict. Until four years ago, there was no basic infrastructure here.

But now, thanks to the efforts of the local people, there are a small micro-hydro plant, a higher secondary school, a public library and a health post. People had to walk two days to the district headquarters to make a telephone call to Kathmandu or abroad. Now most of households of this village own a mobile set.

“The trauma that war left behind in the minds of villagers, including small children, is serious. But not all impact is negative. People of this place are now politically aware. They are concerned about the development issues as well,” says Umesh Buda Magar a local youth.

Every family is volunteering to construct roads that link them with the district headquarters. The war taught them the importance of peace, social participation and development issues and brotherhood.

Besides development people also need jobs to generate income. So the villagers are working together to develop this place as a tourism destination.

Within this short interval of time, post conflict Thabang village has changed a lot. There are no more political campaigns as in the past but development hopes are running high. People are aware about participation in development. They are aware about their duty to develop their village and heal the trauma of the war.

Thabang village is just a model. There are many villages in Nepal which were vulnerable in war time. The trauma of war can be reduced by teaching them about social participation. The acute frustration from political scenario can be reduced by engaging people in the development activities of their own society and fulfilling their hopes for development. This can be the only path of restoring long term peace in Nepal and healing the trauma of war.
Every family is volunteering to construct roads that link them with the district headquarters. The war taught them the importance of peace, social participation and development issues and brotherhood.

Besides development people also need jobs to generate income. So the villagers are working together to develop this place as a tourism destination.

Within this short interval of time, post conflict Thabang village has changed a lot. There are no more political campaigns as in the past but development hopes are running high. People are aware about participation in development. They are aware about their duty to develop their village and heal the trauma of the war.

Thabang village is just a model. There are many villages in Nepal which were vulnerable in war time. The trauma of war can be reduced by teaching them about social participation. The acute frustration from political scenario can be reduced by engaging people in the development activities of their own society and fulfilling their hopes for development. This can be the only path of restoring long term peace in Nepal and healing the trauma of war.