One young man’s protest against Nepal’s COVID-19 response · Global Voices
<PERSON>, the curious traveller turned activist. Photo from <PERSON>'s Instagram. Used with permission.
On October 22, 25-year-old Nepalese activist <PERSON> reached the town of Sauraha after walking 167 kilometres for four days from the capital Kathmandu, along with a fellow group of acquaintances. Once there, they distributed supplies to over 75 local families who work in the tourism sector, a major source of revenue in this town, which was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This wasn't the first time <PERSON> walked long distances in Nepal, nor the first time he made headlines for his unconventional protest tactics.
Born <PERSON>, <PERSON> dropped out of Kathmandu's prestigious St. Xavier's School at age 14 and set out on walking all over Nepal. In 2015, he walked across the southern plains of Nepal for 37 days, covering 1,203 kilometres. Between 2017 and 2018, he travelled across the country from east to west, covering an astounding 6,000 kilometres in 225 days. At some point along his journey, he decided to abandon his birth name, adopting the moniker of <PERSON>.
<PERSON>, one of the most read columnists in Nepal, wrote about Iih:
The choice of <PERSON>'s nom de plume is dissent in itself. 765
The word Iih in Nepali stands for “this” and its Sanskrit meaning implies the deity of desire […] a mischievous interpretation of Iih in Nepali is akin to showing the middle finger, probably to the established order of the state and society.
Now enjoying a large social media following, <PERSON> first became known in Nepal in 2016, when he was arrested for splashing red paint on the walls of Singha Durbar, Nepal's government seat, in protest against police violence.
This year, he turned his tactics towards Nepal's poor COVID-19 response.
<PERSON> being taken to a press conference on August 9, 2020. Photo by <PERSON>. Used with permission.
Nepal registered more than 170,000 COVID-19 infections as of November 2. The highest single-day spike in cases took place on October 10 and October 21, with over 5,000 new cases registered each day.
<PERSON> has been critical of the government's response to the pandemic since Nepal declared a nationwide lockdown in March. At that time, the government had been testing suspect COVID-19 cases with RDTs, which are less effective in detecting the SARS-CoV-2, and only carrying out PCR tests after a positive RDT sample.
<PERSON> then organized the #EnoughIsEnough campaign, which staged several protests nationwide since June. The campaign demanded expansion of testing, discontinuance of RDTs, the rectification of quarantine strategy, transparency and accountability regarding the use of COVID-19-related funds, protection of frontline workers, relief for vulnerable populations, among other issues.
Talking to OnlineKhabar, <PERSON> said:
… I posted a story on Instagram, asking, “If anyone wants to come to the street, send me your Facebook ID, I will make a Facebook group and add you.”
About 400 youth sent their IDs saying that they are ready to come to the streets. […]
So, before I did anything, those 400 started inviting other friends to the group called ‘Enough is Enough’.
<PERSON> was arrested in one of the #EnoughIsEnough protests in June:
Nepal Police arrested <PERSON> along with two others from Maitighar, but hundreds of others continue the protest #EnoughIsEnough #HappeningNow pic.twitter.com/dzfYyUzOPj
— <PERSON> (@rdewan) June 13, 2020
This short documentary by Vice Asia documented some of the demonstrations this summer in Nepal:
In June, the always-walking <PERSON> sat down for Satyagraha, a form of hunger strike, in protest against the government's COVID-19 measures. He ended the 12-day strike after authorities signed a 12-point agreement with the #EnoughIsEnough campaign pledging to implement a better response. 765