Well, it looks like the strike which was to only last 4 days, then one day, is now indefinite. At one point two days ago there were dueling strikes--the opposition parties here called one for four days only to have the party in power call a strike (in protest?). Then, the opposition parties revoked THEIR strike and got pissy about the main party's strike. Are they kidding with this? A woman I know sells fried food near the main tourist area in town about 10 minutes from my house. Two days ago, she went to her stall thinking the strikes were off. First, the opposition supporters came by her stall to "discuss" with her about staying open. She was told it was a very, very good idea to stay open. Minutes later (I am NOT kidding you here), the main party's supporters came by to "discuss" with her about closing her shop. With knives. Excellent.
Maybe I should explain what a strike is to those of you without experience in the strike-happy belt known as West Bengal and Nepal. During a strike, nothing opens for business. The markets close, all shops, everything. Well, here they allow the chemist (pharmacy) shops to remain open in case you are dying and need medicine or needles, or a cough drop. Very thoughtful of them, na? Anyway, cars aren't really allowed on the roads whether or not there was an explicit order for them to stay off the roads. So basically nothing happens. People have been treating this one more like a holiday than the others we've had this year. Everyone is really staying home. I watched a group of teenagers play cards for about 14 hours yesterday and my neighbors to the other side just did their laundry and ate all day.
Tourists, on the other hand, are not so happy. Apparently a flock of them went down to a few of the taxi stands yesterday trying to get out of the hills. Not only were the prices sometimes 10 times higher than normal, no one would go even at the agreed price. I feel sorry for them, really. They are confined to their often crappy hotels with nothing to do. The weather is finally perfect--sunny, clear, and the mountains are visible on every side. Yet, they can't leave their hotels. Its not even really safe for them to wander around the city right now.
I am just sitting in my house, backing up my data, and hoping there is a break in the strikes. I'm supposed to fly out soon (Saturday to be exact) and would very much like a taxi to take me down the mountain. However, since I have a nonrefundable ticket I may have to walk down the mountain. With research accoutrement in tow. Since I've been walking up and down the mountains for 11 months, I probably have the leg strength to do it. Plus, how often do you get a fantastically hard core story to end your fieldwork? Really, anthro people...back me up on this one. Fantastic way to end the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment