mikeldunham

The economics of political instability in Nepal--Dunham's Interview with Himalaya SJB Rana

 October 16, 2007

Peace and rule of law are the prerequisites for economic development—basic ingredients currently absent in Nepal. The cancellation of the November elections was the latest bad political news. A meeting between the Maoists and Seven-Party Alliance was convened in an effort to break the deadlock; the talks broke down two days ago.

According to the leading party in Nepal, the Nepali Congress (NP), the Maoists’ demands for electoral reform and the immediate abolition of the monarchy are in direct contradiction of the original peace terms agreed to one year ago.

Political Instability & the Marginalization of Nepal's Youth -- Dunham's Interview with Gagan Thapa

October 4, 2007 Update

60% of Nepal’s population is under the age of thirty—an incredibly young population, as it is in much of Southeast Asia. In principal, that aught to be a huge asset for Nepal. So far, it is not. It remains an asset untapped and, in many cases, intentionally ignored by the elite congregation of old men who wield real power. Nepal’s Prime Minister is in his mid-eighties, too frail to attend many state functions, including his own inauguration. Politically, the youth are exploited to do the parties’ work out on the street but, at the end of the day, they are not to be trusted or given any meaningful say in party business. Unlike American society, where a rapidly aging majority is marginalized by youth culture—it’s borderline shameful to grow old in the United States—Nepal is thoroughly patriarchal and the youth are, at best, patronized and, at worst, utterly dismissed.

Monsoon, Violence & Interview with Jwala Singh

August 23, 2007
HEAVY DAMAGE FROM MONSOON

Although monsoon season is coming to an end, the toll of floods, flashfloods and landslides has created havoc for Nepalis, particularly in the low-lying southern districts. Nearly 300,000 natives have been seriously affected, more than 20,000 families have lost their homes and the death toll is now nearing 150. Rescue efforts have been minimal. The biggest health concern is now about outbreaks of water borne diseases, as villagers slowly begin to return to their homes.

But there is an ugly political side to the annual natural disaster caused by summer monsoons.

Dunham's Interview with Arjia Rinpoche, Eye Witness to the Rigged Chinese Selection of the Panchen Lama

From the Fall 2007 Issue of Tricycle Magazine

The editorial staff of Tricycle Magazine has graciously allowed me to post, for the first time, my interview with Arjia Rinpoche, originally published in its Fall 2007 issue. Apart from the previous Panchen Lama, (Arjia's mentor), no lama has had closer connections to the communists' Central Party in Beijing. The interview not only covers his political connections with Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao (current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China), but also his account of the 1987 riots in Lhasa, the suspicious death of the Panchen Lama and Arjia's harrowing escape from China when his role as a spiritual leader became irreversibly compromised. Next to the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet in 1959, Arjia Rinpoche's exile has been the most embarrassing for Beijing's propaganda unit.  Given the current Chinese clampdown in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and its neighboring districts, Arjia's description of the manipulation of "religious freedom" in Tibet seems particularly relevant and, sadly, consistent with sixty years of Chinese repression in Tibet.

Nepal June 2007--Maoists, Madeshis, Bhutanese--Long Hot Summer

My most recent trip to Nepal was April-May 2007. I interviewed many people including Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, (Maoist leader), out-going Ambassador Moriarty (USA), Ambassador Andrew Hall (UK), ex-Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba, the behind-the-scenes leader of the Student Activists Gagan Thapa, head of UNDP Matthew Kahane, Ambassador Graeme Lade (Australia), women's activist Arzu Rana Deuba, Human Rights activist Vijay Kant Karna, founder of the Himalaya Bank Himalaya Rana, leading television journalist and documentarian Dil Bhusan Pathaki, among others. I befriended Sam Taylor, Bureau Chief of Agence France-Press; together, we are working on a lengthy piece on the Bhutanese refugee crisis. I and my assistant Govinda Rijal traveled to the southern cities of Janakpur and Birgunj to interview numerous Madeshi activists, both moderates and extremists. I traveled with leading human rights leader Kapil Shrestra to his home village in Chautara District. I filmed orphanages, homeless rag-pickers along the filthy Bagmati River, extended members of the royal family, upper-class wedding parties, grim street demonstrations, oblivious tourists in Thamel, brutally beaten women in ICU because of their political stance--to name a few. I had lunch with Sir Edmund Hillary.
 

Orphanage in Kathmandu--Victims of Insurgency

From an article written by Micheal Hess, Director, Papa's House, Kathmandu.

Mikel Dunham met my brother Peter at Davidson College last year when he was giving a lecture on Nepal.Mikel was here recently (April-May 2007) working on his documentary on the effects of the last ten years of Maoist insurgency. Most of our children are here because of the Maoists. Mikel wanted to interview a few of the children; I know their history, but the children have never talked about their past. One or two have alluded to it in unspecific terms at times, but for the most part it is all kept inside, and I have chosen to wait for them to decide if they want to talk about it or not. I asked a few children if they would like to talk on camera about why they are living in Papa’s House and they said yes. Under the comforting and gentle voice of Govinda Rijal, Mikel's assistant, the interviews began.

Speaking Events and Videos with Mikel Dunham

Dunham on the Current Political Situation in Nepal--Youtube:

Shot on location in Nepal by Dunham
CLICK HERE

AlJazeera Documentary with Mikel Dunham:
Tibetan Refugees in Nepal

 

PART ONE --CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

PART TWO --CLICK HERE

 

 

Dunham on the History Channel:
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Guest commentators include Mikel Dunham, Arjia Rinopche, Robert Thurman, B. Alan Wallace and others. Nepal footage filmed by Dunham; photographs by Dunham first published in his book Samye: A Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism. Check your local listings for History Channel timeslots or, to purchase the DVD, you can link to the  History Channel Website.

 

 

Other Speaking events with Mikel Dunham
Al Jazeera Television: "101-East--The Tibetan Refugee Situation in Nepal"
History Channel: "The Tibetan Book of the Dead"
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (UNOHCHR)
Kathmandu University, Center for Development Studies
Harvard University     Stanford University     Columbia University
The Tibet Connection -- KPFK Radio -- Los Angeles
"Living Room" KPFA-FM Radio -- Berkeley, CA
Hamline University     University of Wisconsin     University of Indiana
International Campaign for Tibet--National Headquarters, Washington DC
University of Massachusetts    Amherst College     Mount Holyoke College
Hampshire College     Davidson College     University of Vermont
Brandeis University     Smith College     Rutgers University
University of Virginia       Amnesty International--Los Angeles
Tibet House Faculty Series--New York     San Deigo Art Institute
University of Illinois NPR Radio Affiliate     New York University
Tibetan Youth Hostel, New Delhi, India     Delhi University, India
KPFK Radio, Los Angeles, CA     Pacific-Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA
UCLA Asia Lecture Series      Friends of Tibet Lecture Series, San Diego, CA
Pema Samye Ling Monastery, Walton, New York
Mesa College      Colby College      Middlebury College
University of California at Santa Barbara

To book Dunham for your event, contact:
[email protected]
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