Nepal: Where a Christian is not allowed to die

Nepal: Where a Christian is not allow to die

News with views by Bhaju Ram Shrestha, Nepal

We the Christians in Nepal should be allowed to burry our dead pleaded the master of ceremony of the Christian community on December 25, 2008 in front of the President Dr. Rambaran Yadav, Mr. Subash Chandra Newang, the speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Sujata Koirala (present deputy priminister), Mr. Mohan Kiran Vaidya, the powerful Maoist politburo member and other government leaders in a Christmas program hosted by several dozens of Christians leaders of Nepal amidst about 5000 audience in Royal Nepal Academy. Since Adventists are not regarded as Christians in Nepal, we were not represented there, however, I was in the audience. The MCs plea was the echo of the entire Nepali Christian community in Nepal except a few.

The MCs voice was the reflection of the nightmare as one of our Gospel Workers, Mr. Amber BK of the Kunta village (about 60 miles from Kathmandu) died in Dhulikhel Hospital a few weeks ago.. He was a young and energetic man with no other problem except he wanted to remove a patch of skin from his arm. The treatment paralyzed him and he died of blood cancer within  three months of treatment. The sad death gave the SOS call to our brethren in Kathmandu and Banepa. Pr Naseeb, Pr. Umesh, Pr. David Tamsang, Elder Kapil, Elder Kuber, Pr. Puri, Elder Ramchandra from Banepa, and others took the body to cremation place in Banepa because there was no burial place available. But at the cremation place, a controversy between the villagers, the relatives and the church members arose. The non-believers challenged, You people claim to be Christians, but you don't dare to burry your dead.

It was the nightmare  for our people. The burial place in Kathmandu was frozen by the villagers, the burial place that was bought by the Banepa Christian group was frozen, the burial place that the Adventists bought was frozen, and the challenge from the villagers and the non-believing family members of the deceased was not just a fiction. Fortunately, at that moment when people were trying to play a game with dead body, and not wishing our people to end with scuffle the lay Brother Jit Sing came to rescue. He had bought the burial ground with the help of his sister Hira, her husband Jhank and Danny and Devika Moktan in Kunta village. Since no one was dead since the land was bought, no one foresaw the trouble that might occur. The funeral procession rushed from Banepa to Kunta which is about 40mils from Banepa. Several dozens of people followed the dead body that was to be taken in the burial ground, and then the people of the village did not want the dead to be passed by their houses. Nepal is a country where death rules more than the living. So the villagers were more afraid of the dead Christian  than the living Christians, they tried to stop the funeral procession going further. After some argument and agreement that this would be the first and last body to be passed by the village, the villagers finally agreed. The burial place was not easily accessible. We had to go down over 1000 feet steep below the road. It was just a few meter above the river. Officiated by Pr.Umesh Kumar Pokherel assisted by Pr.Naseeb Basnet, Pr.Puri, Pr. David, Elder Ramchandra and Elder Kapil, the dead was rested in the ground peacefully.

What will happen when the next death comes to our believer is the question mark that we the Adventists are carrying. (While I was writing this, a promising young Nepali man passed away in Darjeeling, India. He was taking the Bible training classes under Sandra Horner. The family left from Banepa to burry him there as it would be nearly impossile to bring the body to Nepal because of the complications of burial or cremation) Though I came to know that the separate path will be built to access that burial ground, the question remain the same, will the SDA Christian dead be buried safely? There was a time when we were afraid to bury the believers in the water in the baptism ceremony, now baptism is not a problem but the death is.

From the parliament, Nepal has been declared a secular state, and even declared December 25 as a national holiday. But in the absence of a constitution and the law to protect the Christians, we continue to feel we are the third class citizen, women being the second class. We can not register churchs or mobilize our faith freely (of course the government has the advantages over the disunity among Christians); neither the government has time to give heed for the Christians who die, due to the AIDS (acute interrelationship deficiency syndrome) that the custodians of the country suffer. Now with the Maoists declaring almost the estate of war with the present government, we have a reason to be afraid that our demand to breathe and die freely as Christians would be frozen further.

I would like to request the Brothers and Sisters of family of God to pray for the Adventists in Nepal so that when we die we do not create complication to the church. There was time when we have to be afraid to take baptism in Nepal, but now we have to be afraid of our death. Though to cremate or to burn continues to remain a controversial issue among believers, the need for the proper burial ground has been a grave concern to all of us. Until the constitution is made to guarantee the freedom of religion, we will continue to experience the chaotic right to live as a Christian and die as a Christian. I came to know that many Adventists left the church either to join other churches or own family religion because of fear of disturbance at death. Please pray for the family of Amber also who was the breadwinner of the family having no land or house. Amber was a hero as far as I am concerned. He was cheerful till death. He had commanded his children to remain loyal to the Seventh Day Adventist church. My heart was touched as I saw their spirited countenance as I took the last weeks Sabbath service in the small congregation that they were leading. Please pray for Nepal, the most beautiful spot in the world but filled with question marks.

May God bless you,