Homeless Dalit family in Waling mourning in a toilet building

By Radhakrishna Dumre,Waling, Aug. 28: Hum Bahadur Nepali aka Peme was well known in Waling Bazaar as he had spent 42 years of his life selling produce collected from the farmers. 

Born in 1953, he had migrated to Waling of Syangja from Kemune of Parbat with his newlywed wife four decades ago in search of a better livelihood.

While his real name was Hum Bahadur, the one who made his citizenship mentioned his name Peme on the certificate making Peme Nepali his official name. However, he loved being called Hum Bahadur.

It was the night of August 18 when Hum Bahadur returned to his temporary shelter after selling chillis in the main chowk of Waling. However, he did not wake up on August 19 and follow his daily chores.

Hum Bahadur brought up five sons and two daughters by selling vegetables on the streets of Waling. After the marriage of some sons and the birth of their children, the members of the Nepali family, which is from the Dalit community, have reached 12.

They used to live in a temporary shelter provided by local Rajendra Gaire; however, they had to leave the land after a cooperative constructed its building there. 

Since then, the family hid their heads at night through any means possible.

"We needed a proper place to mourn the death of my husband for 13 days under Hindu tradition. 

The only place we found to take shelter for 12 individuals was the toilet building," said Pabi Nepali, wife of Hum Bahadur.

The toilet building, which has a shutter, is located near the playground in Ward No. 8 of Waling Municipality. 

"There is no breadwinner in the family after my husband died. Three of my children cannot speak properly while my grandson Krishna is bedridden after a tractor accident. How will a single mother and grandmother look after such a big family?" exclaimed Pabi.

While the local government or other authorities have provided no support to the family during the difficult time, locals and businesses nearby have been providing necessary help for the family to mourn.

On the other hand, Shanta Nepali, the youngest daughter of Hum Bahadur and Pabi, has represented Nepal in the women's national football team and played for the country in Bangladesh as well. However, she is now with her mother and other family members in a toilet building to mourn the death of her father.

While Pabi said that she was worried about the future days, she thanked the helping hands for food and allowing them to mourn in the toilet building.

"We extended support as soon as we heard about the family. We are trying to collect more support for the family as they are in a very difficult situation," said Yubaraj Gautam, spokesperson for Waling's Bolbam Committee.