Government assistance falls short leaving many Haliyas in hardship

BY PUSHKAR BHANDARI

Dadeldhura, Sept. 8: The government declared the emancipation of Haliyas (bonded laborers) 16 years ago. However, it is still difficult for freed Haliyas to make their living. Although the government announced the Haliya liberation on September 6, 2008, the freed Haliyas complain that their problems persist because demands for employment, education, health and other necessities have not been addressed.

Freed Haliya Tulsi Sarki, 35, has four children. He has no land to farm. Working as a daily wage laborer provides only enough for one meal a day. He said, "Even working the whole month, it's difficult to afford food and clothing. How are we supposed to raise our children? Although the government declared the Haliya liberation, the problems remain the same."

The government provided Rs. 325,000 rupees to build a house. Freed Haliya Ram Bahadur Tamata said, "It cost Rs. 1.5 million to build the house. The government said it would provide education to our children and employment for us, but it did not. It's difficult to sustain our lives. Even though they provided five ropanis of land and some expenses to build a house, it is not sufficient."

By declaring the Haliya emancipation, the government only removed them from under the control of their masters, said freed Haliya Tularam Sarki. He believes that the government needs to give attention to education, health, employment and sanitation management of the emancipated Haliyas. Sixteen years ago, 16,953 Haliyas from 2,500 families were freed. 

According to Bharat Sarki, President of the Haliya Liberation Federation, Dadeldhura, the government provided one kattha of land as a relief. However, it was not possible to earn a livelihood from this land. Therefore, some Haliyas had returned to their old landlords. 

Likewise, due to a lack of employment opportunities in the village, freed Kamaiya men (another group of bonded laborers) too were compelled to go to various cities in India for work.

Sarki said that the government had not shown any interest in the freed Haliyas. He said, "The government has become deaf now. Although the entire Haliya settlement of Ward No. 1 in Ganyapadhura Rural Municipality is included in the data, these Haliyas are living in community forests."

The Ministry of Land Reform and Management provided red identity cards (Category A) to Haliyas who had neither a house nor land, brown identity cards (Category B) to those who had a house but no land, green identity cards (Category C) to those who had land but no house and white identity cards (Category D) to those who had both a house and land.

The District Haliya Liberation Society of Dadeldhura has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister to fulfill their demands. The society sent a memorandum with various demands including rehabilitation to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers through the District Administration Office. Bharat Sarki, President of the society, informed that a six-point memorandum was submitted.

The memorandum states that due to the government's failure to work in accordance with the spirit and essence of the five-point agreement between the National Freed Haliya Society Federation Nepal and the Government of Nepal and the ten-point recommendations even after a long time since the liberation declaration, freed Haliyas are still compelled to live difficult and painful lives.

Chairman Sarki said that as the rehabilitation period continues to extend, issues related to the proper management of left-out freed Haliyas, education, health, employment, income generation, sustainable livelihoods, social empowerment and inclusion were being overlooked. According to him, out of 2,551 households who registered with the government in Dadeldhura, only 2,267 households received the rehabilitation package.