Ensure Justice For Gen Z Youth

Last week was totally unexpected. I was aware of the fact that the young generation of Nepal, named Gen Z, was going to protest against the abrupt social media ban by the former government and the growing corruption in the country.  Since such protests are not unusual in our context, I did not pay that much attention. However, one thing was quite interesting in this Gen-Z protest: it was happening across the country at the same time.

It was Monday, the 23rd of Bhadra, 2082. That day, I was a bit busy at home with my household chores. When I got free, I was curious to learn about the consequences of the protest. But what I saw on the mobile screen took my breath away. It was just out of my imagination. Every newspaper was yelling, 'Police fired the gun! Police fired the gun!' By the end of the day, there was a news story that 19 people were killed and hundreds were injured. Among those 19, 17 were in Kathmandu and two were in Itahari. While I was writing this article, the death toll has reached more than 70. It has been more than a week since that protest, and many things are happening in between, but I am still stuck there. My inner voice is continuously asking, 'Why gunfire? Weren't there other means to disperse the crowd? Is it ethical to shoot the disarmed youngsters?' 

School and college students 

The term Gen Z, which was only used on online platforms and among digitally literate people, suddenly became popular among the public. Some were heard saying Gen Z, some Gen G, some Gin-G, some Zen-J, and some J and J. Until now, most of the common people know that the Gen-Z group includes those people who were born between 1997 and 2012 A. D. So, they belong to the age group 13 to 28.  This means that there were a lot of school and college students who were minors and in their uniforms. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nepal is a State Party, it is clearly mentioned that 'every child deserves safety, dignity, and the right to live without fear. Immediate and strict legal action is imperative against any violence targeting children during protests. Their rights must be upheld without compromise.'

In this condition, how can a State head order the police force to fire a gun targeting the students just like that? It is an inexcusable violation of children's rights. Those innocent children were simply asking for their freedom of expression. Unfortunately, their voice was silenced. It seems like it was a planned murder. Many of those deceased students were the only children of their parents. It was hard to see the lamenting people who lost their dear ones in no time. 

We are all grieving this time, but some of the Indian media have portrayed the Nepali youths as social media addicts. They have claimed that the Zen-Z protest was organised only because of the social media ban. How incorrect a message they are delivering to the whole world! But the world is also watching all this, and the world's people can analyse the situation themselves. 

In fact, not only the youngsters, but all Nepali people were affected massively by the ban of most social media platforms. For example, these days many people are doing online business, different organisations also find the social media platforms more convenient for their day-to-day communication. Not only city people but also the village people use social media to sell their products. It should be remembered that the Gen Zeers are digital natives, and what one feel if they are prohibited from entering their own native country? By and large, a majority of people became the victims of the unnecessary decision to ban social media.

Let's go back to the same Gen Z protest. If the government had not become so cruel on the first day, I am sure the second day's destruction would never have happened. What the government should have realised is that the young people of this generation are educated and quite aware of the national and international affairs. Being global citizens, they are studying the world closely. They were out on the street with a good cause; they were merely asking for a corruption-free country. Was their demand so dangerous that the government had to open fire? Were those protesters criminals? This stupid and unforgivable act of KP Sharma Oli-led government has been strongly criticised everywhere. When Sushila Karki, now appointed Prime Minister, went to support the Gen Z protest on the second day, she also condemned this act as being a 'mass murder.'

Revolution

After the Gen Z protest turned into a revolution on the second day, the old government collapsed. Even though the new government has decided to declare martyrs to those who lost their lives during the protest and to provide one and a half million rupees as compensation to their families, these martyrs have not received full justice yet.

It is the newly formed government's duty to find everyone responsible for the death of the innocent young people and punish them according to the law. Then only the Gen Z movement will be successful. Great poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota was wise enough to write, ' Natipnu hera kopila, nachudnu paapa laagdachha, nachyaatnu fula naani ho, dayaa ra dharma bhaagdachha...'. Here, the poet is addressing little children, but it is equally applicable to adults and relevant to the incident of September 8.    

(The author is the director of Vidya Shilpa Academy, Damak, Jhapa.)