Kamaiya

Freed Kamaiya Status

By Tim Whyte, MS-Nepal and Shiva Bhusal, Danida-HUGOU

25. May 2001

This report documents the situation of the Kamaiya (bonded laborers) based on a recent field visit in Bardiya and Banke and information collected from other districts. Our visit coincided with days of heavy spring storms, revealing the desperation of the freed kamaiyas' current situation and the importance of finding solution to their problems before the coming of the summer monsoon (likely to start in the beginning of July.)

Living Conditions in Camps and Settlements

1. In Kanchanpur and Kailali District the freed Kamaiyas from camps moved into settlements on encroached land in February 2001. In Bardiya, where thousands of Kamaiyas were living in camps with other landless people, similar developments are taking place now. At present the total number of families having encroached land is approximately 3500 in Bardiya and 1869 families in Kailali (29 camps). 99 families in Kailali have got land certificates for 5 kattha from Government for the land which they have encroached. In Kanchanpur, 1870 families have encroached land and settled in 18 camps. Many other Kamaiyas are staying back in their villages with their relatives or have managed to encroach land in riverbanks or wasteland areas that is enough to build just a hut.

2. The small huts in the settlements are generally straw and bamboo structures. Some have very thin plastic sheeting for roofs. In some of the older camps in Kanchanpur and Kailali, the Kamaiyas have made more permanent structures with tin roofs. By and large however, the past few days storm made it apparent that the settlements will not withstand the monsoon rains in their current state.

3. In the wet and unsanitary conditions, the incidence of disease is increasing.

4. The children in the settlements seem to be the greatest victims of the hot climate and upcoming monsoon. The summer season is expected to make many children ill. At the same time they are still deprived of school education in the camps and settlements. It is learned that many girl children adolescents have taken to the nearby town areas in a very minimal wages for domestic, hotels and tea-shop labor. In the camps themselves, children and infants die from diseases on a weekly basis.

5. Particularly monsoon diseases (Japanese Encephalitis, Malaria, etc.) and diseases resulting from lack of access to clean drinking water (dysentery, etc.) are affecting the camps and settltements. Many of the newer settlements do not have drinking water pumps, nor any nearby source of good drinking water.

Government Resettlement and Rehabilitation Efforts

6.  It is 10 months now since the government declaration of freedom for the bonded laborers last July. The government's efforts at rehabilitation and resettlement following the declaration have lacked seriousness and commitment. So far only a small proportion of the kamaiya families have been legally resettled. In this regard, the government has repeatedly overstepped its own deadlines:

• First it promised to resettle the kamaiyas before the Dashain Festival in October 2000.
• Then before Maghi, the Tharu New Year in January 2001.
• Subsequently, it promised to resettle them in month of Baisakh (April-May)
• The latest extension has been made to Jestha 15 (the end of May).

7. HMG/District land reform officers informally admit that even this latest date is unrealistic at the current pace. It seems increasingly likely that many freed kamaiya families will face the monsoon rice season without their own land or even a roof over their head.

8. Another major concern in the resettlement program is the size of plots given by the government. NGOs have repeatedly called on the government to provide enough land for each kamaiya family to secure a minimum livelihood. Ten katthas (0.3 hectare) is enough to feed a family of five for about ten months out of the year. The government has formally responded to this by promising to provide up to five katthas (0.15 hectares) per family.

9. In practice, the kamaiya families are being resettled on plots much smaller than five kattha. In most cases, the government is issuing kamaiyas with 1 Kattha (0.03 hectare) plots. A preliminary look at the District Land Reform Office own data confirmed this as the general trend in Bardiya at least (see para 9,10,11). The governments own figures confirm this development elsewhere. Local District Officials explained that they were only providing land to build a house. This contradicts previous government statements. However, it may in fact reflect the original vision of the government on how "solve" the kamaiyas problem.

10. There is evidence of discriminatory differences between the government resettlement programs for the predominantly Tharu Kamaiyas and other landless people. The Landless People Problem Department of the Land Reform Ministry regularly provides between 20 and 30 kattha (0.6 - 1 hectare) plots of land to squatters of hill origin in each of these Districts. It is unclear why it is felt that landless kamaiyas, in contrast, should only be given enough to build a house.

11. There is enough available open forest land in each district to provide ten kattha plots without significantly changing the forest cover ratios to the present number of surveyed Kamaiyas. Other government land - such as the largely unused 7000 hectare Cotton Development Board holding in Bardiya - could also accommodate the freed kamaiyas in a sustainable way, according to Bardiya district Land Reform Officer.

12. In Bardiya District, the Land Reform office informed us that so far about 700 families have been resettled on a little under 1200 katthas.

A ratio of about 1.5 kattha per family. In Dang, the governments own figures confirm even smaller land grants of 1/2 a kattha. This size of plots seem likely to force the landless kamaiyas back into complete dependence on the landlords, as they are few other available income opportunities locally.

13. In Banke District, where surveys have revealed relatively smaller number of kamaiyas, the District resettlement program is more promising. About 125 families have been resettled on 4 Kattha plots close to the bazaar town of Kohalpur. There are potentials for vegetable production for the market and daily wage labor in the nearby bazaar. The DDC has also insured the GTZ funded food for work program first work site has been the settlements infrastructure itself, supporting the settlements and providing livelihood support in the difficult period of transition. This is in marked contrast to most other districts where the DDCs have often planned work-sites far from Kamaiya settlement areas.

Kamaiya settlement

14. In protest of the slow and seemingly indifferent government response to their situation, freed Kamaiyas in Kanchanpur, Kailali, Bardiya and Dang have encroached upon open forest land and other unregistered land in the districts. They have generally taken 5-10 katthas of land for each family.

15. The Kamaiyas describe the encroachment as a protest action saying that they will leave the land if the government provides them with suitable resettlement areas elsewhere. It is unclear if they will accept the government's plans to settle them on smaller house-size plots however.

16. The longer they remain on these areas, the more hopeful they become that they will be allowed to settle permanently. There is some evidence that this may happen in some cases at least. In Kanchanpur and Kailali, where the oldest settlements are, the government subsequently identified those areas as Kamaiyas settlement areas. Many District government officials informally support these settlements as a solution to the problem. In this context, it should be noted that encroachment is still considered a standard way of settling landless people in the Western Tarai. In Kailali, for example, the Landless People's Department official policy is to provide land to landless people by recognizing the land they have encroached.

The government response

17. On May 15th, Forest office officials burned down the Kamaiyas huts in an encroached settlement area in Kailali. These families were once again left destitute. They have settled in the district government compound in Dhangadi. At least one infant died as an immediate result of the fire. A similar incident took place in a Kamaiyas camp in Bardiya about a month ago.

18. The older settlements in Kailali and Kanchanpur have otherwise remained untouched for about three months now. It is unclear if the fire is part of a new response by the government or an uncoordinated incident. The settlements in Bardiya and Dang are too recent to tell what the government response will be.

19. Local government officials report that the central government seems confused and internally divided with regards to how to deal with the kamaiyas. The Forest Ministry has burned down the camps and settlements and imprisoned Kamaiyas settling on open forest land according to their mandate to protect the forests. District-level politicians and other ministry on the other hand have recommended the use of forest land for resettlement. For example in Bardiya the Baniabhara VDC has decided to give 3 different plots of land to around 1200 kamaiya families. In other cases the district authorities have informally recommended the settlements. As the Forest Offices have wide-ranging powers in Nepal, only the cabinet or the prime minister can provide instructions on how to deal with the kamaiya situation. However, so far they have been unwilling to do so.

Areas in urgent need of support

With the monsoon coming, the Kamaiyas in the camps and settlements are in a very vulnerable position. There is a need for a coordinated effort on the part of NGOs, INGOs and Government Agencies to deal with immediate needs in the areas of:

20. Drinking-water pumps

21. Food supplies until the crops of the monsoon harvest come in (towards October.)

22. Health program, both manpower and medical supplies Vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis.

23. Plows and seeds for the families who have land.

24. Roofing support to keep out the rains.

25. Education activities for children, such as Out-of-School
programs, to stop them from falling (back) into child labor.

26. Support for kamaiyas networking, including support for protest ongoing protest programs for land (hiring of buses, REFLECT classes, etc.)