"Ever cried for your country?"
By BAN WHI MIN

Nepalese
complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They openly vent
their anger against the government. But have they ever thought About
Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have not. I want to say that
Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among the people and lack
of love for one another. This is the conclusion I have reached during my
stay. This summer, I did voluntary work from July 5 to July 30 at FHI
Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, Kathmandu.

Let me first
tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you understand my
point. Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives of more than 5
million Koreans, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world.
Without natural resources, Korea had no choice but to desperately
struggle for its survival by all means. Under this gloomy situation,
Koreans envied other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal.
Korean government officials were horribly corrupt. With the dual classes
of Yangban (nobles) and Sangnom(peasants) , Korean society was
sickening day by day. However, Koreans, having determination to become
rich, overcame the unfair social structure and put the country onto the
track of development. When the former president Park Jung Hee took over
the government, there were few factories in Korea. Korea could not
attract loans or expect foreign investments. Under these
circumstances, President Park 'exported' miners and nurses to then West
Germany. The salaries that they earned were used to building factories
and promoting industrialization of Korea. In 1964, when President Park
visited then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president
when the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with
the miners and nurses, that someday the Koreans would become rich.


Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy
comfortable lives in the United States, returned to Korea with only one
thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most powerful
and prosperous country in the world. They did their best even though
their salaries were much less than what they would have received in
other countries. The Koreans believed that they have the ability to
change their desperate situation and that they must make the country
better, not only for themselves but also for the future generations yet
to come. My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families
and the country. They worked 14 hours a day, and risked their lives
working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in
factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous
environments. They always tried to teach their children the true
value of 'hard work'. Finally, all of these hard works and sacrifices
made the prosperous Korea that you see now. Nepalese! Have you ever
cried for your country? I heard that many of Nepali youth do not love
their Nepal. I also heard that they want to leave Nepal because they
don't like caste system, or because they want to escape the severe
poverty. However, they should be the first ones to voluntarily work for
Nepal's development, not the first ones to complain and speak against
their country.

I have a dream that someday I would be able to
free the souls from suffering from the underdeveloped countries,
anachronistic customs and the desperate hunger. My belief has become
stronger than ever after seeing the reality in Nepal.

A
child with a fatal disease who doesn't have enough money to buy a pill; a
child living in what seems like a pre-historic dwelling and not having
the opportunity to receive education; and a student who cannot succeed,
no matter how hard he studies, just because of the class he comes from. A
society, in which wives not only take care of children but also work in
the fields, while their husbands waste their time doing nothing; a
society in which a five-year-old must labour in a brick factory to feed
herself. Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet this
sense of despair
strengthened my belief. I already know that many of
the Nepalese are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if you just
pray to hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. It is the
action that you and Nepal need for the better future. For Nepal and
yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbours and country
just as you do to Gods. You know that your Gods will be pleased when you
work for the development of your country and improvement of your lives.
Therefore, please, love your neighbours and country. Teach your
children to love their country. And love the working itself. Who do you
think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you think will be able to respect
the spirit of Himalayas and to keep the lonely flag representing it? You
are the ones responsible for leading this beautiful country to a much
brighter future. This responsibility lies on you.

(The writer
is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, South
Korea).