Re: It's safe. Keep being informed. It's a bigger dilemma about wether to give sweets to children
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Re: It's safe. Keep being informed. It's a bigger dilemma about wether to give sweets to children
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In Reply to: Re: It's safe. Keep being informed. It's a bigger dilemma about wether to give sweets to children posted by Sharon on July 05, 2004 at 02:41:55:
It seems to me that if you want to give out gifts, maybe toothbrushes would be a good idea instead of sweets.
Ian
: Firstly while I as well was given sweets as a child we had toothbrushes and access to good dental care and were educated about good dental care. I do not agree with giving sweets or otherwise to Villagers as we trek through. I would rather give rupees to the school principal to get the school something it needs which I did on my last trek.
: Secondly if you had been escorted by armed maoists through Villages and seen the reaction and interaction between the mao and the Villagers you would see that giving a few rupee to mao in fact is a big deal. You are funding the maoists to terrorize the general population. I am going back to Nepal this Fall but rather than going into an area untouristed and hence controlled by the mao, I am unfortuantely flying into Lukla. I will not put myself in a position to fund the Mao anymore because it is NOT harmless. This decision is based on 4 maoist interactions. 2 in Manaslu and 3 in Ganesh Himal.
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: : I was often given sweets when I was a child and it did not ruin my life. Actually I quite liked the sweets and the people who gave them to me. So I say - give sweets if you want - it's up to you.
: : Ian
: : : If you have signed up that means you are going with a company providing support so nothing to worry about. People who have not been before naturally worry about what life out on the trails must be like. The idea of being alone on mountains trails would seem alarming to most people. It can take up to 2 hours between villages and often you will meet no one at all or you might meet youngsters gathering grass in the early morning. When I go birding in Nepal I always head out very early and often return to the village for breakfast and I only meet children or women gathering grass at the very most. Villagers are usually very happy to see trekkers as they know that brings money into the villages. I think your biggest dilemma will be should you give a sweet or two to the children. That's a bigger problem than giving a bit of money to Maoists. If you don't give sweats you are a rich meanie and if you do you are 'ruining their lives' apparently.