Rescuers dig through the rubble, 17 April, 2015. Demotix/Thomas Kelly. All rights reserved.It’s been one week since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks struck Nepal. The death toll has now passed 6,600 and will almost certainly reach 10,000 or more, as information trickles in from the rural areas. More than 14,000 people are injured and this number will also rise. The earthquake has caused a national catastrophe, with heart-rending destruction and untold suffering.
But while a natural disaster had been expected for decades, there is nothing natural about the outcome. The capacity of the government and international agencies to respond has to be understood in the context of Nepal’s history of underdevelopment, poverty and inequality. Whether in rural areas or in Kathmandu, it’s the poorest who always suffer the most. The earthquake is no different.
It is in fact the dire poverty of so many in Nepal that is turning the earthquake into a tragedy of immense proportions. Nepal is amongst the world’s poorest countries, with a human development ranking of 145 out of 187 countries. Levels of inequality are on the rise and are unsustainable, and discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous groups remains rampant.
