Caught in the cross fire

8th September 2006 - Kathmandu, Nepal
The heavy roller door on the front of the camera shop in New Road slid shut sandwiching us between angry Maoist crowds and the four smiling camera salesmen for whom we had just become a captive audience - literally! Shop keepers all along the road secured their shops and scrambled to protect their valuable stock from possible riot damage. Just 24 hours earlier, rebels had savagely killed a young taxi driver and now angry crouds were moving toward nearby Durbar Square where the King was attending Religious ceremonies. As the danger past and shop fronts were once again raised we evaporated, along with others, into the quieter side streets and away from the crowds. All week there had been parades and demonstrations watched over by malitia dressed in grey/blue jungle fatigues and carrying riot shields and long bamboo poles.The mood is still quite quiet but we are cautious to avoid crowds and potential flash points.Seemingly the Maoist support comes from mainly county folk many of whom live in mountain villages in sub standard conditions with little chance of raising their living standards. How irronic that issues of such basic human riights should go unheard until become millitant angry cries that only attract the attention of those who wouild use them to fulfill their own political agendas in exchange for empty promises of prosperity and equality for all