Aftershock: Nepal in Regeneration

Aftershock: Nepal in Regeneration



Back
in 1995, as part of a world tour, I spent a month in Nepal.
I remember how wonderful the people I encountered there were;
gentle, hospitable and friendly, it made my visit all the more
memorable. When I heard about the earthquakes that shocked the area
earlier this year, a full 20 years after my initial visit, I knew I
wanted to return. Recently I did just that, arriving in Kathmandu
on 23 September for a ten-day stay. My intention was to use my
camera to document some of the reconstruction efforts in Kathmandu
and Sankhu, a village near the city that was left devastated by the
earthquake. Upon my arrival, I was met with some scenes of
destruction and turmoil, but more importantly of resilience and
community.

The physical aspects of these people’s lives were destroyed, the
earthquakes literally shaking them to their cores. Buildings were
completely demolished and old temples seemingly damaged beyond
total repair. Homes had been wrecked and personal items remained
lost amongst the piles of bricks and rubble that still covered a
lot of the area, not yet remedied by the cleanup efforts. Many
families had been left homeless, living in tents.

Despite this, the spirit of these people, as they worked
tirelessly to piece back their lives and homes, shined through the
bleak atmosphere of debris and suffocating humidity that surrounded
them. Men and women worked together dismantling the earthquake
damaged houses brick by brick. They worked by way of pure manual
labour, something that must be exhausting in the heat. Simple
repairs are not an option for some buildings and the locals were
forced to continue to tear them down and rebuild them from
scratch.

It’s a painfully slow process that in many places will take
years to get back to normality as these people try to bring their
villages back from the brink.

@markbenhamphotography
| markbenham.co.uk

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