The devastating earthquake in Nepal has shaken the local Nepali community.
Tilak KC says he and other natives of Nepal, who now call the Milwaukee area home, learned of the weekend earthquake in the middle of the night here. Information was scarce at first, but eventually trickled in. He finally heard on Monday that his brother was alive.
ParashuGiri says the community continues to pay close attention to the news. He’s concerned the number of lives lost will rise, as rescue efforts spread to rural areas.
“The epicenter is out of Katmandu. Help has still not been there. I fear that a lot of people are dying waiting for rescue, because rescue hasn’t been there yet. That’s the main concern,” Giri says.
The magnitude of the tragedy is gut-wrenching, according to BijayaGiri.
“Very, very painful. Very, very painful,” Giri says.
Giri says it’s been hard to sleep the last few nights. She says the community is trying to come to grips with the devastation, while trying to figure out how to help – from thousands of miles away.
“We are almost every day getting together and talking about it, how we can help them,” Giri says.
Giri and others have decided to help by raising funds. The Nepali community organization has added a donation tab to its website. The Hindu temple in Pewaukee is holding a fundraiser this weekend. And a Nepali restaurant in Thiensville is collecting donations. Giri says Nepal is a poor country where any money will help.
“Most of our economy is the tourism business and that is also affected by this earthquake, big avalanches in the Mount Everest area, so this is the very worst situation in our country right now,” Giri says.
The Nepali community will earmark the donations for immediate needs such as food and shelter.
Tilak KC anticipates the community will continue asking for contributions in years to come, as Nepal rebuilds. He expects it’ll take at least a decade. Yet he adds, some things never will be the same.
“We lost our historical monuments. We cannot recover those things,” he says.
