Attendees of last week’s vigil in support of Nepal earthquake victims stood in solidarity as they remembered those who lost their lives as well as those recovering from the devastation. — Photo by Douglas Yu

 By Douglas Yu

Somerville is over 7,000 miles away from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. When the historic earthquake traumatized the region by killing 7,500 people and injuring over 10,000 near the end of last month, the Nepalese community in Somerville was deeply saddened.

Many of them were shocked, and some were too overwhelmed by the grief to go to work.

On the evening of April 29, Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone and other local officials joined over 100 Nepalese nationals from the community for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

Right outside the Somerville High School, the Nepalese national anthem began playing as the community mourned their lost in silence.

“We came together tonight to provide a shoulder to lean on, to embrace our fellow human beings, to give support, love and prayer to the people in Nepal,” Curtatone told the public. “The world is a small place. Like ripples in the water, when something happens, it impacts us all.”

Somerville has the largest Nepalese population in Massachusetts, according to the city. “If there is a city in the United States that really resembles the world, that city is truly Somerville: not only our diversity, and multicultural strength, but our compassion, and our commitment to social progress,” Curtatone said.

The word “Nepal” was spelled out by the candles on the floor in front of the speaker’s podium, along with hand-painted national flags and banners that were inscribed with “Nepal, we are with you.”

ReetaRana, a Nepalese national who lives in Somerville, stood facing the crowd and described the catastrophe as “life transforming” for many in the community. “With the candles light up hope, peace and love, we would also like to raise awareness of the urgent needs of the survivals,” she said.

Nepal’s government was under fire for failing to provide aid to more remote and rural areas and for hindering aid deliveries with its bureaucracy according to the International Business Times.

At the event, RukminiKarki, president of the Nepal Women’s Global Network told The Somerville Times that the severe earthquake as well as the lack of aid affected her family members. Her parents arrived at the capital the day before the earthquake to visit her cousins. As of the vigil, Karki’s parents were still living on the street since the buildings collapsed, and the commute was cut off. Even worse, it took Karki 60 hours after the earthquake to be able to get in touch with her family.

Massachusetts State Representative Timothy Toomey also delivered his thoughts and prayers to the Nepalese community during the event. He said, “We’ll do whatever we can to assist in this hour of need,” he said.

Karki said the life in Nepal had become more and more difficult every day after the earthquake. “People live in open space without water, food or shelter. There is a danger of spreading disease,” she said.

It is reported that some UK-based charities warned that a lack of shelter, contaminated water and poor sanitation could lead to cholera, dysentery, and other water-born diseases. What is more dangerous to the quake survivors, as many international news agencies have reported, is that they may face threats from human traffickers supplying a sex trade.

Tens of thousands of young women from the quake-shaken region in Nepal are being targeted by human traffickers, according to the Guardian.

This was not the first such event that saddened Somerville.Curtatone said a few years ago the city stood together side by side with the Haitian community as a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the most populated area of the country in 2010, killing 92,000 people. He said he felt like it was yesterday.

Some members from the Haitian community in Somerville also attended the vigil as it reminded them how devastating a situation they were in before. GuerlinceSemerzier, Executive Director of the Somerville Haitian Coalition, was one of them.

“The Somerville community used to help us in any capacity. So today, we’re here to return the favor, because we have been through a similar situation, and we feel the pain that many of these individuals are feeling.” Semerzier said.

SundarGurung, originally from the midwestern part of Nepal, said his family members were not directly affected by the earthquake. But having lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, Gurung said all the Nepalese were affected psychologically. Wearing a Nepalese national hat, Topi, Gurung mentioned the vigil meant a lot to him in a sense of caring.

“At a time like this, we have people come together to share grief. It’s heartwarming,” Gurung said. “Nepal is a very poor country economically, but we’re rich in culture, and I think we can make a stronger Nepal, even a strong humanity.”

MamataKarmacharya worked in a hair salon in Somerville. When she learned six of her relatives lost their lives in the earthquake, she barely had energy to go to work. Karmacharya had a breakdown and burst into tears at the vigil after reading a self-written poem about Nepal. Numerous community members approached to support her by giving hugs and condolences.

It was not all about sadness at the vigil. The story about a Somerville couplewho had reportedly gone missing on Mount Everest, but were found safe, brought a sparkle of joy to the community.

In the near future, the City of Somerville is going to partner with local mental health organizations to help alleviate the psychological trauma among the Nepalese community.

“The City of Somerville will not abandon its role in supporting our sister and neighboring cities in Nepal. God bless the people in Nepal,” Mayor Curtatone said.