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BEYOND BORDERS
Metal is about being united and looking out for each other, and one organisation in Nepal is taking that to a whole new level. We found out more...
WORDS: MERLIN ALDERSLADE • PICTURES: DIPIT RAZ/METAL FOR NEPAL
Flower KC is the manager of Underside, whose demon mascot is pictured above
WHILE WE’VE ALL keenly felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in one shape or another, the reality is that for some, it’s caused unimaginable strife. In the case of the migrant workers that became trapped at the Indian-Nepalese border upon attempting to return home during the global lockdown, it caused a full-on humanitarian crisis.
“IT’S VITAL WE ALL STAND UP FOR EACH OTHER WHERE WE CAN”
“Thousands and thousands of migrant workers from India returning home amid the lockdown got stranded at the Nepal-India border with no access to food and water for days,” explains Flower KC, director of Nepal’s biggest metal festival, Silence, and manager of Nepalese metal band Underside. “Now, the influx of people is not as overwhelming as before, but the people who are allowed to get in the country are asked to be quarantined in inhuman facilities. Now, the major concern is that due to those poor facilities, these migrant workers are fleeing into their community, causing the risk of infections to their entire villages.”