‘I was home when the earthquake hit. Coming back here is the scariest thing I have done’

‘I was home when the earthquake hit. Coming back here is the scariest thing I have done’

“After the earthquake, we lived in tents for two months. I saw a post on Facebook that said there was going to be a volcanic eruption in Kathmandu soon. All I could think then was about moving away from this valley. I feared this place. I was paranoid about the future, about disasters that might follow. Then two counsellors visited the camp. They said everyone reacts to a natural calamity differently. Some get headaches, some have nausea, some sleep poorly, some sleep well, some eat little, others eat a lot. The place where we were when the earthquake hit is the place that terrifies us the most. The counsellors asked us to go to those places and face our fears. I was at home when the first earthquake hit. Coming back here is the scariest thing I have done. What the counsellors said makes sense. It has taken me a long time, but I am in a much better place now.”

Photo: Namita Rao