Take that load
Trip Start
Sep 08, 2007
1
4
23
Trip End
Dec 30, 2008
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Lobuche,
Nepal
Friday, October 26, 2007
Age: 16
Family status: Single, never had the thought of getting married
Job: Porter
Religion: Hindu
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Everest Base Camp Trek. Lobuche (4,930m above sea level).
I met Gyan first time five days ago, around the pool table in a dive bar in Namche Bazar, a town about 1,500 meters below Lobuche. His name was difficult to pronounce, so I called him Genna, which seemed appropriate, since the other two people around the table were two free-spirited Russian guys, who I met on the trek the day before. We were all having a rest day in Namche, giving our bodies time to acclimatize to the high altitude and enjoying our last beer for a while. Drinking is bad for you. Drinking at high altitude is even worse.
Genna wanted to join our game, and we needed an extra player, so perfect. His English was almost non-existent, but his enthusiasm for the game was obvious. His rushed, quick moves outshined all our well planned game strategies and he ended up winning most games to the dismay of the Russians, who were getting very competitive. I tried to be friendly, but my Nepali was good enough only to ask for his name and for his age. His answer confused me, so I thought that my Nepali isn't that good after all. He claimed to be 16 and to work as a porter. Right, I thought - he is a local kid, no more than 12 that just can't wait to grow up.
To my surprise, I bumped into Genna the following day on the trek. He was carrying a backpack slightly larger than mine, which seemed excessive for his small frame.
Everest Base Camp
Unlike most porters, who carry their huge loads in bamboo baskets supported by a strip of fabric that goes around their forehead, Genna was carrying the backpack the usual way. I later learned that there are supply porters and trekking porters. The supply porters rarely do the whole trek, but rather run between two villages, carrying between 30 and 60 kg. It is a tough job and none of the guys I saw on the trek seemed particularly happy doing it. The trekking porters usually carry smaller loads, although 30 kg is not unusual. Their job is more difficult because of the altitude to which everybody is vulnerable. Later that day, sited on the floor of the Tibetan Monastery in Tangbotche, I was having my first experience of Buddhist prayer ritual. There is a large Tibetan community in Nepal. It is even more visible in the Everest region as it is close to the border with Tibet. The trek is dotted with Tibetan prayers, painted on rocks and the hillsides around the small villages on the trek are webbed by strings of prayer flags. My thoughts were being carried away by the humming of the monks and I did not realize that most of my fellow trekkers had already left the room. Someone shrugged me and I snapped back into reality. Genna was sitting next to me, grinning and pointing to one of the monks who had fallen asleep. The monks playing the huge horns next to us noticed and gave it an extra blow, which didn't seem to disturb him either. We entertained ourselves for a while with the snoozing monk, then Genna made a sign that he has to go. I waved goodbye as to an old acquaintance hoping that I'll somehow manage to learn more about this radiant, full of energy youngster.
The opportunity presented itself couple of days later in the teahouse in Lobuche. Sipping my garlic soup, I was having a lighthearted conversation with Bijesh Kamsal, a Nepali IT engineer, who had been living in Colorado for the past 20 years. He was in Nepal to visit family and do some trekking. When Genna showed up in the lounge room, I interrupted our conversation and asked BJ to translate for me. What we learned disturbed us both.
Genna confirmed that he is 16. He said that he is working as a porter, but hopes to be promoted soon. He has been working as a porter for 4 years! He weights 45 kg and is about 150 cm tall. He lives by himself (or I assume with other porters) in a hotel provided by the company he works for in Lukla. He left school after third (3!) grade, as did most of his friends and became a porter. Asked about what his parents thought about him moving away so young, he said that they didn't mind. Originally from a small village in the Sow province, his parents moved to Kathmandu a few years ago. He has three younger sisters and one brother, but he doesn't help his family financially.
As a porter, Genna is earning 600 rupees per day (about 10USD), which for comparison is roughly the monthly pay of a housemaid in Kathmandu. The problem is - he only gets paid when he is working. After he pays for his food and accommodation, he can save about R300. He told us that he wants to become a guide, so he is saving up to go to a language school and learn English. He had saved about 10,000R (about $160) but didn't have a clue how much he needs to go back to school. It was right there and then that it became clear to both me and BJ, that Genna is never going to be promoted from a porter. To become a legitimate guide, he not only needs to speak English, but also to go to college, which naturally comes after finishing school.
BJ said that there are many more kids like Genna, waiting for a job in front of the Royal Palace on Kings Road in Kathmandu. Then, he asked me if I'm going to pay Genna for the interview. Pay him?! I felt like I wanted to adopt him, give him warm food and send him to school. Then again, one thing at the time. I said - of course, this is an official interview and he is going to be paid R500 for it. I'll need to take some pictures tomorrow.
The next day Genna was like glued to me. His client, a corporate lawyer from Hong Kong didn't seemed to mind, as we were all following the same route. Genna and I were snapping photos of each other and amusing ourselves by counting to ten - him in English, me in Nepali. He was mostly impressed by the fact that I'm carrying my own backpack, which is the same weight like the one he is carrying. He didn't seem to consider the fact that I'm taller and heavier than him. He even started calling me Didi (a respectful term for elder sister), which I liked very much. At one point he joined a group of resting porters, all of which looked his age. I snapped a photo. Genna is indeed one of many kids that work as porters. I hurried ahead to catch up with my guide and never saw Genna again.
I had since returned to Kathmandu and mailed him the pictures from our trek to Everest Base Camp. I can't stop thinking about Genna's lost childhood and even more so about his lost opportunities in life. Although he never asked about my help I wonder if I should offer. But isn't that going to be too patronizing? He is after all a master of his own life and has been taking his own decisions since he was 12.
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Hugs & Kisses, Vik
