Why are some Nepalis supporting Trump?
On the upcoming US election and the increasing support Trump is getting from Nepali Americans
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 162 of KALAM Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.
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In this newsletter:
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The Nepali women’s football team shines — and flounders
Kathmandu airport reduces hours, leading to chaos
It is Tihar!
The Deep Dive: What do the US elections mean for Nepal and Nepalis?
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The Nepali women’s football team shines — then flounders
On Sunday, October 27, the Nepali women’s football team stole victory from the jaws of defeat in a nail-biting penalty shootout against India in the semi-finals of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) women’s championship. Nepal-India matches are always strongly contested, but this one was a doozy. The game was riddled with bad calls by Bhutanese referee Om Choki, incensing the 20,000-strong home crowd at Dasrath Rangashala in Kathmandu. Nepali forward Rekha Paudel received two yellow cards, resulting in a red and kicking her off the game. The first yellow was received well, but the second was hotly contested by both the players and the Nepali crowd. It was a bad call by the lineswoman, who flagged Paudel despite being struck down by the Indian defense. The crowd tossed bottles onto the pitch, and chants of “Nepal, Nepal” filled the stadium. It took about 12 minutes for the crowd to calm down and for play to resume. Nepal continued for 40 minutes with just 10 players.
But the crowd wasn’t done. Already incensed by the referees’ bad calls, it took one more incident to send the Nepal supporters into a frenzy. India scored in the 62nd minute, and the Indian players celebrated for way too long, while the Nepali team waited for them to resume play. Referee Choki blew the whistle, signaling play to begin, even as the Indians were still celebrating. Nepal seized the moment to score, but Choki disallowed the goal. It was a strange decision, given she had started play, followed the ball, but then negated the goal when Nepal scored. This was the last straw for the crowd. More bottles rained down, calls rang out against the referee, and the Nepal team left the pitch. It took over an hour for the crowd to calm down and play to resume. Nepal returned, with star striker Sabitra Bhandari ‘Samba’ finding the net a minute into play to even the score.
With the score tied, the game went to penalties. Both teams replaced their goalkeepers for the penalties, but Nepali sub Anjana Thapa Magar stole the show. After Indian skipper Ashalata Devi Loitongbam missed her shot, Thapa Magar blocked a blow from Chanu Sorokhaibam. Nepal continued to score and won the game, once again sending the crowd into a frenzy, but this time of joy. Despite a match marred by controversial decisions and playing one woman down, Team Nepal came through with a stunning victory, sending them into the finals against Bangladesh.
The finals, held on Wednesday, didn’t go as well for Nepal. Samba was the sole forward with Nepal playing very defensively against an aggressive Bangladesh. Great as she is, Samba couldn’t keep up the pressure on her own and failed to find supporters for her crosses. Bangladesh scored first, minutes into the second half and Nepal responded four minutes later. But Bangladesh again found the back of the net in the 81st minute and Nepal was unable to equalize, conceding defeat.
These games showed that the Nepali women’s team is just as capable, if not more so, than the men’s and deserves our support. Players like Samba and Preeti Rai are superstars in their own right, comfortable with the ball and able to find devastating holes in the defense. The Nepali crowd, too, showed up in record numbers to support the women. Tickets for the finals were sold out in a matter of hours, and the raucous crowd was fully behind our players. But perhaps the fans need to learn to restrain themselves. Bad calls will happen, and attacking the referees or players with projectiles is not good sportsmanship. It is evident that Nepalis are loyal fans and will back our players come hell or high water, but they need to take up more peaceful means of protest.
Kathmandu airport reduces hours, leading to chaos
Earlier in October, Tribhuvan International Airport announced that it would drastically reduce operating hours from November 8 to March 31, 2025. The ongoing construction of new taxiways necessitated the closure of the airport from 10pm to 8am, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. This announcement has thrown travel plans for thousands of tourists and Nepalis into chaos as airlines were forced to cancel flights booked over a year in advance. It has also led to prices skyrocketing, often to double the regular rate.
The travel and tourism industry has warned that airport closure could lead to losses in the billions of rupees during peak tourist season, which falls between mid-August and mid-December. Inconvenienced travelers are not likely to rebook their flights at exponentially higher rates. Even the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global body of airlines, has asked CAAN to reconsider the closure hours, citing widespread inconvenience to travelers. CAAN officials, however, say that the construction was planned over a year in advance and cannot be avoided. “The tender for this work was called a year ago. Starting construction before November or after April would negatively impact both the summer and winter tourism seasons. This timing was chosen to minimize disruption as much as possible,” the CAAN spokesperson told Republica daily.
If the construction was planned a year in advance, why didn’t CAAN speak to all airlines that fly to Nepal and try to figure out a solution that satisfies everyone? CAAN director-general Pradeep Adhikari has never been one to listen to others or take responsibility, so it is to be expected that the civil aviation body has taken a my-way-or-the-highway approach. It is a mystery how anyone decided it would be a good idea to close Nepal’s only international airport for 10 hours every day. It is these kinds of ad hoc decisions that tarnish Nepal’s reputation as a tourist destination. Every trip to Nepal is riddled with inconveniences, so why would tourists choose Nepal when they can go anywhere else?
It is Tihar!
As I write this, Nepal is in the midst of the festival of Tihar, also known as Diwali or Deepawali. Yesterday, Thursday, was Laxmi Puja, the day dedicated to the goddess of wealth and abundance. It was also Kukkur Tihar, or the day dogs are worshipped as loyal companions. Tomorrow is Mha Puja, marked by the Newa community as a celebration of the self, and on Sunday, it will be Bhai Tika, the day when the bond between brothers and sisters is celebrated.
Tihar is Nepal’s biggest festival after Dashain and is marked with much fanfare nationwide. It is especially known worldwide for Kukkur Tihar, even though we Nepalis do dogs a great disservice by exploding firecrackers throughout Tihar. Dogs are sensitive to loud noises; dozens of dogs run away from their homes every year. I, too, lost my dog years ago during Tihar. He ran away in panic after being spooked by explosions and never returned. Firecrackers are also all-round nuisances, and I’m glad they’ve been banned for some time now, even though they’re easily available on the black market. I don’t have a problem with sparklers or spinners or volcanoes. It is the bombs that I take issue with.
Here’s wishing everyone celebrating a happy Tihar. Even if you don’t, find some time to celebrate your pet, dog or cat or whatever animals keeps you company. That’s really the best part of Tihar.
That’s all for this week’s round-up. The Deep Dive continues after the break below.
The deep dive: Why are some Nepalis supporting Trump?
Former US President Donald Trump looking more orange than ever. (Image: Getty)
On Tuesday, November 5, the United States goes to the voting booth to elect the “leader of the free world.” On the left is Kamala Harris, current vice president of Black and Indian descent, while on the right is Donald Trump, former president and wannabe dictator-in-chief. There's not much for me to say about the two candidates; millions of words have already been written to that end. Let me try here to provide a Nepali perspective on the election and how many Nepalis might be voting.
Nepalis, like all other groups, are not a monolith. There's great diversity within the Nepali community in the US, and political leanings vary according to age, education, income, and migration history. I haven't conducted an authoritative survey, but from informal conversations with Nepalis in the US, it seems most Nepali Americans will vote Democrat. However, there is also a rising tide of Republican voters, especially since Donald Trump became its presidential nominee. It makes sense that Nepalis would vote Democrat, given the party’s more liberal bent when it comes to immigrants, but why are more Nepalis turning to Trump? Let’s try to unpack this.
Migration history seems to affect how Nepalis vote. Generally speaking, Nepalis who came to the US for higher education and eventually ended up living and working there lean more Democratic, while Nepalis who came in on diversity visas and refugee status lean more Republican. This isn't true for everyone, of course, but conversations and social media attest that this assessment is fairly true.
But why would Nepali immigrants vote Republican, you might ask? After all, the Republican party, and especially Donald Trump, is very anti-immigration, to the point of xenophobia and racism. Trump infamously said that immigrants coming into the US were criminals, murderers, and rapists, although there were “some” good people, he conceded. He also called Nepal “nipple” and a “shit hole country.” I seriously doubt Trump even knows where Nepal is on the map or can differentiate Nepalis from any other brown immigrant community.
On social media, Nepalis say that they support Trump's stance on stopping “illegal immigration.” We came here legally, so why can't everyone else, they say. If only this were wholly true. Many Nepalis who are now citizens went to the US as refugees during the Maoist years. But the majority of Nepali refugees weren't in any danger at all. Most people with the social and financial capital to even consider migrating to the US to claim asylum weren't actual victims. Those murdered, tortured, disappeared, and displaced by the Maoists and the Nepali security forces during the civil conflict were the poor and the marginalized — Tharus from Chitwan and the Far West, Magars from Rolpa and Rukum. They weren't the ones who sought asylum. So, the immigration path of many Nepalis who claimed refugee status was not wholly “legal” either.
Nepali refugees used the very real plight of their fellow citizens to make themselves a home in the US but have now become advocates for stringent immigration policies. This shows a marked disconnect with the immigrant experience. These Nepali Americans, too, must've struggled to find jobs and build a life in the US, but now that they're wealthier and have citizenship, they would deny others the same privileges they got. There’s a distinct lack of empathy with other immigrants and a refusal to acknowledge that they might have more in common with recent migrants of color than with the Republican party’s core base of mostly white Americans.
In that sense, the Nepali professional class shares a lot with middle and upper-class Indians in the US. While Indian Americans are by and large still solidly Democratic, a not-so-insignificant proportion has begun to identify as Republican. In some ways, they see Donald Trump as an American version of Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister. They admire Trump’s trash talk, where he belittles and mocks people. To them, this is a sign of a confident and no-nonsense leader who calls it like it is. They see Trump and Modi as kindred spirits, both with authoritarian tendencies and a distaste for the Muslim community, which the Hindu majority in India and the US welcome. Many Nepalis, too, can be notoriously racist and casteist. Casual racism against African Americans, Mexicans, and Muslims among the Nepali community is not uncommon. I believe this also plays some part in their support for Trump.
It’s not all hate and bigotry, though. Nepalis are also small business owners; many see the Republican party as more amenable to business interests than the Democrats. Trump pays lip service to small businesses and the working class but is much more lenient on billionaires. No wonder billionaires like Elon Musk have come out in Trump’s corner; trust me, it’s not about free speech. Many Nepalis are also social conservatives, coming from a deeply conservative society back home. But the Republican party under Trump has drifted farther and farther away from traditional conservative values of a liberal marketplace, economic deregulation, and “family values” to the far right. Retired Marine General John Kelly, who was once Trump's chief of staff, even said that the former president fits “into the general definition of a fascist.”
What Nepalis who support Trump don’t seem to realize is that Trump and his base do not see them as allies. Nepalis are not white, no matter how successful or wealthy they become. To Trump’s core base, all minorities are suspect, especially recent immigrants. Trump’s Agenda 47 and Project 2025 outline massive immigration overhauls, including ending birthright citizenship, removing Temporary Protected Status, and deporting millions of “illegal” immigrants on day one of his presidency. He already attempted to remove TPS for Nepalis and Hondurans in 2020 but agreed to put the removal on hold after a legal challenge. He’s tried to put an end to the Diversity Visa program, under which many Nepalis entered the US and became citizens, and also the H1B visa, under which many Nepalis currently live and work in the US.
Who wins the US election is not just important for Americans, though. The US president has an unprecedented impact on global affairs, Nepal included. A return to Trump could mean a reduction in US foreign aid as his administration turns increasingly inward to place “America first.” There will also undoubtedly be impacts on health care and reproductive rights. During his first time as president, Trump expanded the global gag rule — a policy that prohibits any foreign non-governmental organizations that receive US funding from providing any services related to abortion except in cases of rape or incest. While the policy was first put in effect by Ronald Reagan in 1984, it has been alternatively imposed and rescinded depending on which party controls the White House. The policy becomes lenient under Democrats and much more stringent under Republicans.
Under Trump, any foreign NGOs that receive US aid from the US could no longer even use their own funds to provide any services related to abortion. They couldn’t refer patients to other NGOs or healthcare institutions that provide safe abortions or even mention abortion in counseling or education programs. As Bhrikuti Rai and Nishita Jha reported for Buzzfeed in 2019, Trump’s expansion of the global gag rule led to decreased funding for reproductive and sexual health organizations in Nepal, closing down outreach centers and placing thousands of women at risk of unsafe abortions. Trump could go even further if he wins again, especially as the Supreme Court justices that he handpicked have already killed Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in the US.
Elections in the US are almost always about emotion rather than policy. Trump's appeal is largely visceral, and his policies even hurt the people who support him, like blue-collar farm workers in the Midwest. His rhetoric might appeal to certain segments of the American population, but Nepalis and other people of color should know that he is not your friend. He might be coming for people they don’t like — black people, Muslims, illegal immigrants — but it won’t take much for him to turn on all people of color, regardless of whether they are citizens or non-citizens, rich or poor, Indian or Nepali.
To all my readers in the US who can vote, please exercise your franchise responsibly. Know that your vote will affect not just Americans but also people all over the world. Kamala Harris might not be the ideal candidate, but she is a far cry from Donald Trump. Trump demeans what the United States is supposed to stand for — diversity, equality, and opportunity. Vote wisely; all the rest of us can do is watch.
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly.
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