My colleagues who were involved in the protests at Singha Durbar did not return to the office yesterday. Even though we expected them to arrive sometime in the afternoon – as they had done in the demonstrations earlier – I was not incredibly worried about thier safety as I walked home.

Today, however, I learned that the demonstrations got a bit more heated. Rem Bishwokarma, for instance, showed us bruises he got during the arrest. Suvash Darnal, the chair of JMC, recounted how women protesters were harrassed and “mishandled” by the police. These events sparked even more protests in other parts of Nepal. Obviously the playful game-like pattern that I had described in yesterdays blog entry didn’t apply to the third day of these consecutive protests.

This incidence just serves as a reminder of how serious the political and security situation is over here. Nothing can be taken for granted in this time of uncertainty.