Translation: It’s true, I’ve been living in Nepal for two years, and a week ago, a mountainside collapsed because the ice holding the rocks together had partially melted. This probably killed around 5,600 people and completely destroyed several settlements.
It’s a tragic event, but of course, you have to look at the bigger picture. This is just a small part of Nepal; 95% of the country was not affected, including the major cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara.
And now, of course, the opposite is happening. People are saying, “If you want to show solidarity with Nepal, come here now.” There is even a “Nepal, Now!” campaign.
But the reality is that there will be long-term damage because, unfortunately, the crisis communication was not very effective. Nobody was prepared for something like this, and it will probably remain in the minds of many people: “Nepal isn’t safe. I’d rather not go there. Who knows if something like this might happen again?”
And that is certainly a task for the future. It’s not just an issue for Nepal; the same applies to other countries as well. We need to be prepared because climate change isn’t going away. Other countries will also face earthquakes, heatwaves, forest fires, and similar events.
Preparation from the very beginning is therefore essential. It influences what is reported and shared in the media worldwide, helps prevent too much misinformation from being spread, and ensures that the right message is communicated from the outset: what happened is terrible, but that is not the whole country—it is only a small part of it.
We are here in India, for example. If something happens in Kolkata, it has virtually no impact on Kerala. These places are thousands of kilometres apart. But in the media, especially when people are far away from the actual location, everything is often thrown into the same pot. People simply hear that there is a problem in India, without understanding how far away the affected area actually is.
The same applies to Nepal. The main tourist destinations are Kathmandu and Pokhara, Chitwan National Park, and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. All of these places are freely accessible. Nothing happened there, and they are very beautiful.
I can only advise everyone to go there and see for themselves.
Original video: https://www.expi.tv/de/video/1685