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Page 4
“...capacities to a positive
trajectory of functioning and adaptation after a distur-
bance.” As a framework for understanding and building
strong communities, Norris et al. (2008:146) points out
that the scientific value of resilience ‘lies in whether it
leads to novel hypotheses about the characteristics of—and
relations between—stressors, various adaptive capacities,
and wellness over time.’ I argue that an analysis of the
Sherpas’ discussions leads us to better understand the con-
temporary socio-economic and demographic situation of
the region, and the availability or lack thereof of resources
as well as the interplay between durable social networks
and this concept of resilience.
I begin with an exploration of how different communities
of the Mount Everest region documented loss, coordinated
relief, and engaged in rebuilding homes, community struc-
tures, and the local economy. The cases presented here are
based on my direct experience and communication with
community members. In other words...”
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Page 11
“...In Tok Tok, I met a woman who had come to the region
with her family, like many others, in search of better
economic opportunities. Before the earthquake, she used
to look after her goats and ran a small business out of
her rented house. When government officials and Pharak
village representatives came to survey her losses imme-
diately after the earthquake, they documented damages
to the house. In the list of victims of such surveys, renters
like the woman were excluded because they did not own
any property. Technically for the purposes of the survey,
she had not lost anything. In reality, she had suffered a
heavy loss. Her livelihood that relied on the day-to-day
business she conducted in this house was disrupted. When
I met her a week after the first earthquake, she knew she
was going to remain financially destitute for a long time.
Her migrant-family neighbors had left Pharak for their
natal villages, but she could not return. For her and her
family, Pharak was now their home base....”
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