The end of a sibling war "A brother and sister who served on opposite sides during the conflict are now part of the same army- complete story

Chunati  (Juna) as phtographed by Sagar Shrestha (Left)
Juna (Top & bottom)  Photo by Bikram Rai

Bhrikuti Rai, nepalitimes.com., 6-12 September 2013:Juna Rai, appears for a rendezvous at Kapan in a grey sweatshirt and military haircut, looking much more petite than expected. 

It is impossible to tell she is the Comrade Chunauti of photojournalist Sagar Shrestha’s famous image (pic, below) of the Nepal conflict.

Shrestha took the picture in Bhojpur in 2006 as Rai was on sentry duty at a Maoist base, huddled against the cold and keeping her SLR assault rifle warm. The photograph was included in Kunda Dixit’s book, A People War, published by nepa~laya in 2006.

Juna’s Rai’s iconic picture has gone around the world, toured the country as part of a travelling photo exhibition seen by 500,000 people, and has been used in movie posters and lately even in Kathmandu’s new street murals.

It was only when Dixit’s sequel, People After War, came out in 2009 did it become known that Juna’s brother, Bhuwan, was in the Royal Nepal Army. The siblings actually took part in the battle of Bhojpur and Diktel on opposite sides, and could have ended up killing each other. Nepal’s conflict wasn’t just a civil war, it was a sibling war.

After languishing four years in the Udaypur cantonment, Juna was among 1,422 former guerrillas inducted into the Nepal Army last month. She has lost her long tresses, and is proud to call herself a ‘soldier’ now in the same army as her brother.

“There are no words to describe how happy I was during the passing-out parade in Trisuli,” says Juna, showing us pictures of the ceremony. Inspired by her family’s martial tradition (her grandfather was in the British Army and uncle in the Indian Army) Juna always fancied herself in uniform. As a lance corporal in the Nepal Army, she is now undergoing a bridge course to receive her insignia and was in Kathmandu this week for a short break.

“It is difficult to believe that life still turned out good after all those years, and I am glad the bloodshed is over,” she says, looking pensive.

Juna decided to join the Maoists in 2003 after hearing a rousing speech by a Maoist recruiter in Khotang who promised equality and a society free of discrimination and exploitation. She was in Grade 8, and didn’t even tell her father when she left home with some friends. She was nearly killed by an exploding grenade during the battle for Bhojpur in 2004 in which her commander and 20 others were killed. A deep leg injury still reminds her of that battle.

Four years ago, speaking to this paper, Juna was optimistic about joining her brother Bhuwan in the same army. “Luckily we didn’t encounter each other, or else we may have killed each other,” she said. During the conflict Juna and Bhuwan prayed for each others’ safety even though they were on opposing sides.

Bhuwan is currently posted in Jhapa, and Juna will probably be assigned to the army unit guarding the Sukla Phanta Nature Reserve in western Nepal. Juna says Bhuwan tried to dissuade his sister from joining the army because he said it was hard work. But Juna says: “I joined anyway, because I realised nothing in life comes easy. I have never shied away from challenges.”

Juna is now 27 and married to Kumar Tamang who was also a guerrilla who took voluntary retirement because of injuries. Their seven-year-old son Sachin lives with Juna’s sister Guna in Sunsari. Having lost her own mother when she was two, Juna talks to her son every day. “I hope he will understand that I am in the army only to ensure a better future for him,” she says.

Photographer: Sagar Shrestha

Second Innings

Juna has no regrets about joining the Maoist army, and believes she was fighting for justice and equality. “The changes we fought for will take time, but at least we prepared the ground for it,” Juna says. She admits there were misgivings among her comrades about joining what they were trained to regard as an enemy force, but everything went smoothly.

Tale of two SLRs

Juna Rai looks back at her life from a teenage guerrilla to the young soldier and mother that she has now become. “It only seemed like yesterday when Sagar Dai took that picture,” she recalls.

It was 2006, and Sagar Shrestha (above) saw Juna on lonely sentry duty on a foggy morning in Daburang Bhanjyang of Bhojpur, guarding a Maoist base. He took the picture with his Nikon SLR, but never expected it would become so famous. Juna’s war weary demeanour came to symbolise battle fatigue among fighters, and the role of women in the Maoist army.

“She was looking on as her comrades took part in morning drill,” recounts Sagar, who submitted his photograph for the book, A People War and also to Associated Press.

“We had to take care of our weapons more than our lives back then, that is the only reason I was holding on to the SLR so tightly,” explains Juna, “but I still wonder why people find the photo so fascinating.”

(Source & courtesy: http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nation-sibling-war-juna-rai,731)

Brother and sister together again 
In Kumar's face you can see the delight that his children are together again. 
CHARLES HAVILAND in KHOTANG #454 (05 JUNE 2009 - 11 JUNE 2009)  

The picture of Bhuwan posing with his sisters in happier
times hangs in the family home in Khotang

It was late afternoon at the Maoist sub-cantonment in Udayapur. In a yellow t-shirt, Juna was playing a vigorous volleyball game. Later, she was unmistakably the Comrade Chunauti of Sagar Shrestha's famous picture taken in Bhojpur (pictured right) and printed in nepa-laya's book, A People War.

She is married now, but her husband and young son live far away in Sankhuwasabha. Juna's sister, Guna (known by her war name, Comrade Sujata) lives with her in the camp in Udayapur. Guna has seen a lot of action, and was wounded many times. Juna herself was nearly killed by an exploding grenade during the battle for Bhojpur in 2004 in which her commander and 20 others were killed.

Guna and Juna have a brother, Bhuwan and during the war he was in the then-royal Nepal Army. Juna says she never really saw the Army as her enemy. But what if she had encountered Bhuwan on the battlefield? "We'd have to answer bullets with bullets."

Juna had lots of questions in the drive up from Udayapur to the Rai home in Khotang for a family reunion. The mountains were dry and eastern Nepal looked like a dust bowl. "I'm very happy to be meeting my brother after a long time," says Juna as we begin the walk after crossing the Sun Kosi. Chunauti becomes Juna again when she meets an old friend, Nirmala Magar, on the trail. Nirmala is not political but says she feels good her former classmate joined the rebels "because all the villagers support the Maoists".

At dusk we get to Juna's tiny village of Suntale. Bhuwan has walked two days from Diktel, where he is based in an army barrack to sit for exams.

CHARLES HAVILAND

Brother and sister greet each other matter-of-factly, like most Nepali siblings. Their widowed and remarried father, Kumar, is very kind to everyone but there is something sad in his smile.

The next morning Bhuwan, a handsome, muscular man whose wife lives here in the village, is ploughing. He speaks more from the heart than his sister. He joined the NA not only because of a military tradition in the family (his grandfather was in the British army and his uncle in the Indian) but also to resist Maoist attempts to recruit among villagers.

When his sisters joined the rebels, he was shocked. "I told them to complete their studies and not to join the Maoists. I didn't like the Maoists. I felt bad that we were born of the womb of the same mother." It was impossible to meet his sisters during the war. And he was deeply troubled by his own colleagues in the army who threatened to arrest his sisters. They did try to detain them, but couldn't find them. He was also afraid they may meet on the battlefield. "I heard that they took part in the same attacks as me, in Diktel, Udayapur and Bokse. They said they saw me, but I didn't see them."

Yet, what if they had met in battle? "I feel that if we had met in battle then obviously I wouldn't have spared her," Bhuwan says. For Kumar, life was hell during the war. "The army used to come and search the house," he says, "they would ask me to bring my daughters back. 
No sooner would the army leave than the Maoists would come and ask me to get my son out of the army, otherwise it would not be good for me. Both sides harassed me for years. The constant tension almost drove me away from here."

Now, in Kumar's face you can see the delight that his children are together again. The siblings' emotions are harder to detect. "To some extent there was distance between us," is all Bhuwan will say about their relationship during the war. Juna is much more forthcoming. "We can't compare the war period with the present because it is like comparing sky and earth," she says. "Yes, our ideologies may be different but we're from the same family. We have a blood relationship."

Juna is optimistic that one day the two of them will be part of the same army. Bhuwan says "I'll have to see." The two pose with their father for a family portrait. They could be any family. As I snap Kumar between his two children, Bhuwan flings his arms around his father. Juna hesitantly puts her arm on her father's shoulders, with her hand resting delicately on her brother's.

(Source: http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16007)

Bhuwan and Juna 

(ISSUE #454 (05 JUNE 2009 - 11 JUNE 2009) 

A brother and sister who served on opposite sides during the war have mended fences and got together again for a family reunion in Khotang. Bhuwan Rai (left) is in the Nepal Army and is stationed in Diktel. His sister Juna Rai (right) is in the Maoist army and now based in a cantonment in Udayapur. During the war, the two very nearly came to shooting at each other during the battles in eastern Nepal. 

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When Juna and her sister Guna joined the Maoists, Bhuwan was angry. Their father, Kumar, was harassed by both sides during the war. Now, he is happy that his son and daughters are together again. 

"Our ideologies may be different, but we are a family," says Juna. 

It is clear Juna is more indoctrinated than Bhuwan. She speaks in party jargon, and says her goal is to be a part of the national army and serve in the same barracks as her brother. Bhuwan's distrust of the Maoists still runs deep. 

But for now, the two have come together again. 

On the national stage Prime Minister Nepal is desperately trying to get his 22-party coalition to agree on a government. But even if that happens, the integration of the Maoist guerrillas into the Nepal Army will become the single biggest challenge to the peace process. 

The level of distrust between the Maoists in the opposition and the UML-led government is at an all time high because of the row over the sacking of the army chief that led to the collapse of the Maoist government last month. The Maoists have launched nation-wide street protests that threaten disruptions and political instability. 

The fate of the nearly 19,000 Maoists in camps hangs in the balance as UNMIN's mandate expires in July. 

If Bhuwan and Juna can integrate back into their family, when will the two armies, to which they belong, do the same?(Source: http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15999)