EVEREST 11 | Cover Story | wavemag.com.np

Ganga Gurung being challenged by three Nowegian players.
"It happens every year. Someone always wants to stay back," said Inspector Niellson of the Foreign Department, Norwegian Police. When three girls from the Nepali football team ran away to seek asylum after Norway Cup, it came as no surprise to the Norwegians, the Nepali public or the national sports council. The latter is more concerned about participants following a pattern at the upcoming Asian games in South Korea where athletes and coaches go missing everytime a team is invited abroad.

The Everest 11 team returned home to in a mood very different from the excitement and enthusiasm with which they left. They came back minus three players; including the team captain and the star player. The mood was negatively chraged with tension and the knowledge that a cover-up would be impossible.

The underlying tension between the four team leaders, and in turn the girls, defintely affected Everest 11. Geeta Rana's wing of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) had nominated Rama Singh as team leader. Singh, just back from a Europe tour and with a young baby to care for, was less than enthusiastic about the assignment and said as much to the ANFA board members. The position of Head Coach went to Milan Hada unanimously. The same cannot be said for Sanjeev Mishra, Team Manager, and Phillip K.C who had no official designation during Norway Cup. Phillip K.C introduced himself as either the Team Leader or the Head Coach to other teams. It later came to light that K.C's addition to the team was thanks to Geeta Rana, who bypassed the Board's candidate altogether.

Bimala Joshi makes a stunning penalty save against Lille Hammer KFK, Norway.
Prior to leaving Kathmandu, K.C and Singh had an argument, which resulted in a lack of communication between the two. Singh took the road of least resistance and fell in with whatever K.C, Hada and Mishra decided. She was the Team Leader in name only. Their internal conflict affected the efficient running of the programme scheduled by Hem Gurung, the official Norwegian Cup Guide. Although all four were handed a complete itinerary on the first evening, they remained ignorant of daily activities which affected the young players.

Perhaps the most damning indictment against the team leaders is the lack of care and respect they gave the players. The relationship between the officials and the players was strained because they were not free to do so much as wear what they want without the permission of either Hada or K.C. This attitude towards the players extended to who they could be friends with, who they could take photographs with, when and if they got any time to explore Oslo. They were constantly threatened with being sent home if they didn't obey.

However the most important thing on the players minds was food. Since Gurung's schedule was disregarded the girls missed the free meals provided at the main dining facilities. They were given to understand that either they ate there or it was instant noodles later. On the day of the Norway Cup opening ceremony, July 28, the girls played a football match, walked for several kilometres carrying their equipment, waited for buses and trams and finally got to the stadium too late for the march past thanks to the indecision of the team leaders. They had eaten only one meal that day, breakfast. Later that night they were found eating the last few packets of dry noodles, bulked up with chiura to make it more filling.

It never occurred to the team leaders to buy food for the girls in Oslo, nor did they allow the players to buy food with their own allowances. The girls often spoke of being dizzy with hunger. In this light it's not surprising that Everest 11 lost all three matches. The lack of nutritious food had as much to with their defeat as the size of their Norwegian opponents.

Everest 11 with the Wave team and sports volunteers Lucinda and Kwasy.
The emotional well-being of the players was just as neglected. For almost all of them the trip to Norway was their first time in a foreign country. What should have been a wonderful experience for them was severely limited by team management whose main goal was to put in minimal effort as possible. The girls had passes to the best museums and parks in Oslo, they saw very little of any. They were not allowed to go the Norway Disco, a place that served no alcohol and was well chaperoned. Singh, at her non-particapatory best, didn't even attend the formal welcome dinner hosted by the Mayor of Oslo.

A few players accused the team captain for not speaking on their behalf. The one time Pashupati Rana dared to question Mishra she was publicly humiliated by KC who yelled at her, "You shut up. I don't want to hear another word." In tears, she appealed to him but KC just got louder and more threatening. He sat on a chair and glared her into silence. Team leader Singh just watched quietly. Rana was one of the players who stayed back in Norway.

Pashupati Rana, Ganga Gurung and Sushila Sushling disappeared on Saturday, 3 August, the last day of the tournament. Everyone had gone shopping in By Porten, a complex in central Oslo, with instructions to meet at the square at 1:00 pm. What had seemed like a harmless prank at first became serious by nightfall when their absence was reported to the police. The Everest 11 team was scheduled to leave the next morning, and for once they were prompt to follow through. On Sunday, 4 August, the remaining members flew home, leaving three passports and tickets with the police. That evening the girls found their way to the police station and applied for asylum. From then on they became the responsibility of the Norwegian immigration department.

Inspector Niellson, Foreign Department Norwegian Police.
The media were quick to catch on, especially since the team had received wide coverage from national papers and television stations. Norway's biggest daily newspaper Verdans Gang printed the story at the same time it appeared on Nepal's Kantipur daily and WAVE's website. By the time Everest 11 landed in Kathmandu, the public already knew that although 20 had left only 17 returned. It was something the team leaders had not anticipated.

At present, Rana, Gurung and Susling are being cared for in a temporary asylum centre 15 kilometers from Oslo. The Norwegian government has appointed them with a lawyer, and because they are all minors they also have a guardian. Inger Anne Norvag, a supervisor at the centre, assured us the girls were safe. She could not comment on when their case would be reviewed or what their chances for receiving asylum were. The girls sounded subdued on the telephone, almost as if the consequences of their actions was becoming clearer. They told us they were treated well. None of them would answer questions on when, why and how they planned something of this magnitude. All they asked was for their families to know they were alright.

We may never know their reason for surfacing as asylum seekers in Oslo a day after their team left Norway. As outsiders we can only guess at why the girls absconded. Perhaps they will cite the current political and economical depression in the country. Perhaps they were inlfuenced by other Nepalis who convinced them that it would be easy to seek asylum. Perhaps they left home knowing fully well they wouldn't return.

The sports officials have washed their hands off the whole matter. The girls' families believe everything will be for the better if Norway grants them asylum. The crux of the matter is "if". Chances are they will be sent back home before year end. ANFA will shunt them back to their villages. The noteriety of their actions has probably ended what was a promising sports career.

Food for champions? Nepali girls share a pack of instant noodles.
These girls left Nepal as representatives of our country, as a team. But once in Norway they chose to act as individuals. They not only ignored the unpleasant consequences of their actions on their team mates, but also failed to honour their loyalty to Nepal, especially as national representatives. It is a matter of shame every time a Nepali, be it a musician, an artist or a sports person, decides to renounce our country in this manner.

There are many lessons to be learned, not only in terms of team management and team ethics, from Everest 11's experience in Norway. We hope future teams are treated with more respect and care than this group of girls were given. Despite the tension and stress, the girls of Everest 11 put on a good front, played well and banded together. We wish them many future victories.