I am one of those people who have been living in the West and yet cannot wholeheartedly embrace it as my own. I have been living in London since 2010,but my heart is always in the streets of Patan, where I grew up, and my eyes and ears are forever tuned to news from Nepal. 2015 was a very important year not just for me but for all Nepalis worldwide for some important reasons: the earthquakes, the constitution, theMadhes movement and the blockade.But in a year in which Nepal made numerous headlines across the world, these headlines have not always been easy to digest.

The earthquake was a terrifying moment. The first time I saw the news was on Facebook the morning after. I tried frantically to call my parents for about two hours, but the calls would not get through. Fortunately, an uncle called to assure that all were fine. But after being relieved for my family, the grief was multiplied by the death ofmore than eight thousand people. We organised a solidarity event in the heart of London, the Trafalgar Square, to remember the dead and those injured in the earthquake.

As for the next two highlights of 2015, the constitution and the Madhes movement are tied together. The constitution was promulgated when the Madhesi parties were agitating against some of the clauses in it. The parties allege that the constitution took away some of the rights of the Madhesis and Janajatis, which were already stipulated in the interim constitution. Their argument falls correct as the three main parties and the government have now filed and supported the ‘amendments’ to the constitution. If they were so sure about the just nature of the constitution, then certainly, they would not have sought to amend it.

As a student of Conflict Studies, I find it astonishing why the demarcation proposed in the first Constituent Assembly—which was accepted by the relevant official body—was not taken forward in the second CA. That would have addressed the aspirations of minorities—from Limbus to Tharus and Madhesis, who believe that there have been historical injustices against them. However, here we have a situation where the political parties representing Madhesis and Janajatis do not believe that the constitution and the state demarcation address their grievances.

There are mixed results from the practice of federalism in the world; some have succeeded and some have not. But it shall be noted that federalism is one of the methods that could help manage ethnic conflict in a society. When federalism as a corrective measure has taken earnest roots in people’s minds, then it can be very difficult to dislodge. Impeding it would only backfire, as it has now in Nepal.

Yet, even if we embrace federalism, there will be a huge gap between the rich and the poor in Nepal, even after addressing the ethnic issue. Alleviating poverty—whether of Pahades or Madhesis—should be a priority in the future political agenda.

At a time when we were trying to get back on our feet after the quakes, we had to suffer another disaster, the unofficial blockade imposed by India.It has been a curse to us that we don’t have an easy access to other countries that we could trade with. How many blockades will it take for the Nepali government to build good roads to China? How many oil shortages will it take for the government to start buying petrol from other countries or investing in clean green energy? I hope this was the last in the series of Indian blockades to open up our senses as a nation.

Thus, needless to say, 2015 has been a tough year for the Nepalis who have lived to tell about it. Yet, in many ways, it was just as difficult for those having to watch it from afar; not being able to affect any change on the ground. There was a wave of non-resident Nepalis who flooded back home in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes. Others played their part in doing whatever they could, where ever they were. No doubt, 2015— through post-earthquake work and vocal, and often polarised and venomous, social media debates—reconnected Nepalis from all over the world. Hopefully, in this connected digital age, 2015 will be a cornerstone, in that brought together different opinions and resources to help this country that we all love move forward.  Bring it on 2016.

Paudel is studying Conflict Studies at London School of Economics. He tweets as

@shreya_paudel