Nepal's protesters had a grand vision, and then the vibe changed

The Gen Z protesters in Nepal dressed for the occasion.

Their mission -- organized on Instagram, Facebook and Discord -- was grand: vanquish corruption, promote democracy and sweep away an entrenched leadership that kept power and wealth in the hands of a select few. Why not look good too?

"Our generation likes to slay," said Tanuja Pandey, a Gen Z protest organizer and recent university graduate, using a slang term for looking your best. "It's our secret weapon."

But, as three protesters who took part in the mass rallies in the capital, Kathmandu, recounted, the vibe changed.

As the largely leaderless youth movement marched toward the Everest Hotel, men arrived on motorcycles and in trucks, waving the Nepali flag with its twin triangles. They yelled extremist slogans and rushed past barricades to restricted zones. They did not appear to slay.

The burning and looting started soon after, the three Gen Z protesters said, shocking a movement that had expressly warned its tens of thousands of followers on social media not to act violently, even as at least 19 protesters were killed Monday after security forces opened fire.

The three protesters did not want to be identified because of the tense security situation.

By Tuesday, some of the young protesters, who had been galvanized by a government ban on social media, stayed off the streets. But the capital had descended into chaos. The parliament burned, as did the Supreme Court. Hotels were set on fire in a city that depends on adventure and spiritual tourism. The airport was closed because of smoke obscuring the runway. Homes and offices of government officials were attacked.

"Killing people, demolishing things, vandalizing, looting, this is not our generation," Pandey said. "We wanted progress, not to push things back by 10 years at least because everything has been dismantled."

Pandey said that she and other Gen Z protesters met with the army chief, Gen. Ashok Raj Sigdel, on Tuesday evening, to try to convince him that the widespread arson attacks in Kathmandu did not come from their ranks. Meetings between student organizers and military officials continued Wednesday, two participants said.

The Gen Z protesters face another fundamental challenge: trying to articulate a unified message to advance their demands, even as organizers shy away from publicly identifying themselves. On Wednesday, Facebook and Instagram accounts that identified themselves as representing Nepal's Gen Z protesters urged people to clean up litter on the streets or stay home away from trouble. There were few reports of further damage Wednesday.

Pandey, the daughter of a teacher and a homemaker from eastern Nepal, studied environmental, gender and criminal law in Kathmandu. She had great aspirations, part of a new wave of educated youth eager to use their professional skills. But finding a job is tough in Nepal. Many of the offers Pandey received were for no more than $140 a month, she said, hardly enough to cover city living.

Three other university graduates who participated in the protests said that this gulf between their expectations and the job market reality left them in despair. A brain drain has deprived the country of some of its most educated citizens. At the same time, conspicuous consumption and casual corruption make the nation's wealth gap clear.

Pandey said that her family has been targeted for her role in the protests.

"I hope one day they will be proud of me," she said of her parents, her voice catching in a sob. "Because now, everyone blames us, our generation, for having caused something we did not do."

Many young protesters were driven to overturn the government's social media ban, which has since been rescinded. One protest organizer, a university student in Kathmandu, said that he never imagined that this discrete goal would leave his hometown so wounded.

Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, whose house was also set on fire, resigned to take responsibility for the killing of the 19 protesters. No group has taken responsibility for the destruction in Kathmandu.

"All we wanted to do was fight against the corrupt system," Pandey said. "But we could not control the situation, and now this collective trauma will be embedded in our memories forever."