Nepali Catholics pray for Japan's victims

(March 16, 2011) Nepali Catholics are praying for the victims of Japan’s last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami, including the 30 Nepali migrants, who went missing as a result of the disaster that hit the nation. A Mass was held on Sunday in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Kathmandu. Parents of the missing and Japanese Catholics working in Nepal, were also present. In the meantime, the Nepali government has sent 15 agents drawn from its army and police Special Forces, plus 5,000 blankets and emergency supplies to help rescue efforts. Bhusan Ghimire, a Catholic and the Tokyo correspondent for the Nepali Weekly, who returned home spoke to AsiaNews about the missing Nepalis. He said that it is hard to get news about their identity and conditions, as it impossible to communicate with the hardest hit areas. According to Japan’s media, four restaurants run by Nepalis in Miyagi were swept away by the tsunami.”