here is much to celebrate about the North East. It is a beautiful part of India, with its population spread across hills and valleys. It has a rich culture. Unfortunately, on May 3, 2023, ethno-religious violence erupted in north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki tribal community from the surrounding hills. As of date, at least 180 people have lost their lives in the violence, children orphaned, women widowed and rendered homeless. Many victims are missing.
Now the future of the survivors looks very bleak. Many of the victims whose houses have been burnt down, have been shifted to relief camps, where they lack basic amenities. There are around 37 relief camps set up in the State, having around 500 families in each of them.
Ever since the violence erupted in Manipur, several NGOs collected relief materials such as clothes, food, toiletries, mats and many more items need for the people and sent to Manipur.
The relief materials were sent through trucks. But the loaded vehicles were stuck at the borders due to curfew and had to wait for permission, which took a lot of time. Besides NGOs, the government too made provisions to supply food and provided them shelter for people. But it does not seem to be enough for them.
Agustin, a volunteer at a relief camp in Manipur, said: “I am providing help to the people living in the relief camps. They are facing a lot of problems. Some of them are sick, but we can’t take them anywhere as situation is very volatile outside. Also there is no money. Another major problem here is sanitation. There are no proper toilets here. It has become a breeding ground for water-borne diseases.
“People are wondering what is in store for their future and how things will unfold after the dust settles. Everything has been burnt down and destroyed. The violence victims staying at the relief camp don’t even have their basic belongings with them. They have no place to go and settle down. With regards to food, they only get rice and dal. We cannot provide them with nutritious food, especially for the children,” he lamented.
While the relief workers are struggling to render proper help to those living in the camp, the students are unsure about their life as their studies have been hampered.
A University student on conditions of anonymity said, “I cannot continue my studies. To be very honest, as a student I do not have any future. As of now my studies have stopped and I cannot go away as I am stuck here. I do not have any documents to prove my identity. The mob attacked us by checking our ID cards, so we had to hide our documents. We had no time to take our documents and most of us have lost them and we do not know where it is.”
She feared that due to lack of valid documents, she won’t get admission for further education anywhere else.
“I am sure I will not get any admission anywhere as I don’t have my documents and don’t know whether I will be able to retrieve them ever. My future looks bleak. By God’s grace, at least I have my family with me,”
she said.
A woman resident in this camp lamented that there is no privacy in this relief camp. She was also unsure about the fate of her children.
“There is no privacy here, especially for adolescent girls and women. For children also it’s very traumatising here. Right now I am living in these inhuman conditions. I don’t know how long we will have to live in such deplorable conditions. I am worried about the future of my children. The government should end this madness and start thinking about our rehabilitation,” she said.
Another local said that a pastoral training centre where the catechists are trained, has been affected by the violence.
“All of a sudden a group entered. The started destroying everything. They burnt down the entire centre,” he said.
With people living under the shadow of fear, one wonders whether the Kuki and Meitei communities will ever be able to bury the hatchet and live together in harmony.