Bindya remembers the night of May 28 clearly. The clock had struck 2:30 a.m. Bindya and her family were watching in horror as miscreants went on a rampage, burning homes in her neighbouring locality. Bindya, 20, and her family had no option but to run for safety.
Bindya, expecting her first child, has not returned to Sugnu Mayai Leikai in Kakching district. She does not know whether her home is still intact or went down to ashes: just like many other families.
“That night, we fled from our place by taking a small boat since we could not take the road for safety,” recounted the heavily pregnant Bindya, adding, “All my family members are scattered and sheltering in different relief camps.”
Initially, Bindya and her family members stayed at the Mangching relief camp. Later, she was shifted to Youth Hostel Khuman Lampak relief camp meant for pregnant women for better healthcare services and other facilities.
“I really wanted to go home, but it isn’t possible right now since firing continues from the hilltop. We are not safe to return home,” added the young, expectant mother.
Likewise, Roshni, 19, from Sugnu Awang Leikai, was also put up at Mangching relief camp after the family fled from home fearing for their safety. She came to the Khuman Lampak relief camp on October 7, leaving behind her husband and father-in-law at the previous relief camp.
“Our village borders a Kuki village and after seeing that village being burnt down, we were scared and fled from the village,” said Roshni, expecting her child.
Though her home is intact as of now, she continues to worry for the safety of her family members as her husband often volunteers to guard the village.
When N Naobi, 28, a mother of three kids, ran for safety after their home was burnt, she had no idea where they were heading.
“My second child, who is six years old, was crying when we were running for safety after our house was burnt. My child kept asking why we had left home and whose house we were heading to. We did not know how to respond,” said Naobi, expecting her fourth child.
Somehow, they managed to reach Moirang Khunou relief camp for shelter. Since then, her family have been sheltering at the camp except for Naobi, who was shifted to Khuman Lampak relief camp on October 10.
“There were many challenges faced in the previous relief camp, especially people like me who are pregnant. But here at Khuman Lampak relief camp, we are being looked after properly by the volunteers and people around,” said Naobi gratefully.
However, despite the facilities she received, she looks forward to the day when she will reunite with her family and children and go home once peace is restored in the state.
“I really wanted to return home. But since my children are still young and my home is in the foothills, it is not possible to return home until the situation calms down,” informed Naobi, who works as a weaver to supplement her husband’s income, and worked as a daily wager before the crisis.
Similarly, Ichan, a mother of two beautiful kids and expecting her third child, is worried for the future as her husband, who was a driver, is mostly out of work after the violence broke out in Manipur.
“Our home at Leimakhong has been burnt down and my husband’s income is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the family as his work has also hampers,” said Ichan.
She also informed that her husband is also among those villagers who are guarding the village from miscreants without taking proper rest or food. “I don’t want to go and stay at the prefabricated house being constructed by the government. I am happy to be at home,” she added.
For B Hemam, a resident of Okshongbung Khunou in Bishnupur district, despite going through all the hardships and struggles and fleeing home, she is happy that her family has been blessed with a healthy son at the relief camp. This is her second child after a gap of eight years, she said.
Her newborn baby son was only 10 days old when EastMojoteam visited the relief camp at Khuman Lampak.
Recalling how people in her area, including the Kuki community, used to co-exist peacefully before the violence, Hemam said that since her schooling days, most of her friends are from the Kuki community and often celebrate family gatherings or events.
“We even pay our visit to each other whenever someone in the family is sick,” lamented the mother of the new baby.
“It’s natural that every one of us makes a mistake and no one is perfect. But let bygones be bygones and going forward, let us begin the days with good thoughts and prosperity for our children’s future,” she said in a positive manner.
Before the violence, her family engaged in piggery and fish farming for livelihood. However, everything was lost in the crisis and the family was left with no other source of income.
“It has been almost six months now without having any income and I am worried thinking about the future. My husband is also busy with volunteer work and no time to earn,” said the worried mother of two.
We are getting food in the relief camp but whenever we get sick, we cannot ask them to buy medicines for us, she added.
At present, there are around 64 inmates, including 29 pregnant women and nine lactating women from various districts are sheltering at the youth hostel Khuman Lampak relief camp.
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Since the outbreak of the crisis in Manipur, it has claimed at least 200 precious lives and left more than 60,000 people displaced internally, besides burning homes and villages.
Earlier, Chief Minister N Biren Singh talked about the relocation of around 3,000 displaced families from relief camps to newly constructed prefabricated houses. He also informed that the Central Government would provide financial assistance for the construction of new houses, for those whose houses had been burnt down.
ALSO READ | Manipur: Militants kill police official in Moreh
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