Trigger Warning: Mentions of violence and gender based violence
“I am still in denial about what is happening in my state,” says Mary (name changed to protect identity), a 19-year-old girl who escaped Manipur with her parents and her brother. They are now in Delhi, trying to build their lives from scratch.
Manipur has been seeing ethnic clashes between two communities since early May, with houses being burnt, women being raped, public property being torched, and men being beaten up and burnt alive. Families that have been building their lives since ages have lost it all, forced to live in refugee camps.
From a middle-class Kuki family settled in Imphal, Mary was studying to become a nurse. Her life was all well until the Meitei-Kuki conflict ravaged her state. As the fight ensued, her brother saw their neighbours’ houses being burnt in broad daylight. He knew they were coming for his family. They picked up all they could gather, and ran for their lives, leaving behind their house and possessions – all built and gathered through years of hard work.
The relief camp for the displaced was full. The army stopped them and asked them to turn back. The place could not hold more people. Fearing for their safety, they chose to hide in a nearby forest for an entire night instead of returning to their house. Imagine staying in a forest when its dark, not knowing whether your house is still there, not knowing if the mob would come for you, wondering whether there were animals and snakes around. Thoughts of fear arose. They faced death all around. Mary’s aunt and cousins outside Manipur stayed in touch. They were worried as well. Her aunt (mother’s sister) only had one prayer – the family to be safe and be able to escape the state the next day itself.
Fast forward by a few weeks, the family is trying hard to settle in the national capital. “I am choosing to ignore what happened. We escaped death and I am traumatized,” says Mary. “Even the sound of fireworks or people cheering scares me,” she adds. She still has friends and relatives stuck in the state, now what seems like a war zone.
Her brother completed his graduation as the army escorted him to his examination centre in Churachandpur, one of the places affected by violence. He hopes to work soon even as Mary wants to either find a job or continue her studies in Delhi. As they adjust to the new city, including getting new SIM cards, the family dreams of going back to their state someday. But they will wait and watch, fearing for their safety.
“We met many people who helped us,” exclaims Mary as she recounts the ordeal they went through.
Thankfully, the mainstream news and social media have woken up to the conflict in Manipur. But it is devastating that we did so only after the video of the two women being paraded naked went viral. I can’t even explain my outrage over how rapes and sexual violence are used as tools to silence the less dominant group. But maybe that should be another article.
The Prime Minister breaking his silence on the 79th day since the conflict began, is not something the state deserves. With the Chief Minister unable to control the violence of “hundreds of such cases”, the people of Manipur deserve to be heard and not ignored, as we did for so many decades. North-East India deserves more attention and shouldn’t be snuck away in a corner.
Mary wants justice for all that her community has been subjected to and cautions against fake news. As she goes back to her new life, she appeals to the people of her country, “Pray for Manipur”.