Innate goodness of mankind : Kindness: Rare commodity
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 03, 2024 -

Laishram Memma get treated at JNIMS on December 01 2024 :: Pix - TSE

It was a rare, correction very rare, day at the. office of The Sangai Express for it was after more than 17 months that page 1 of this newspaper had stories which ran counter to everything that had hogged the limelight since the evening of May 3, 2023.

Imphal woke up to December 2, 2024 with a sense of difference, different in the sense that there were no blood curdling news or news related to incidents of exchange of gunfire and a look at some of the major news items which made it to Page 1 of this newspaper were a sort of a welcome departure from the over 17 months of violence and bloodshed.

Of the many news items which made it to the front page of this newspapers there were at least 5 news items which were more on the positive side and of the 5 such reports, at least two were directly related to the ongoing clash, but gave a more positive side of the story, stories which reinforce the faith in the innate goodness of mankind.

The first lead news, 'A story to inspire others in this hour of despair' was a perfect illustration of how perfect strangers can come forward to extend a helping hand and this can be gauged from the manner in which two young girls, Bisoya Loitongbam and her friend Sridivya Bonam got in touch and put their act together to get an ailing woman, Laishram Memma get treated at JNIMS, after Miss Bonam came forward and donated the needed amount to purchase a laparoscopic endoscopy equipment.

The purchase of the medical equipment meant that Laishram Memma was not the only patient successfully treated but also others who were in line waiting for the arrival of the new equipment.

Not clear if Bisoya Loitongbam has ever met Laishram Memma, but it is more than certain that Sridivya Bonam was and is a stranger to Memma and here is a case of a stranger stepping in to donate and extend assistance, a trait far removed from the mindless bloodshed and gore that Manipur has witnessed for over 17 months.

One can only pray that such an act of goodness and humanity has a trickle down effect and goes some way in removing the strain of hatred from the minds of everyone here in Manipur.

If Sridivya and Bisoya scripted the story of reaching out directly to help a woman in distress, a Singapore based Manipuri entrepreneur has stepped in to give meaningful earning avenues to the survivors of the ethnic conflict who have lost their homes and everything and are now living in the different relief centres set up across Manipur.

Providing a sustainable livelihood, is the mantra of Monish Karam and his network, who took it upon himself to train the women to make the crochet dolls.

The women just have to make the dolls for other processes involving sales support, branding, marketing, collaboration have all been taken care of by the Meitei man based in Singapore.

This is what is called helping the survivors lead a dignified life, and opening earning avenues.

All acts based on love and understanding the situation that the people need to be together at times like this.

Inspiring stories and it is for this very reason why the English edition of The Sangai Express gave the two stories the primacy they deserved and one can only hope that it has a ripple down effect and is a sort of a precursor of things to come in December, the last month of 2024.

Let the selfless acts of empathy demonstrated by the personalities in the said two stories influence the thinking and conduct of everyone on either side of the clash divide, after all the goodness of mankind cannot be kept subdued indefinitely.

Let everyone also take a leaf or two out of the stories and see what they as fellow human beings can do to Soften the hard blow survivors must have received when their homes and all their belongings went up in flames.

Delhi will continue with its indifference and Imphal will continue to be lost on how to deal with the situation and in as much as the situation is dire, it is stories like this which need to be told to the world.

Despite the mayhem, the killings and the displacements, it is heartening to know that humanity continues to live in Manipur and this is what should give all faith and belief in the innate goodness of mankind.

All are human beings and this is a fact that should not be forgotten.

Let such more stories see the light of day and if there are any untold stories of goodness, it should be told.