Houses burnt, but relief camp comes in for a home, albeit temporarily
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 10 2023: At a relief camp at Kakching Life School, Henthoibi sat on her mother's lap while she did her hair.

The 4-year-old sat quietly, but she was eager to join others on the playground.

Once her mother was done with her hair, she immediately sprang to her feet and ran to one of her sisters on the camp's playground.

She laughed and immediately climbed on one end of a seesaw.

"Lak-o, Karak-o Cheche," she called and the elder, who is about 8 years old climbed on to the other end.

Full of innocence and with no worries, they both laughed and enjoyed playing on the seesaw.

From some distance, Henthoibi's mother looked on.

Her lips moved a little, but the smile ended short.

She now feels safe but is worried about the future and what it holds for her and her daughters.

Houses burnt, but relief camp comes in for a home, albeit temporarily

Kh Nandarani Devi and Kh Henthoibi, from Serou in Kakching district, are one of many families at the relief camp, who have been displaced by the string of violence that first erupted on May 3 .

One of many relief camps opened in Kakching town, Kakching Life School at Makha Leikai has a total of 119 people who have been displaced by the violence.

The camp, opened by the district administration and Peace Committee, is run by the Volunteers of Disaster Relief Forum (VDRF), Manipur, a group of volunteers who have the experience and dedication of working in times of disasters.

The 119 "campers," as they are called in the camp, include 22 adult men, 42 adult women and 55 children below 18 years of age.

The 55 minors include 33 boys and 22 girls.

25 of them are below the age of 10 .

A majority of the people at the camp hail from Sugnu, Serou, Napat and Tangjeng and a few from Pangantabi.

Almost all of them have lost their houses, as Kuki militants attacked and burned their villages during the last week of May.

While most of the displaced people belong to the Meitei community, few are Bengali, whose houses were burnt by the militants.

Maloti Dhar, 43, said her home was among at least three belonging to the Bengali community burnt at Serou.

At the camp, she is with her husband and two children, a boy of 14 and a girl of 11 .

While the future seems bleak for people whose homes have been burnt and forced to flee, few of the people, whose houses have not been burnt but fled due to fear of attacks are not sure of their fate either.

They desperately want to return to their homes, but all they have left is hope and all they can do now is pray.

Thokchom Sumila (58), from Serou said her entire village was burnt down by Kuki militants.

As she watched her grandson playing football on the playground with his friends, Sumila said six of them fled home after armed men fired indiscriminately and started burning houses on May 28 .

Th Sumila is with her son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren, a girl of 13 and two boys, aged 9 and 6 at the camp.

"The violence took our home, all the properties and ruined our lives and future.

We want peace to return and go home.

We want to return to our native place [Serou] and rebuild our home," said Sumila, wiping tears off her cheek.

She is optimistic that the Government will not allow the violence to continue for long and help them return home.

"We are very grateful to the volunteers [VDRF] for looking after our needs.

We are provided all the care we could ask for.

We feel safe here and our children are happy at the camp," she said.

Doctors come daily at the camp and people are given clean clothes.

Children are given books, pen and pencils.

Class IX to XII students are given tuition, Sumila said.

Just as Sumila said, there are mounds of clothes, new and old [washed], at the camp's main hall, donated by the people of Kakching.

Some members of the Volunteers of Disaster Relief Forum and their supporters, all teachers, conduct daily classes of all subjects for the Class IX to XII students in the camp.

Even as Sumila and all the adults in the camp are feeling untold pain and grief given by the conflict, they couldn't help but take small pleasure and smile a little when they watch their children play on the open playground and the park.

The children in the camp play all sorts of sports thanks to some well wishers who donated the sports items.

Some play football, while some play volleyball and carrom.

The 25 children, under the age of 10, too have their favourite spot inside the campus--the children park that has a merry-go-round, a seesaw, slides and a swing.

When the sun is on the horizon, the sounds of children cheering, their playful and mischievous laughters would fill the campus.

This would lift the spirit of the adults and heal them of all their worries.

Innocent and sweet, they hold no grudges and have no worries.

Even in refuge, they find home.

To them, home is where mother is! .

For assistance and donation, the Volunteers of Disaster Relief Forum (VDRF), Manipur can be contacted at mobile No 9436800388 .

VDRF, founded in 2015, is a forum that provides relief to victims of disaster.

VDRF was active during the COVID-19 pandemic and it had provided relief and all kinds of essential and medical services to the people.

It had also provided relief to the victims of the 2015 flood in Manipur.