The Meghalaya government has a moral obligation to look after the needs of those who have arrived in the state after fleeing the ongoing violence in Manipur, pastor turned politician Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh has told Highland Post.
The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and local headmen have pleaded inability to deal with the internally displaced persons and have looked to the state government to take up the reins but the latter has largely washed its hands of the issue.
Thousands of people have arrived in Meghalaya but have struggled to find accommodation. When a Kuki group tried to start a relief camp, it was ordered to close down but when it then looked for rented accommodation for those who had arrived, it faced obstacles in this respect as well.
“It a natural instinct for the internally displaced individuals from Manipur to escape the immediate mayhem and run away from fire, bloodshed and death and it is the duty of the Meghalaya government to look into providing them a temporary asylum before things return to normalcy,” Pyrtuh said, adding that the influx of people should ideally not affect Meghalayans.
The prevailing narrative, especially from MDCs in the district council is one of fear of the refugees but Pyrtuh countered this. “It is also not right to think that these individuals have come here to loot us of our land and prosperity. These people, including women and children, are already traumatised from all the carnage in their state and, as a human, I have no right to burden them more with more apprehension.”
“There are Kukis, Zo, etc organisations that already exist in Shillong and the district administration, the district council and the traditional institutions should work together with them to see that there is a registry for these displaced people who have come to our state and data maintained,” he said, adding that the issue should be looked at practically but also humanely.
Pyrtuh lamented that he has heard stories from some of his Manipur friends that some families there no longer even have records of their children’s birth certificates as their entire property was burnt down.
