Friday, 22 November 2024
Friday, 22 November 2024
A year after ethnic clashes polarised the state and its people, a Kuki-Meitei couple running an orphanage fostering children from both communities are testimony to the harmony that once was and hope that it will be so again one day soon. Donjalal Haokip and Rebati Devi, who have no biological children of their own, operate the The Ema Foundation home in Keithelmanbi, the sensitive zone between the Imphal Valley and Kangpokpi, the former dominated by Meiteis and the latter by Kukis.
The couple, who have been running the orphanage since 2015, fosters 17 children, including Meitis, Kukis, Nagas and even Nepalis. The kids attend a nearby school run by the Assam Rifles.
Is it an easy task considering the tense situation in the state? "No. But love is the only counter for violence and the way to peace," 52-year-old Haokip said from the home located in the foothills of West Imphal and Kangpokpi. The couple remember vividly the events of May 3, 2023 when ethnic clashes broke out over a 'Tribal Solidarity March' organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
According to the couple, there are no signs in the state yet that the Kuki and Meiteis can co-exist peacefully like before. Haokip and Rebati hope better sense will prevail and people will look for peace rather than fight each other.
The couple got married in 2012 and children at the home call them 'mummy' and 'papa'. The eldest among them studies in Class 10 while the youngest is four years old.
