Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• Yes, its important we forgive our foe! Yes, sometimes its tough. The life that is lost cannot be paid. Why do we kill someone who do not deserve to die? This is a very big issue! Killers if someone kills your love ones what would you feel??? Ask yourself? Everyone is precious! Why do you? We can forgive but the heart pains forever. Forgive is a word that binds humanity and brings peace but we should take seriously not to harm someone.
• Yes, in Jesus name.
• What other choice is there? With all the violence and hatred, the only way out of this mess is to forgive my enemies. At least this way, we can start talking about the issues that concerns all of us, if not, the violence is blurring our common objective, and it is only making our real enemies happy. Forgiveness is a way out of this violence and hatred. For the sake of Naga reconciliation I am willing to forgive my enemies, if not my children will only inherit the violence and hatred.
• Yes! because it is for the good of our own people. it is sad that we make our own brothers and sister as our own enemy where as our real enemy is those people who is jealous of our unity. anyone who is against the reconciliation cannot be forgiven because they are trying to bring disunity among the Nagas. We should be careful and avoid if possible from this people. If we dont forgive and forget among our us we cannot succeed in reconciliation.
• We needs to trust, unity, fruitful our aims and peace in the NAGA society.
• bcoz we r one in Christ!!!!
• Yes, I am a Christian.
• Yes, it is the need of the hour.
• Blood for Blood has no successful results in the history of the world till today.
• Yes, anything for the Nagas. Anything for the good of my Motherland.
• Is there any other way. It is a truth that one faction cannot completely wipe out the other faction, whether one likes it or not. It is also right to say that there is no such think as real Naga and kacha Naga. Nagas have no other option but to forgive each other.
• When you want to forgive your enemy there no reason what so ever.
• Am a Christian.. I believe in forgive and forget in Christ.
• Reconciliation, i think, is the greater need than the sovereignty at this hour. One must forgive to be forgiven and reconciled for there's no other way apart from this for Naga reconciliation. How can heavenly father forgive us if we don't forgive each other?
• Forgiveness is not for the weak, its for the brave and courageous. My family has been victims of a particular faction, and for so long I have had nothing by bitterness, anger and hatred for them. The incident was always haunting me and slowly I became a victim of my own hatred and became blind to everything. I know realize forgiveness is the only way forward. Many Naga families are like me, victims of our own hate, anger and bitterness and revenge. In this time of reconciliation, we must forgive, so that our anger, hate and bitterness is not passed to our children. Our children must have the right to grow up in love and peace.
• We are a Christian society, we preach a God of grace and forgiveness. Why is it so hard to forgive?
• Because Jesus told us to forgive our enemies. Its simple as that.
• Forgive and forget. Bury the sad past. Lets look ahead.
• To forgive has always been the only way forward for Nagas. Unfortunately we Nagas have turned it down on so many different occasions in the past, that the present situation is also a result of that. Today, we have another opportunity to forgive each other in the name of reconciliation and work together for the common Naga cause. I hope this time we will not ignore to forgive each other.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• I have tried to, but its tough because the situation continues to remain the same. With forgiveness should the situation also get better? Forgiveness and change in situation should go side by side, otherwise it is too difficult.
• For reconciliation, just forgiveness is not enough. No doubt there must be unconditional acceptance, but just forgiving my enemy is not sufficient. My enemy needs to know that I have forgiven him, and he should be gracious enough to admit that he had done wrong. Likewise, I too need to admit where I was wrong. So forgiveness must be bi-lateral and sometimes multi-lateral. This is were forgiveness makes reconciliation process stronger.
• NO. We cant simply forgive just like that. If anybody have done anything bad or anything beyond human limits... they should ask forgiveness first. Then only reconciliation follows. Dead man never talks, it the one who are alive and they know what went wrong, down the ages..
• Who are the enemies out here???
• How can I forgive someone who killed my own family?
• NO, because there is no justice and it will be a farce to reconciliation
• No. Never.
• Naga reconciliation has nothing to do with the killing inflicted on my family.
• What reconciliation are u talking of? There will never be one and forgiving one will be like the end of the world.
• No more war if no more factions. But if no factions, what the use of fighting all these years. Let the killing and beating continue for the legacy of factions to continue.
• Nagas will be Nagas. When did they ever learn from mistakes? Ever since the head hunting days, we Nagas love the challenge of killing each one another. So now, we dont need peace to bring reconciliation.
• With no bases of justice, Never. Full stop
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• It would still be a problem to forgive and forget after the amount of damages and disfunctionalities the factional groups have created and are still creating. So right now its hard to give an actual answer. But lets be mighty strong and work towards a common goal for Naga reconciliation.
• Forgiveness is very difficult. One should not forgive unless one is really serious about forgiving the enemy. Nagas need lot of forgiveness, but unfortunately, Nagas are not a very forgiving society and this is the reason why Nagas are drowning in a cycle of revenge violence. Nagas need to rethink about forgiveness.
• A family member gave his life for Naga sovereignty. He like many other Nagas died by the bullet of a Naga faction who also was fighting for Naga sovereignty. I hated those who killed him. I went against them, but by opposing their goals, I was also opposing the same goals of Naga sovereignty that my family member gave his life for. I dont what I should do. Our Naga issue is getting more and more complex. We cannot go on this way.
• All human being are gift of God so, all human are same and no enemy.
• What kind of an opinion poll is this? Who is the enemy and who is forgiving who?
• Who will forgive who? This is what most of us will say. I want to think I am innocent, while the other person is the one who has done all the wrong. This kind of attitude is creating more division. Why cant we all accept that we are all guilty of one or the other. As Jesus said let the one who has not sinned cast the first stone. None of us are clean, we have all sinned. We are all to be blamed. So lets forgive each other and start all over again.
• Who are our enemies in the first place? Our leaders have started praising India and its leadership saying India is our big brother, neighbor, etc who are our aggressors and are in truest sense are our enemy number 1, otherwise why this more then 6 decades of suffering? Our second enemy is the thirst for leadership, status, etc, so that they keep extorting poor people left and right under sweetened words as free will donations, contributions, etc for national cause, etc. though collected under stern warning and threats…! We have given much more than what we have. Our business failed due to over taxation by our national governments. Their attitude of befriending nonlocals and treating sons of the soil like their enemies. We have narrowed our enemy from giant aggressor, so called world’s largest democratic country (India) to factions and tribes within ourselves. What a shame. Yes, we have to forgive our people but not necessarily our invaders for reconciliation to happen. May God help us.
• How I wish to humbly impress on Naga leaders through this poll. NO time like the present at this crucial point, they can now restrain the destiny of state by shaping it for the future their children and grandchildren dream and aspire to become in this technology-driven and knowledge based economy of stiffly competitive world with changing mantra of “perform or perish.” Trinity of wisdom, vision, magnanimity must make way for this on-going reconciliation to its fruitful conclusion. So its upto current Naga leaders whether to build a bridge to the future of keep building the one to the past that go round in circles. Six decades-old Naga issue must never ever go in vain but our stand ought to be realistic and practical by first putting our petty politics aside and bury the hatchet once and for all in true spirit of forgiveness, then the days may not be far when land of festivals emerge as one of most prosperous and peaceful states of entire northeast.
