Easterine Kire
I am struck by the quiet heroism of unassuming, ordinary people that are doing what they do without any desire for recognition. They don’t care about visibility or social media presence, but the things they do are making life bearable for many in these times.
A brave young woman shelters and feeds eight children in her home. When she receives help from friends, she remembers those who are less fortunate than her household. In the early days of the lockdown, she bought rice and vegetables and distributed it to migrant labour families in her neighbourhood who had no food, and no hope of getting help. A few weeks later, when she received another contribution, she thought of the aged members of society and took them gifts of food and soap. She and her family are in no way a burden to society; on the other hand, they volunteer for Covid duty for the colony, delivering goods to those in sealed areas.
Another story is the pastor of a small church whose younger members come from low income families. When schools were closed and learning went online, the pastor found out that her members were struggling with digital studies because they were too poor to afford android phones. The pastor sent out an appeal to family and friends to donate used phones. She then repaired the used phones and distributed them to the members whose children were attending school and college. One family was particularly grateful because the only person in their house who owned a smart phone was their uncle. The children could borrow his phone in the evening and do their homework, but in the daytime when he was at work, there was no way for them to access their school work. Now with the donation of a repaired second hand phone, they are all happily studying during the day. The pastor was able to supply a number of underprivileged families with phones in an inexpensive manner and solve a difficult problem.
A residential college has been feeding without payment, students who could not go home during the lockdown period. In one period they were feeding as many as 80 students who were mostly from the Eastern regions of the state and had no means of travelling home as there was no transport available for a long time.The last students to leave were 9 girls from ENPO in June. The college also fed 13 migrant workers throughout the lockdown period and kept 12 Assamese hostel cooks on full pay even though the institution is closed. Some years ago, the same college created volunteer groups when a major landslide closed down the highway; the students were promptly dispatched to help passengers carry their luggage across the treacherous landslip areas. No payment was taken for these services.
In Kiphire, a church is being built by its members even in the absence of plain manu labourers. The men and women are proudly engaging in the labours of constructing a cement and brick house of worship.
There are many untold stories going on in many places of our world. Stories of human goodness and resilience. Even if people feel the inadequacy of government help, they are using their ingenuity to help others in more difficult circumstances than themselves. There will be many more such stories to tell. This is the power of the quietly heroic in our midst – people who are not wasting their time complaining or expecting someone to do something from somewhere. They do it themselves and they do not want the glory, so they will all have to remain anonymous.
During the lockdown, Naga entrepreneurship has come to the forefront to be the example of self-sufficiency that we need so dearly. People are growing their own vegetables, and sharing the harvests with neighbours. New entrepreneurs are coming forward with homemade pickles, jams and preserves using seasonal vegetables. It makes sense since Nagas on the whole are very food-oriented. People would rather buy cake than a book. So food products will remain one of our sustainable livelihoods so long as there are Nagas on the planet. Thank God we have the resources of good soil and climate to grow our food. The heroism of our times is an almost invisible movement that is happening all over the world. The stories of human goodness in the face of government failures are happening in places other than ours. It’s worth concentrating on those stories; it’s very good for the soul. Because it is infectious, and inspires to infect with like heroism.
