Children Of Conflict Regions "Manithoiba , the dearest son"

Mr. Sharat lives in a small village in Manipur and he is a very poor brick worker. He works very hard to support his family since early morning until the night. His family is small family consisting of six family members. His wife Poornima loves and cares her children very much. She earns a small income by fishing in Loktak Lake. She is always busy taking care her children and doing domestic works.They live in a big one room traditional old house made up of mud and bamboos. Manithoiba is 13 years old and he is the eldest of all his brothers. Poornima wants to send all her children to school and make them well educated persons. Manithoiba used to go to one Government high school but he no longer continued his study after 7th standard. Though the schooling was free, he can not have proper uniforms ,books and fees to pay for extra coaching classes. The other children in the village go for extra coaching classes to their desired teachers.The fee was only Rs.100 but his parents can not afford. His father hardly earns Rs.1000 in a month and that’s not enough to maintain the kitchen expenses and to pay the debt of other rich people. Manithoiba failed several times in the annual examinations. The teachers and his fellow friends have started making fun of him. So, he stopped going to the school. His mother came to know that Manithoi was not going to school while her other sons are going .She knew her eldest son was not satisfied with what they are providing for him.In her neighborhood, many parents paid good sum of money to the teachers who came to their own homes and took special classes for their children only. She knew the reason of being failed in the exams….Manithoi has no false in it…His father is also illiterate and not only that he hardly has time to look after his children. One day Poornima asked her son, “Manithoi, why are you not going to school. If you don’t go to school, you will do very hard works when you grow up just like your father is doing now. Your friends will be going to the offices and you , at that time , as a brick worker…Do you want to live like that….No!….No!..its impossible!….You must go school and I will arrange a teacher at our home. This time you will surely pass.” Manithoi thought for a moment and then he replied, “Mother, I don’t want to go to school again. I have tried my best to continue my study but now I have decided not to go to school. I want to help my father and look after the brothers. I will not let my brothers face my this fate.” Mother tried her best to convince her son but all in vain. Manithoi’s attitude towards his life starts changing towards strange and new things. Earlier it was full of soft and kindliness. But now new winds of despair is blowing from all the directions. He starts making new friends with the boys in the locality who have never gone to any school in their life. But, these boys are helping their parents and earning pocket money by fishing in Loktak Lake or doing any available works. Manithoiba starts helping his father by going to his father’s workplace together. His father has to accept the request of his son. He had no other choice. He knew the kind of humiliation that would be faced by a poor student like his son in the class. Imagine a boy below 14 years of age doing the brick-work. But he was not alone. There are many boys and even girls who are weaker and younger to him. These little boys and girls have no other choice, they have to do it all as its their struggle to survive. In the beginning , it was somewhat hard and difficult. Manithoi improved day by day and at last he found himself a peaceful place to live in. No one made fun of him anymore there. He sometimes goes for fishing in the Lake. Now he comes to know that his family is among the poorest in the locality Everyday, he worked since the morning till the night. Everyday is like the day before and the day after but his attitude towards his life is not the same always. He started thinking of any opportunity that could bring income with ease works. Day and night, he started looking for better job that can change his life and can make his family a respectable one in the locality. He had confidence that of getting the better job very soon. One fine evening, Manithoi , Ramesh and their other friends were playing football in Loktak Lairenbi Playground. The game was really fantastic and exciting one. All the players enjoyed it much. After the match, Ramesh said to his friends, “ Hi, friends I have a very very good news for you guys. I have heard that someone from Imphal has arrived here and he is going to give jobs to some people in our village. So, I would like you all to join me to find out what kind of jobs he is providing.” Others replied, “ No, Bhai…its of no use. We are too young to get a good job in Imphal. We are not well educated too. I don’t want to be a hotel boy.” All the friends laughed and indeed, they are not well qualified to get any good job; after all everybody knows in Manipur no one gets job without money. Ramesh responded , “ OK, I understand , you won’t believe what I say. But our club secretary told me that even young children like us can get good jobs……so I suggest you to join to find out what’s the truth. May be it can change our lives.” Manithoi like the other friends was eager to meet the person. When they reached,there were around ten people conducting the meeting in a secret place of the village. Next day to the surprise of the people of the village, what they had found out was something very terrible and never expected. Around seven people includingthree children under the age of 14 were missing. Manithoiba was also one of them. No one knows where about of these people. The worried parents had gone and complained to all the concerned authorities like local club, Panchayat and even to the Police. But all in vain. No on and no authorities help them to get back their innocent children and young friends. Helpless Poornima and Sharat deeply missed their dearest eldest brave son. They never expected such things would happened to them. The helpless couple cried many days and spent many sleepless nights. They don’t know if they could ever see their son again in their lives. Those memories of those past moments of joy and sad of their son would always been in the core of their hearts forever in their life. It has been around a year that no one hears any news about those missing people of the village. One early morning, a police vehicle stops near the gate of Sharat’s house. Three four police constables with an inspector comes out of the vehicle and they knocked at the door. Sharat opens the door while his wife was standing behind him. They are surprised and afraid to see the police at their home. “ What’s the matter,Sir ?” asked Sharat suddenly “ Anything wrong!!..” “ Are you Mr. Sharat , father of Manithoiba ?” said the inspector. Sharat and Poornima worried much and started suspecting that something is wrong with their son. She started crying and urged the inspector to tell the truth. Hearing the cry, the people in the neighborhood rushed there and tried to console and calmed down her. Police can no longer keep the secret. “ Yesterday night , a battalion of 7th Assam Rifles in Churachandpur District got a confirmed information that some leaders of an illegal organization were hiding in a village in forest area. Assam Rifles troops surrounded the area and warned the insurgents to surrender but they started firing towards the jawans. It was confirmed that there were 150 children with weapons and were used by the insurgents as human shield. In the two hours long encounter, 12 people including 5 children were killed.” Inspector stops for a moment. “ Inspector ! Inspector!What happen to my son? Please tell me what happens to my son ?” Sharat asked and started crying. “ I am sorry. Sharat. Your son is one of those children killed in the encounter and his body is inside the vehicle.” Poornima can no longer stay inside the house ….she rushes to the police vehicle wailing like a mad lioness eager to see her long departed son. Holding the soulless body of her son tight in her warm arms and kissed many times at her son’s innocent face. She said nothing but only to cry. Tears flaw down from her eyes and it will never be stopped. The innocent tears in the eyes of the poor helpless Poornima are calling for some one, some one who understands the true love of a mother for her son. Its running down like a river of Ganges everyday on the faces of thousands of innocent, poor mothers in the different parts of the world.We need to do something right now before this world ends in the hands of war lovers and warm blood suckers. We need to do something right now before this river of tear of innocent helpless mothers becomes a lake , a sea and an ocean. Lets raise our hands to save the innocent lives for a better future.