KANNUR: Having started life afresh in Kannur, 34 students belonging to the Kuki community are beginning to dream high again. This unexpected transformation is beyond their wildest expectations, having had to go through a torrid time in relief camps in riot-torn Manipur. Amid the uncertainty, they could hardly think about their studies. The only prayer was to survive the riots.
Providing a ray of hope, the Kuki Students’ Organisation got in touch with various universities across the country, looking for higher study opportunities for students affected by the violence.
“Kannur University was the first institution that came forward to offer an opportunity for studies to us,” says Goulungmon Haokip, the education secretary of the Kuki Students’ Organisation. So far, 120 Kuki students have reached Kerala. Of them, 34 students have been accommodated in various colleges and departments under the Kannur University.
“We have received information on the arrival of two more students from Manipur. We expect them to reach here in the coming days,” says Nafeesa Baby, the director of Students’ Services at the Kannur University.
The 25-year-old Haokip says the situation in Manipur continues to be bad.“The parents of almost all the students studying in Kerala have been rendered jobless. The houses of many of us were burnt down in the riot. We are lucky to be alive and more than lucky to be able to continue our studies here, thanks to the great gesture of humanity by Kannur University,” he says.
Nafeesa expressed happiness that many colleges have come forward to provide space for these students from Manipur.
“As the university doesn’t have the funds to provide financial assistance to these students, only colleges that are ready to bear the expenses relating to education, hostel and food can accommodate these students. But many colleges came forward to accommodate them,” she points out.
As many students had come straight from relief camps, they didn’t have their original documents with them. “So, the university has given them time to produce the documents before the completion of the course,” Nafeesa says.
Haokip says conversations about the Manipur riots should not stop in Kerala. “We want the elite society of Kerala to discuss it more and more. Though we, the students, are safe here in Kerala, we are very much concerned about the lives of our parents,” he says.
As grateful as they are to their benefactors regarding their education, many of the Kuki students continue to face financial problems to meet their needs. More than six weeks have passed after they joined various courses at Kannur University. “We can’t ask for more. Still, it is tough going,” Haokip says.
A third-year LLB student at the Manjeshwar Law College in Kasaragod, he terms unfortunate the allegations levelled against them from some quarters that they are using the money generated from Kerala to procure arms to add fire to the violence in Manipur.
“This is baseless and we ask the people to show some humanitarian consideration before levelling such unfounded and biased allegations against us,” he says. Though they carry the frightful memories of their riot-torn homeland, the Kukis are determined to go back to their homes once they finish their studies in this friendly place, Haokip adds.