India: CBCI head visits conflict-ridden Manipur

The President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, led a delegation to visit the strife-stricken Manipur state in northeastern India on July 23–24.

The team included Thazhath, Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal, Manipur, Father Jervis D’Souza, deputy secretary general, CBCI, and Father Paul Moonjely, executive director, Caritas India.

The team visited Kakching, the Sugnu area, Pukhao, Canchipur, and Sangaiprou and saw the large-scale destruction of private homes, churches and places of worship, schools, and institutions in various places along the way.

It distributed relief items for the displaced people in the relief camp at Indoor Stadium, Kakching, and inaugurated a medical camp at Pukhou, Sugnu, which used to be inhabited by over 1000 families. They had their houses and properties destroyed and vandalized.

St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School and Parish, which rendered educational, social, and developmental services to all communities, including Kuki-zo, Naga, Meitei, and others, had been reduced to cinders.

Holy Redeemer Church on the campus of the Catholic School at Canchipur, the Regional Pastoral Training Centre, and St. Paul’s Parish at Sangaiprou had also been destroyed completely.

It was heartbreaking to see that these places looked deserted and seemed like they would not be inhabited soon, given the mutual mistrust and fear that continue to prevail.

"We are equally worried about the actual situation and the future of those who have fled from these places, as well as the future of their children, amid all these vulnerabilities," said Thazhath.

The team visited some of the schools and hostels, wherein it could see the anxieties and distress of the children, leaving everyone with no answers now as to how one can build better communities and institutions.

Caritas India, the humanitarian response organization of CBCI, has been responding to this unprecedented crisis from the beginning, providing relief assistance and supporting the relief camps in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Diocesan Social Services Society (DSSS), the social service wing of the Archdiocese of Imphal.

As of July 24, Caritas India has provided relief assistance worth Indian rupees 3 crore (US $3,66,537.90).

Meanwhile, the Church in India has been actively responding to this humanitarian crisis by way of prayer, organizing peace rallies, and mobilizing resources to support the affected people.

Assistance is provided in all the affected areas. Caritas India is committed to continuing aid for the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the affected communities.

As an expression of solidarity, various religious congregations and church fraternities have come forward to render various forms of assistance, including material, healthcare, and psycho-social support, in the relief camps.

"The ongoing violence in Manipur deeply saddens us. We condemn all forms of violence, atrocities, and attacks, especially on our institutions, places of worship, and vulnerable sections of society like women and children," said Thazhath.

"We are equally worried about the prolonged silence and apathy of law enforcement agencies toward containing the violence. It is our earnest appeal that the governance system upholds the secular fabric of our country, reinforces constitutional values, and cultivates an environment of peaceful co-existence among various communities," he added.

He also called upon all concerned persons to enter the process of dialogue and concentrate on the development of all sections of the people to bring about peace and harmony in India and the State of Manipur.