Jonah Achumi
A young pastor by the name of Toluho Zhimo of Chekiye Baptist Church, who has a gift of oratory and an awe-inspiring flow of magnetic pull in his speech shared us this small example of a Redwood tree in our church youth retreat camp about a couple of weeks back which left a very strong impression in my mind that made me ask him again about this wonderful and a very relevant illustration again and to share some time in my write-ups. Consider the story of a massive Redwood tree that had survived some 400 years in one of America’s national forests. This ancient tree had survived fourteen separate strikes by lightning. It had survived countless earthquakes, storms, floods, and other violent natural disasters. Yet one day without warning, this massive, towering old tree came crashing down to the ground with a tremendous thud. No bolt of lightning was responsible. No overzealous lumberjack had felled it. It just came crashing down to the ground for no apparent reason. On a closer inspection, investigators discovered why this old tree had died. Tiny beetles had found their way inside its trunk and had begun eating away at its life giving fibers, weakening its mighty bulk from inside out. Just imagine –what many lightning bolts, horrendous storms and earthquakes could not do was easily accomplished over the passage of time by a handful of small insects.Against the backdrop of political and social issues affecting our Naga society which has become more complex and varied in recent years, a marked increase in our division also raises questions about how this queer presence of tribalism is deeply rooted in our narrow mentality, now mattered how much we try to imitate other advance lifestyles. As we begin to expand our view on diversity, we must remember that diversity, equity and inclusion will not happen by good intentions alone. While I believe that there is great value in discussing, valuing, and even achieving diversity in our community it is a matter of concern that a narrow view of diversity, what is our composition, is not enough to overcome some of the most seemingly intractable problems we face today- in terms of economic, educational and various disparities in particular. An end to conflict and fighting does not always mean the problem has been completely resolved. The process that leads to an settlements of ceasing hostilities and healing wounds represents the beginning of an even longer process of peace implementation and post-conflict reconciliation. It takes longer for the scars to vanish completely. We ourselves are all responsible for initiating and implementing the brotherhood spirit in good faith. Even after the peaceful agreements and understandings are implemented and arrived at, in many instances the conflict root causes may linger in dormant state of a passive undercurrent and continue to fester silently, sometimes even reigniting the conflict to blow out of proportions. Scratching old wound marks only invites newer and painful ones.
The Nagas as a people living together as a people together have been disrupted from time to time by the ugly tribal clashes and incidents which take place and jeopardize this bond of brotherhood. To live with a shared dream which needs a collective effort and construct, a feeling of co-responsibility seems to be missing in us in spite of some best efforts from several quarters. The crisis and painful situations we are facing now should fuel our efforts to start building of a sustainable and peaceful co-existing society that accommodates all differences. A more cohesive society and sustainable society arises only when we collectively shoulder sensitive issues with great sensitivity and long- term permanent peaceful measures through constant feedback from the people. The possibilities of ethnic clashes and conflicts are inevitable in any society or part of the world. It will possible to eradicate these only when every stakeholders involve personally from the grassroots level with a sense of shared identity, the feeling of recognition and respecting of belonging one common race by changing our outlooks and remembering that in today’s society, social relations are between human beings are subdued and determined by economic status and political clout. A society can never flourish and will be ultimately be self-defeated by infighting amongst themselves in its pursuit of superiority complex between one another.
It is indeed encouraging that the NBCC has swiftly called for a concerted effort against the unfortunate incident and the subsequent turn of events that followed. The Church needs to bring back a sense of oneness of direction, of brotherhood and belongingness. And look at our concern and love for the four children and the families of a brother and sister whose life was mercilessly taken away. Instead of praying or showing our solidarity we like to take the cake and vigorously and vociferously spreading those gory photos and inflaming the communal tensions furthermore. Is this our way of trying to foster and heal wounds for our brothers and sisters? What if one of your own sibling’ unfortunate incident as that is spread happily by others. Consider ourselves being in their shoes and standing in their places. We have to take our own chestnuts out from the fire. No matter how insurmountable the task, if there’s a will there’s always a way. Tribal deadlocks and burning issues which haunts us and revisits us from time to time raising its ugly head that disrupts the Naga brotherhood will be destined to continue with nobody or either side benefitting if trust is not brought back into our homes. Or else the sparks that ignites the tribal tensions will always refuse to die down. We are becoming those termites of the very Redwood we are living in, my dear Nagas. In a fragmented society like ours, irresponsibility and inequality feeds and fuel off each other till it becomes a blazing inferno to engulf the entire ethics and the very foundations of a community living as one. Only concerted efforts can drag us all out from this quagmire instead of the usual ‘watch from safe distance silently and passing momentary remarks and comments. Social scientists and researchers show that inequality is prominent where lack of trust in the community is very prominent. No wonder with rampant corruption and blatant misuse of power in every sphere of our Naga way of life, society is gradually enclosing itself between haves and haves-nots like those later medieval times. Look like we are a bunch of lonely crowd going in the wrong direction. Though Nagas have been besieged by political, social and economic problems till date fortunately we haven’t had any religious clashes. Other than in-denominational disagreements, we have not undergone any killings on religion ground, fortunately till date. But tribalism and narrow domestic divisions consumes us which sometime we Nagas ourselves cannot grasp and understand. Its seriousness and transformation engulfs us only which other adversaries watch with mirth. Enough of paper condemnations or the usual appealing to maintain calm in the media. As these tribal skirmishes leaves only permanent scars in our hearts. The dark storm clouds that continuously hover over us must be cast away from our true Christian way of forgiveness. Perhaps it is time now we come out of our deceptive selves. It is time our civil societies and churches walk the extra mile to bring our warring brothers at peace. It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it. It isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work for it. We cannot shake hands of friendship with a clenched fist. Psychologists say, as humans we don’t only adapt but we CAN make choices. In the journal of what does it mean to be a human, say ‘The future depends on our understanding who we are, and how the past has made us so: what is unchanging about Human Nature, and what we can and must change to face a world that is far different from our ancestors’ world. i.e. a barbaric society, an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth which makes us only further blind and toothless.
An intellectual understanding and empathy is needed of how each one of us can contribute and help efforts to bring a bond of brotherhood amongst us. Temporary solutions will not suffice.
Jared Diamond, the author who wrote’ Why the Eurasian Culture surpassed and advanced more than any other cultures and civilizations of the world. It survived the passage and the test of time when all other civilizations and the races and communities had already disappeared away .It could conquer all the other culture and dominate the world because he argues that “History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples’ environments, not because of differences among peoples themselves. A detailed information and a holistic approach by our churches, civil societies and the government is required to bring a permanent solution of this tribal clashes that erupts at regular intervals. Randomized control only after them has taken place or setting up a probe will not produce any long-term results. Instead the government should study the lacunae and loopholes of the people which plague them and thus bring confrontations amongst themselves. Urgent matters need to be reassess and re-evaluated at the earliest before things turn ugly as in the past. Mere mending and temporary solutions only aggravate matters that yield more risky situations for the future which flare up from time to time. Otherwise those nails and thorns that are swept just under the carpet will prick and injure our flesh grievously unable our society to walk together.
When there is no enemy within you, the enemies outside can never hurt you has been shown to us by the Redwood. John Steinbeck, the winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, and who has been called “a giant of American letters”. His works are widely read abroad and many of his works are considered classics of Western literature wrote about the Redwood, “The Redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, and they are ambassadors from another time.”Indeed the Redwood lesson is worth understanding to overcome our own weakness, failings and deficiencies. Our self-inflicting behavior only depicts ourselves as those termites.Unless and until we learn to live together as one with differences and diversities, we Nagas are writing our own epitaphs.
