Our Correspondent
Mon, Dec. 10 (EMN): Son of an army personnel who takes pride in his father’s service to the nation would have not imagined that he would one day run for his life because of firing by those who are supposed to protect.
Ironically, it happened to 27-year-old Phonei Konyak on December 4, the day the Indian security personnel gunned down 13 unarmed civilians at Oting village in Mon district.
“I felt really bad because my father served in the Indian army (Naga Regiment) and here they are shooting us,” he told Eastern Mirror on Friday.
His father, S Konyak, who died in 1993, had served in the Naga Regiment. His mother too passed away two years ago.
Recounting the incident, Phonei said that he was in Tiru when he received the information about the security forces killing the coal miners.
He and other villagers run to escape on hearing sounds of firing along the Oting-Tiru road. But the security personnel were already on a shooting spree and bullets were flying everywhere. On seeing his friends being shot, he ran for his life.
“While hiding (from the troop), I thought I would never make it out alive,” he recalled.
Unfortunately, his uncle’s eldest son Manpei, whom he dearly called “brother” and stayed under the same roof, was among the 14 who were shot dead on that fateful evening.
His last word to his cousin was “BE CAREFUL”. But being careful was not enough to save his life.
Phonei managed to cheat death but is left traumatised by the incident.
“I could not eat or sleep for days. Even when I closed my eyes at night, the incident flashes right through my mind,” he said.
I may look normal on the outside but feeling empty inside because of the memory of the incident, he said.
‘Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a massacre would happen to us,’ he added.
Phonei used to work in coal mines during holiday season to support his school fees and earn a livelihood. He graduated from Wangkhao Government College in Mon last year.