New normal lives in the relief camps of Manipur

From one night to another, more than nine months have passed in relief camps. More than 58,000 people are living in 351 relief camps in Manipur, with over 22,000 children and 300 people over 80 years of age, as per The Economic Times. Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are wondering if their lives in camps have become a new normal for them. Some have accepted it and are satisfied with their lives in camps. But most of them are frustrated with their lives there. Some parents say sending their children to the government school is fine, as they used to send it earlier. On the other hand, some parents used to send their children to private schools, and some of them even made their children stay at boarding schools. So they don’t want their children to discontinue the facilities of private schools. Thus, to them, staying at a relief camp is degrading the opportunities and facilities for their children, and they are finding it hard to afford the private school fees.

Another problem they face is the lack of sustainable employment opportunities near or in camps. Most of the people in the relief camps want to work in or near their camps because they don't want to leave their family members anymore. They want to work where they can go back to the camp after work. Many of them can't even sleep, thinking of a blank future for them. Few still live with the trauma of the night they ran from their homes. Sometime, they would wake up in the middle of the night and say there were gunshots outside, even if there were no gunshots or any incidents.

The IDPs are tired of eating “dals.” One of the IDPs has told me, “Having vegetables is one of our essential wishes.” There is no healthy, balanced, or proper diet system for them. They are just getting the minimum and an imbalanced diet. The common health problems faced by them are back pain, joint pain, and high blood pressure. Shortages of medicines are also one of the major problems they face. They are confused about where to raise their voices. Another IDP expressed that “we feel like we are living in jail, and sometimes I even think of ending my life."

Some of the organizers are better off, and some are worse off. Others don't want the relief camps to be closed, while others are tired of volunteering and organizing the camps. On the ground level, there are gaps in the distribution of food items, grocery items, and so on to IDPs. Even the business loan facilities are not properly available to IDPs.

1. How long do the IDPs have to come out and sell the products on the roadsides or by going home?
2. How long are the IDPs going to be in the relief camps?
3. How long do they have to depend on the government even if there aren’t strong voices coming from the IDPs?
4. Who is responsible, accountable, and answerable for them?

To address the problems, the DCs, MLAs, organizers, and representatives of IDPs need proper two-way communication meetings. There should be transparency in the distribution of resources, from MLAs or DCs to nodal officers and organizers to IDPs. The IDPs need to be self-sufficient and self-dependent as soon as possible.