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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 107
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Modi is the flavour of Indian election coverage in US
Kylie claims she has no time for a relationship
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reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Dimapur | April 20
The Morung Express POLL QUESTIOn
Vote on www.morungexpress.com SMS your answer to 9862574165 Do present Naga leaders have the ability and capacity to lead the people towards a shared future? Yes
no
Others
Are you satisfied with the way Nagaland State Government is addressing the AssamNagaland border issues? Yes
14% 70%
no Others
16%
Details on page 7
Three more held with fake currency DIMAPUR, APRIL 20 (MExN): Two days after a woman was held with fake currency by the Special Branch, Dimapur, three more persons were arrested in possession of fake notes by the Special Operations Team, Dimapur Police. The accused were held with eighty one (81) fake notes of 100-rupee-denomination and synthetic material purportedly utilized for replicating security threads found in Indian currency. The three persons were identified as Tiakaba Longchar (54), Bipul Gohain (36) and Dulu Chetia (41). Initial interrogation of Tiakaba revealed that he had printed the fake currency in Dimapur using a normal computer printer. Police further said a few days earlier, Tiakaba had sent a consignment of fake notes to the two persons in Dibrugarh. The two others arrested had reportedly come to Dimapur with the intention to make a deal with Tiakaba.
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–Harold S. Geneen
Holy Cross Church celebrates festum festorum
Hamilton wins third straight Chinese GP
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Divers pull bodies from sunken ferry; toll tops 50
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It is perhaps too late to even talk of wildlife conservation in Nagaland. Saving a species cannot substitute the destruction of a region’s rich wildlife ecosystem. Naga folktales are full of wildlife characters; these animals now appear only in stories, like magical creatures in fairytales, or skulls, skin and feathery remains adorning houses, like reconstructed T-Rex skeleton and stuffed Dodo standing lifeless in a Natural History Museum. Are bears, tigers, Sambar Deer, monkeys, leopard cats, otters, snakes, Hornbills, and all types of birds abundantly and freely roaming about in our forests anymore? “Shhh! Keep quiet, get the gun, a big bird just landed on that tree… I’ll show you how it’s killed,” the bird is shot, and people around scream with joy; the shooter feels brave and talented. If ‘Hope’ is what keeps us going when everything seems lost, the only hope left for our annihilated wildlife is of seeing them in the afterlife. One could compose a eulogy for lives gone – perhaps as soulfully sad as Pablo Neruda’s lament for a love lost: “I can write the saddest poem of all tonight. What
does it matter that my love couldn’t keep her. … and this may be the last poem I write for her.” “We buy chemicals, pour on flowers up those trees… birds instantaneously fall off when they feed on them… we sell at Supermarket,” said a young, unemployed father in Dimapur. No matter how much we publicize conservation efforts, these are not enough as the killing is not stopping; the tragedy being that the dying out will not wait. Our ignorance barricades us from understanding why exterminating wildlife is uncool and disastrous for us. We seem to be living in Prehistoric times with a hunter-gatherer mindset despite our ‘Modernity’ camouflage of high-tech gadgets, fashionable clothes and houses. Nowadays, even weddings are occasions to show off what exotic bird dishes can be whipped up. “Usually around this season, we know it’s breeding time,” said an elder, as excited people discuss how a deer and a wild boar were both found pregnant after their bellies were sliced open, killed in April 2014 by hunters. “A long time ago, we killed a tiger… it stole our piglets and chickens, and people were not safe too,”
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What is Earth Day?
E
arth Day is an annual event most commonly celebrated on April 22. Earth Day is a day on which people around the world gather to participate in activities and demonstrations aimed at raising public awareness about a variety of environmental issues including air pollution, water pollution, habitat destruction, sustainable energy, climate change, species losses, and environmental policies. The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970 and marks the start of the modern environmental movement. Today, Earth Day is celebrated all over the world through various activities like community meetings on preserving wildlife, large-scale light bulb changes, workplace renewable energy retrofits, or many other ideas that can be found on the Earth Day Network’s website. Perhaps it is never too late!
TOP LEfT: Birds for sale at Supermarket Dimapur March 2011. BOTTOM LEfT: A wild animal shot by villagers in February 2014. RIGHT: A young man tests his courage holding a dead snake shot by someone in the village, April 2014.
narrated a retired village chief. When asked if there were possibilities that the tiger had no prey, or perhaps its natural habitat was
burnt down and was, therefore, desperately hungry… the chief smiled and said it was certainly a ‘Were-Tiger’, those devious devil-incar-
nates. “God created them for us to eat, He will provide, why are you so bothered? They will re-populate…
wild meat is medicinal. Try this smoked bird, it’s killed anyway,” said a person. It is little wonder why sighting a squirrel in Nagaland now is as rare as sighting a UFO. “Hah! Today seven of my sins are atoned for!” exclaimed a man, quickly jumping down the vehicle after running over a small snake crossing the road, satisfactorily crushing its head with a rock, a woman too jumped out searching for a rock. It is beyond comprehension how killing a snake can compensate for sins like siphoning off public funds. Such misunderstood creatures: Snakes. “Nowadays everybody keeps at least an air-gun, it is easy to kill compared to using spears. Our fore-
fathers never ate snakes… taboo to touch many types of wild meat, but young people have become very experimental,” said an 84year old man. A young government official said, “Even if Village Administration restricts, people hunt: a ‘Time-Pass’ activity for many with guns, and administrators are also individuals habituated to consuming wild game… but strict orders by village heads can actually prevent insensible killing.” Unfortunately, only an epitaph such as “Here lie the chewed bones—remains of wildlife in Nagaland; may we meet in heaven so that we can guillotine them for fun again,” is all there is to say.
Pope prays for peace in Syria, Ukraine on Easter Everest avalanche reveals VATIcAN cITy, APRIL 20 (IANS): Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and Syria as thousands gathered in Vatican City to celebrate Easter Sunday. Pope Francis led the mass in St. Peter’s Square right in front of the St. Peter’s Basilica, News.VA, the official Vatican news network, reported. At least 150,000 Christians from Vatican and other parts of the world had gathered Sunday to celebrate this holy day. The Pope prayed for peace in Syria and Ukraine and also prayed for those people around the world who are suffering from
hunger, poverty, disease and neglect. “We pray to put an end to all war and every conflict, whether great or small, ancient or recent,” Pope Francis said in his message. He prayed to ease the ongoing tensions in Ukraine between pro-Russian activists and supporters of the Kiev government which have resulted in bloodshed since February. “We ask you to enlighten and inspire the initiatives that promote peace in Ukraine, so that all those involved, with the support of the international community, will make every effort to prevent violence,” prayed the Pope. Pope Francis also
prayed that Syria should “boldly negotiate the peace long awaited and long overdue”. Syria has been riven since March 2011 by a civil war which has claimed more than a million lives while others have been forced to leave their country. He also prayed for resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, end of conflicts in the Central African Republic, and halt to the brutal terrorist attacks in Nigeria and the violence in South Sudan. He also mentioned the people in Guinea struck by the Ebola epidemic.
Gloria Patri-7 Nights of authentic worship concludes
Online Campaign to Document Tree Diversity BANgALoRE, APRIL 20 (ENS): The web portal India Biodiversity will organise a nation-wide ‘Neighbourhood Trees Campaign’ from Tuesday (Earth Day) to Sunday. The campaign aims to spread awareness on the importance of trees and crowdsource information on trees in the country. Volunteers just need to click photographs of trees in their gardens and neighbourhood and post their observations on them. The campaign will be conducted online at http://treesindia.indiabiodiversity.org/. There are about 7,500 tree species in India. The organisers of the campaign are hoping to create a web page on every tree species through this venture. Prabhakar and Thomas Vattakaven of India Biodiversity portal expressed hope that the campaign will popularise the portal and help it grow into a rich and openaccess repository on biodiversity. Road-widening and other infrastructure projects have been taking a toll on trees in the country.
Monday, April 21, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
the saddest song of wildlife in nagaland Abokali Jimomi
“After a short Easter break…Sigh. It`s business as usual.”
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Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned
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The praise and worship team leading the service in worship during the concluding night of Gloria Patri at IMC Hall, Dimapur on April 20. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express news Dimapur | April 20
‘Gloria Patri-7 Nights of authentic worship for the glory of the Father’ ended on a high note with prayer, healing, worship and celebration at IMC Hall here. Calling on the congregation, mostly comprising of young Nagas, Administrator of Sinai Ministry, C Meren Jamir, said an event is not an end in itself. Revivals have just become another calendar event. It begins and ends in the church. It does not go into the schools, the roads, the mar-
kets and the places we go, he observed. “What do you do when the school walls are falling, the hospitals are not functioning and the village councils are talking of shutting it down because doctors prefer to be posted only in Kohima and Dimapur,” the administrator put across to the people attending the event. “Nagaland holds key to a lot of things but we have compromised and adopted a culture of acceptance of all the things going wrong as part of our lives. We need to take our testimonies around the world of what the Lord has done in
the Naga Hills. Let us do something,” he said. With an aim to “raise the Nagas to their full potential”, the Sinai Ministry has decided to conduct a leadership school called R5. He informed that with the goal to extend the “Kingdom of God” by emulating and applying “heavens’ standards here on earth,” the month long residential school will he be held with the purpose to disciple, train and release future leaders in obedience to the Bible. R5 stands for Revive, Restore, Recruit, Release and Reform. It was followed by a sermon, where Pastor of King-
dom Culture Project, Visasier Kevichüsa delivered a powerful message, challenging some traditional teachings and doctrines. He said that pain is real but joy is normal in Christian life. Teaching on “revealing and claiming the sonship of God the Father”, Pastor Visasier said, “Our God is not mad or sad. He wants us to live in continuous happiness because we are His sons and daughters.” Collaborating with Highland Dawn Media, the Nagaland Christian Radio broadcast the worship event to the world with a Live Video broadcast in HD. Viewership of the event included people from India, Canada, South Africa, Indonesia, the UK, New Zealand, and Thailand. During the seven days’ worship, free will offerings were collected for funding food to feed the underprivileged in and around Dimapur. The partnering organizers were Baptist Youth Fellowship Dimapur, Baptist Revival Church, Lotha AG church, Kingdom Culture Project, Help International, YWAM Dimapur, TROTB, The JamTree, The Connect-Studio, IMC, Zip Sound, Pro-driver Kohima, Release Worship Team, Highland Down Media, Nagaland Christian Radio online, The Watchman, The Morung Express, Sinai Ministry and Nagaland Printing Solution.
the risks that Sherpas face
KATMANDU, APRIL 20 (AP): The rescuers moved quickly, minutes after the first block of ice tore loose from Mount Everest and started an avalanche that roared down the mountain, ripping through teams of guides hauling gear. But they couldn’t get there quickly enough. No one can move that fast. Not even the people who have spent their lives in Everest’s shadow, and who have spent years working on the world’s highest peak. In this tragic disaster, several Sherpa guides have been taken from the mountain. For the Sherpas, the once-obscure mountain people whose name has become synonymous with Everest, and whose entire culture has been changed by decades of working as guides and porters for wealthy foreigners, it was a brutal reminder of the risks they face. “The mountains are a death trap,” said Norbu Tshering, a 50-year-old Sherpa and mountain guide who now lives mostly in Katmandu. “But we have no other work, and most of our people take up this profession, which has now become a tradition for all of us,” he said. The avalanche happened early Friday morning at about 5,800 meters (19,000 feet), as Sherpa guides were hauling gear through the Khumbu icefall, a treacherous terrain of crevasses and enormous chunks of ice. The men were near an area known to climbers as the “popcorn field,” when an enormous piece broke away from a high glacier and came tumbling down the mountain, setting off an avalanche of ice. A day after the disaster, many Sherpa guides spoke of their work in ways that reflect the complexities of poor people working in a deeply hazardous place. The work is dangerous — a year rarely passes without at least one death on Everest — but the Sherpas, who were once among the poorest and most isolated people of Nepal, now have schools, cell phones and their own middle class.
All that is the result of the Mount Everest economy, which brings tens of millions of dollars to Nepal every year. “We have no problem with what we do. It is a job which helps feed our families, sends our children to school,” Dawa Dorje, 28, a mountain guide from Everest’s foothills, said in Katmandu, where he was picking up equipment for clients. “We make more money than most people in the country. If the foreigners did not come, then we would be out of a job. They need us and we need them — it is a win-win situation,” he said. While the average annual income in Nepal is just $700, a highaltitude Sherpa guide can make $5,000 during the three-month climbing season. Climbers, meanwhile, can pay $100,000 for a chance to reach the summit. And some of what happens on the mountain, Dorje noted, comes down to sheer luck. “There have been concerns why so many Nepali Sherpas were killed in the avalanche. But they were there at the wrong time. If the avalanche had struck a few days later (when climbing teams begin working their way up Everest), then there could have been many foreign fatalities too,” he said. However, on well-traveled, high-prestige climbs like the Everest, the Sherpas are the ones who go first up the mountain. They break the deep snow, lay the fixed ropes and carry the heaviest loads. They face avalanches, altitude sickness, lack of oxygen and brutal cold. “The risks for Sherpas on the mountain are twice that of the Western climbers,” said Nima Tenzing, a 30-year-old guide who also runs a shop for trekking gear in Katmandu. Still, he shows no resentment. “Death and injury on the mountain is part of our lives now. We have lost many of our people to the mountain. But we have to pull ourselves together and continue our work,” he said. Related news on page 9
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