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Dimapur VOL. VIII ISSUE 294
The Morung Express “
www.morungexpress.com
We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life
Nitish Kumar vows to bring culprits to book [ PAGE 08]
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
Kohima | October 27
“In order to create an inclusive society, inclusive schools are a must,” says Purnima Kayina, headmistress of Cherry Blossoms School who asserts that in mainland India differently-abled children who grew up in specific special schools are not able to integrate well into society. “In the classroom and playground, they are all equals. Lord have mercy, life is When they are treated such a bottle-field. equally their confidence also comes up. They The Morung Express level have to fight and do their POLL QUESTIOn homework like the rest of Vote on www.morungexpress.com the children.” Purnima furSMS your answer to 9862574165 ther adds. “For the society to acIs the Nagaland cept them, it has to start State government from the school first. The interested in solving problems of bad kids they meet will be their roads and irregular peers tomorrow,” says Neielectricity supply? kule Mero whose daughter was diagnosed with autism (corneal opacity) when she Yes no Others was 3 years old. It was in Is nagaland government serious about restructuring 2007 when Mero and nine its system of bureaucracy? other members formed Yes Enable, a registered NGO 14% 79%
Others
07%
[ PAGE 11]
Vettel reigns supreme in India, grabs [ PAGE 02] Bangladesh politics focused historic 4th world title on 2 moms and 2 sons [ PAGE 09]
to create awareness programs, conduct research on disability and focus on inclusive schools. The formation of Enable spearheaded and amplified the initiatives for inclusive schools. “When differentlyabled children are included, children are able to understand and develop empathy at a very young age.” says Daniel Thong, founder of Jo’s Foundation. Daniel Thong and Dr. Asiinii’s eldest son Tejopi has autism. Subsequently after his diagnosis, they started Jo’s Foundation in 2009 which is an inclusive school that has 33 students including 7 with special needs. According to the 2001 census, Nagaland has a total population of 26,499 differently-abled people including: 9,968 persons with visual needs, 4,398 with speech impairments 5,245, with hearing needs, 4,258 with locomotor-needs and, 2,630 with mental challenges. In an April 4, 2013, report by The Indian Express
GrowinG need for inclusive schools in naGaland
Seen here are students of Jo’s Foundation, an inclusive school which started in 2009. (This image is published with permission from the Foundation)
stated that Nagaland is one among the six states whose school enrollment of girls with various disabilities has been under 40%. Joyance Pre-School which opened in 2003 is perhaps one of the first in-
ancient culture, modern heartache
AntA demand independent inquiry
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DiMApUr, OctOber 27 (Mexn): The All Nagaland Taxi Association (ANTA), Kohima Unit today demanded the formation of an Independent Inquiry Committee to probe the October 23 murder of taxi driver, Joynul Hussain in Kohima. “We demand that an Independent Inquiry Committee should be setup with ANTA Kohima Unit as a member,” stated the ANTA in a press release. The ANTA, further appealed to the Government of Nagaland to consider providing compensation to the bereaved family of late Hussain. While terming the incident as “dastardly”, the ANTA stated that the culprits do not deserve a place in society. “The victim driving Zonal Taxi (NL0T8254) was forcefully hired by four drunken persons from Lerie to go up to Khuzama village.” However, the “four instead of honestly paying for the service” murdered the driver and escaped with the vehicle, the ANTA stated. Demanding that the culprits should not be granted bail and be awarded exemplary punishment, the ANTA stated, “Such gory act, which has been occurring time and again, has created fear psychosis amongst the taxi drivers, who are earning their daily bread by providing humble service to the people even at odd hours.” The ANTA appreciated the prompt action of the Kohima police, led by the Superintendent of Police, Deputy SP and the officerin-charge of South Police Station, which resulted in the nabbing of the perpetrators and recovery of the stolen taxi. It further acknowledged the cooperation rendered by Jakhama village to the police.
–William Osler
Ist National level Hornbill Dance Competition
clusive schools in Kohima. Chanda Sahi, founder of Joyance says, “When we started, kids with special needs came. Most schools were not willing to take them. Since we did not have trained teachers, all we told
them was that we can only give them love and compassion. But we found out that the kids blossomed, did quite well and were ready for formal schooling.” Bumblebee Inclusive Pre School is another in-
women urged to tAXi DriVer attend oct 31 rally Aboriginal festival focuses on sharing stories MUrDer: DiMApUr, OctOber 27 Details on page 7
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Monday, October 28, 2013 12 pages Rs. 4
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inclusive values begin at schools Vibi Yhokha
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Miley Cyrus calls herself a ‘punk rock underdog’
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Participants from one of the indigenous dance groups from across Australia’s Central Desert and Top End perform at the Mbantua Aboriginal cultural festival in Alice Springs. (AFP Photo)
Alice SpringS, OctOber 27 (AFp): As the young girl’s voice rings out into the desert night, singing a soft lullaby to the restless baby she holds, the audience is spellbound. For Australia’s “stolen generation” of Aboriginal children taken from their families and placed in institutions, the scene evokes what happened when babies cried for their lost mothers and were comforted by older girls. “It was hard,” one man says as he recalls his childhood for the open-air performance of “Bungalow Song” on the outskirts of Alice Springs, a remote town near the geographical centre of Australia. “I believe every single one of us kids who was raised in institutions such as this had our language and our culture beaten out of us. That’s the way it was.” The centrepiece of October’s Mbantua Festival celebrating indigenous culture, “Bungalow Song” tells the stories of those who were taken to the often harsh home known as The Bungalow from 1932 to 1942. Not only did the performances take place on the site of the long-gone corrugated iron sheds that made up The Bungalow, but the children involved in the Opera Australia collaboration were mostly the
grandchildren of its former charges. “A lot of the kids here had one of their relatives taken away or brought here so I think it’s great that we’re able to tell those stories,” said 15-year-old performer Kaya Jarrett. “I feel like... we are still at the surface of knowing how everything was back then and... as much as it is talked about, I feel like it should probably be talked about a lot more because it has had a big impact on a lot of people lives.” It took until 2008 for Australia to apologise for the forcible removal of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children of so-called mixed parentage from their families between 1910 and 1970, many in the name of assimilation. Many like Harold Furber, who tells part of his story in “Bungalow Song”, were separated not only from their parents and grandparents, but their siblings, their land, their language and their culture. Furber was taken from Alice Springs when he was four along with his twoyear-old sister and sent hundreds of kilometres away to Croker Island off Darwin. He never saw his mother again. “Makes no sense whatsoever, none of it,” he told AFP. “My
little sister was gone (to Queensland) within a year, and I didn’t know. I didn’t know how it was done.” He says his story was “not unique one little bit, it’s the norm” and his experience made him withdrawn as a teenager. “I could hardly talk. The social worker from the methodist church used to come and see me and asked if there’s something he can do. I said ‘There’s something you can do -- you can locate my sister’. And if he hadn’t done that, well I wouldn’t have spoken to him again. What’s the point? “Over the years I suppose you deal with it, you get the confidence to do other things and talk up.” Mbantua Festival’s coartistic director Rachel Perkins said “Bungalow Song” is very much a story about the history of central Australia, and the clash of the ancient culture of the Aboriginal desert peoples and the European settlers, including the children that they produced together. “Of course, this show is part of feeling proud about that, feeling proud that we have this mixed heritage ... because the people who we are, I am, is part of the story of the country,” she said. “People used to not want to talk about it, now we want to talk about it.”
(Mexn): The Naga Women Hoho Dimapur (NWHD) today made an appeal to all women to attend the Public Awareness Rally to be held on October 31, 2013, in Dimapur, which is being organized by ACAUT. The NWHD through its president, Hukheli T. Wotsa, pointed out that woman, being the homemakers, were the “most affected lot, subject to unimaginable stress on account of price rise on almost all the commodities.” It further stated that low income families were even more affected. In light of these circumstances, NWHD appealed to “womenfolk irrespective of caste and tribe, local or non-locals to attend the rally.” It also urged “women vendors, businesswomen, women holding office and professional jobs and even women farmers are requested to lend their voice against unabated taxation and illegal collections.” All tribal women hohos, NGOs have been requested to “co-ordinate with their own tribes and members and send a strong contingent of women for the rally.”
stitution that specializes in iotherapists who are providing individualized willing to work with chileducational plans to cadren with disabilities ter to the particular needs • The need for multiple of each child. Here, each types of treatments. Chilchild’s needs and skills are dren with disabilities identified and assessed need different types of through listening, receptreatment; for example, tiveness and working skills. the treatment for Down Kopele Mero, founder of syndrome is different Bumblebee Centre for Phofrom treating autism, nics and Remedial Center hearing loss, etc. says, “We want to see the • The increasing need for government helping out in trained teachers the area of disability.” • Lack of awareness by the media and medical orgaDifferently-abled kids nizations face numerous challeng- • The need for sensitizaes in Nagaland, some of tion among government which includes: officials • The lack of societal • Public support - Giving awareness and the stigthem assurance that they ma which is attached to are not alone disability • Limited access for adIt is very touching to see equate diagnosis and as- the children’s generous atsessment. Most parents titude towards disability take their children out- according to Chandi Sahi side Nagaland for diag- who further adds, “Chilnosis and assessment. dren are very accepting, • Limited qualified prac- it’s the adults who puts bad ticing speech therapists thoughts in their minds. and occupational thera- We are all born with good pists nature. It’s the society that • Limited number of phys- spoils us.”
Patna blasts claim five lives
pAtnA, OctOber 27 (Ap): A series of small bomb blasts killed five people and injured dozens Sunday in an east Indian city just before a massive campaign rally by the country’s main opposition prime ministerial candidate in a nearby park. After the six homemade bombs went off in the Bihar state capital of Patna, panic and confusion erupted briefly among the hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the park to hear Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party speak. Local reporters at the scene said authorities did not inform them of the blasts until the rally was over, and many people thought the explosions were from firecrackers or from cars misfiring. Authorities quickly restored order and the rally went ahead as scheduled. Modi made no mention of the blasts during his hourlong speech, but offered condolences later to the victims in a Twitter message. The longtime chief minister of western Gujarat state has been waging a fierce national campaign to unseat the Congress-led government in next year’s elections. Police detained four men for questioning after the explosions, but did not say whether they were suspects. The first blast came from a crude
bomb that exploded in a public toilet building on an isolated railway platform, Patna district police chief Manu Maharaj said. Another bomb went off near a movie theater, and four more exploded just outside the park, sending plumes of gray smoke swirling above the crowd. “All the bombs produced low-intensity blasts,” Maharaj said. “An anti-sabotage team is investigating what happened.” Five people died from the blasts and 73 were being treated for injuries, according to the head of Patna Medical College hospital, Vimal Karak. Bomb disposal and forensic teams found two unexploded bombs around the railway station and were defusing them, railway police superintendent Upendra Kumar Sinha said. Modi ignored the blasts during his speech and instead focused on criticizing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government for India’s high inflation. He also accused Bihar’s highest elected leader, Nitish Kumar, of betraying the BJP after using its support to win his seat in the state. After the rally, Modi said the blasts were “deeply saddening” and offered condolences and prayers to the victims, according to a message posted from his official Twitter account. Related stories on page 8
‘Never give up the fight against HIV and AIDS’ Morung Express news Dimapur | October 27
The grand finale of the month-long multi media campaign of Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) ‘Music for Zero’ will be held on Monday afternoon at DDSC Stadium. Twelve rock bands from all 11 districts including two from Dimapur will compete in the final and the ultimate winning band will be given the title “Red Ribbon Superstar” besides Rs. 1 lakh cash prize. At a get together of all the bands, NSACS officials and organizers here at Jumping Bean Café Sunday evening, NSACS director, Dr. Nandira Changkija, challenged the local bands to use their musical talents to reach out to the youth who are in danger of falling prey to the dreaded HIV/ AIDs trap. Reminding them
Actor-musician from Mumbai, Luke Kenny, writes a message on the nSACS awareness campaign banner aimed towards creating “Zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths” at the Jumping Bean Café, Dimapur on Sunday evening. (Morung Photo)
of the status of HIV/AIDS in the state, Dr. Changkija added, “There’s a reason why you become winners.” Actor-musician from Mumbai, Luke Kenny, who will be the chief judge of the rock contest, praised the local talents and said Nagaland is known to the outside world not only as land of festivals but also of music.
Kenny said ‘Geography’ is perhaps the only hurdle preventing Naga musicians from spreading their melodious music to the outside world. “But never give up, whether as a musician or in the fight against HIV and AIDS”, he added. Neisazo of Nagaland Users’ Network also shared a moving testimony of his
past dark days as a drug and alcohol addict. Earlier, Theja Meru, coordinator for the ‘Music for Zero’ NSACS campaign said the month-long campaign covering all 11 districts witnessed participation of 165 local bands. He also said the campaign was able to reach out to more than 10,000 youths. Clueless Attention, the brand ambassador band of the campaign, entertained the gettogether with two special numbers. The competing twelve bands are RASP (Mon), Rebirth (Longleng), The Purpose (Mokokchung), Naga Incarnate (Tuensang), Souls Rhapsody (Zunheboto), Headgearz (Wokha), Paper Sky (Dimapur), Four Fields (Dimapur), Soul Alliance (Peren), Making Merry (Kohima), Crush and Burn (Kiphire) and Hardcore Addition (Phek).
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