(These are my personal observations and thoughts supplementary to the photo series I’ve put out on Instagram and Behance featuring people displaced due to the ongoing crisis in Manipur.)

I'm in awe of the indomitable human spirit, of the power of human will to survive and persevere against the indifferent cruelties of the universe. When Tilak Da, Hrijoy, Swarankar and I went to the camp here in Barak Valley where around 250 Kuki people, mostly women and children, had taken refuge owing to the turmoil in Manipur, we stood witness to that very human spirit.

Living conditions there were far from perfect. The building they were living in seemed like some old discarded godown or community hall. There were tarpaulin sheets all over the place for people to sleep on. Sanitation wasn't the best either. If you were to walk past the the makeshift washroom, the stench of urine would be hard to miss. Right next to the building was another building where the roof had come off and that space was being used as the community kitchen. I saw them having rice and chickpeas for their morning meal but the quality if rice was evidently sub par. I also saw a few children drink water directly from a large container and I'm not sure how clean or filtered the water was. Yet, one cannot complain too much for this is an entirely community run camp with presumably no help from the government. NGOs from Silchar and around have however been chipping in to whatever extent they can.

Yet despite the odds, life at the camp goes on as usual. When we entered the camp compound, all we could see were clothes hung all over the place to dry. I saw a few people even collecting garbage and then burning it, so people there were evidently making an effort to stay as clean as possible. There were plenty of children at the camp and we saw most of them playing marbles, if not chatting. I noticed a few children had also brought their books along. But I wonder what would happen to their formal schooling, given the fact that they've been stuck here for around two months or more now. There were also a few pregnant women at the camp and some old people too; one can only hope they're getting the right amount care and rest. But at no point did I get the impression from any of them that they had lost their spirit. Maybe the children didn't understand what exactly was going on but there were plenty of adults there and they hadn't lost their smiles. I'm sure the crisis was at the back of their mind all the time but that didn't stop them from cracking a few jokes here and there and having a laugh at them too.

Having met them, I realised that I might have a few problems of my own here and there but none of that compares to what these people are going through. I know I'll get some criticism for this and I'm open to that, but I strongly feel that people like me, who hail from the same socio-economic background as I do, often fail to acknowledge how better off we are. Sure, we all have our own struggles - physical and emotional, but at least most of us have never had to leave our homes behind and stay in a shelter camp for months at a stretch. Most of us at least have our basics sorted; we do not have to worry about things like food and shelter. We did however get a taste of something similar when the floods hit us last year. The truth is that the poor man doesn't have the time to grieve because hunger hurts more than a broken heart. A poor mother or father, irrespective of how sad they feel on a certain day, will first have to go out and earn to feed their hungry children and then hope to find some time to shed a tear if that is at all possible. Most people in this country do not have the same access to justice and safety as we do. Also, by no means is this a dig at people who've actually been diagnosed with mental illnesses because what they go through is beyond their control.

Conflict in the Northeast, like the one in Manipur currently, is never black and white. It has always been grey. Some of us have seen this violence up close but that has also allowed us to see the humanity within most people. Just because some people resort to violence, doesn't mean everyone will. Humans, from what I understand, are more emotional than logical, and so it is quite easy to rile people up in the name of identity and what not. Some will then go rogue and pick up arms, some won't actively participate but will tacitly approve of the violence, some will just look on helplessly and finally, some will find the courage to stand up to injustice and to go against the popular sentiment and do the right thing. There's no bravery or heroism in being part of a mob and picking on someone unarmed. If at all you have a weapon and want to pick a fight, do so with an equal, with someone who's also carrying a weapon that they intend to use. If you're hurting and killing harmless unarmed civilians, you're just a coward and deep down, you know you'd never stand a chance with an equal which is why you hide in a crowd.

I know stories of gruesome violence travel faster and grab more eyeballs for competing news companies in a world where attention is economy. But there are also enough stories of humanity, of people from both sides protecting and helping each other, but stories like these often go unnoticed. I strongly believe one person doing the right thing gives plenty of other people the courage to also do the right thing. As for now, we can only hope that the violence comes to a complete end and that people get to go back to their homes safely. The political issue at the centre of all this will take some time to be resolved. The wounds of this conflict are deep and will take time some to heal. Most of us here had started to think that things in the Northeast have finally settled down, but if recent events are anything to go by, we still have a long way to go.