Christian Refugee Finds Joy Despite Upheaval From Manipur

Christian Refugee Finds Joy Despite Upheaval From Manipur

Christian Refugee Finds Joy Despite Upheaval From Manipur:

An Indian widow and 77-year-old Christian grandmother’s lives were completely flipped upside down five months ago.

While away visiting her daughter in May, Nemniang Vaiphei’s region of Manipur was plunged into riots, arson, chaos, and deadly bloodshed following the outbreak of violence between rival ethnic groups, the Meitei and the Kuki.

The grandmother of 20 recognized that her life had changed when she learned more about the rioting and bloodshed in her city. Nemniang was unable to go back to her hamlet near Imphal, where the Christian Kuki had fled for their lives under horrific attacks by the predominantly Hindu Meitei.

“I have no complaints. I am happy. God is taking care of me,” Nemniang recently told a Global Christian Relief correspondent.

“While many are struggling for accommodation, I am comfortable here,” she said about her modest two-room apartment that lacks a kitchen.

“My whole family is scattered, and everyone is suffering. My son is a government employee, but he cannot return to Imphal to work. He is not getting his salary,” Nemniang said. “Yet, I am thankful to God that He has protected all the members of my large family.”

“When all the Kuki people in our area fled, one mentally ill woman stayed in the village, and she was burned. I felt very sad when I heard about it. We are going through many traumas. But I am sure we will get our reward from above for these sufferings.”

After Nemniang’s grandson went to Churuchandpur for his studies, she said she felt lonely sometimes. “But then I sing hymns and pray to overcome the loneliness.”