‘We are called to be people of hope’

While significant progress have been achieved with Naga Reconciliation: A Journey of Common Hope, the recent Chiang Mai VII meet, November 30 to December 3, 2009, was further strengthened and affirmed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his letter to the Forum For Naga Reconciliation (FNR), dated December 1, 2009, from his office in Cape town, South Africa. The Noble Peace Prize winner, in his encouragement to the Nagas have drawn a “striking similarity with that of the people of South Africa….it is in this regard that I would like to encourage you (Nagas) to continue your hard work in your struggle for your identity.” The Nobel Peace Laureate further challenged the Nagas by saying, “choosing the path of reconciliation demonstrates maturity and respect of human dignity. It is when we dehumanize others that we invariably dehumanize ourselves and lose self respect.”
In his May 11, 2008, letter to the Nagas, another Nobel Peace Laureate, President Jimmy Carter, urged the Nagas “to be faithful to the Lord in seeking to be reconciled with each other…It is easy to recount the wrongs done by one side or the other. Finding the path to peace and reconciliation is difficult. It is a challenge to leadership….I pray for peace for the Naga people and a mutually agreed peaceful settlement of the conflict between the Nagas and the government of India….a peaceful negotiated process is the only way forward.”
Dr. Neville Callam, General Secretary, Baptist World Alliance (BWA), also in his letter to the Naga leaders gathered in Chiang Mai, dated November 18, 2009, wrote “On behalf of the Baptist World alliance, I write to encourage you to continue your efforts to achieve the level of reconciliation that will give glory to God….I wait to celebrate with you the culmination of your efforts toward reconciliation.”
Today, without a doubt, we all can testify to the fact that Nagas are nearing the destination – we can almost see it on the horizon. But before then, what we do and how we act now is going to be absolutely crucial.
So far, we have come to experience that all forms of offensive activities can be very damaging. When we allow our mind and heart to travel the past, it pulls us to despair and hopelessness. When we try to confront the powers of hate and destruction, we feel so hopeless. Henri Nouwen has expressed this way, “When all my attention goes to protesting death, death itself may end up receiving more attention than it deserves. Thus my struggle against the dark forces of death becomes the arena of my own seduction.”
Our past has been this. We have taken the giant step to do away with violence and thus we are no longer sedated. From despair we are singing the songs of hope. From the tomb Jesus emerges among the Nagas to accompany us we journey. Sometimes when we are downcast, in Jesus we renew our hope. And this hope is different. Our hope is build upon the promise that the new is emerging. God will stay with us at all times. God is the God of life and hope.
Everywhere in Naga areas, there is a unanimous voice crying for reconciliation and a solution to our struggle based on the “historical and political rights of the Nagas.” Naga people have offered us forgiveness, gratitude, and an understanding of your (Naga political groups) difficulties. This is the mature fruits of their cries. They offer us mature fruits for our conversion –saying a resolute “YES” to our people, so that we may find salvation.
We are called to be people of hope. Together we can face our despairs –personal, governmental and global. We are not alone. We have each other. Together we can carry each other’s difficulties and help each other break through our paralysis by sharing our helplessness and by leading each other to sincerity of heart on the Journey of Common Hope. The FNR congratulates the signatories of the “Covenant of Reconciliation” for choosing the new path to that realization.