The first ever Overseas Naga Association (ONA) conference was held at Orchid Hotel, Kohima, from 6th to 8th December, coinciding with the Hornbill Festival. The small and scattered diaspora that we have all over the world, some 35 to 40 of them came specifically to attend this conference. The Government of Nagaland did provide an aid of rupees one lakh to tide over some of their expenses, though it was strongly felt that the interaction between Nagas living abroad and in the homeland should in fact be institutionalized and concretized from henceforth.
I was fortunate to have attended some of the key sessions and to have been plunged into a sea of meaningful dialogue with people holding diverse perspectives on life. As a friend of ONA, I too genuinely sought to find a connecting link between Nagas abroad and those living in Nagaland. No, it was not simply “intellectual talk” per say, but rather it was crucial interaction that addressed the very core of every Naga caught in the push-n-pull of tradition and modernity. On the one hand, we had Himato Zhimomi, (Indian Foreign Service, the present Commissioner & Secretary, Art & Culture, and Tourism, Nagaland Government) who spoke of progressive socio-political and economic change. And on the other hand, we had Easterine Kire (Writer & Publisher based in Norway) who resisted any “money talk” and spoke of going into the villages in order to put back value into our traditional art practices.
Machutmi Shishak (Economic Officer, US Embassy in Burma, First Secretary (Economic), US Department of State) put forth an “open ended question” as to how Nagas may come back with a wealth of experience and expertise from overseas and invest it back home. He spoke of productive investment, whether of a social or financial nature, to be poured back home. He took the example of his father, Tuisem Shishak, who lived 15 years abroad and established Patkai Christian College in Dimapur. He said, “Regardless of who you are, where you come from, you have a role to play. We have to see ourselves as people God has a purpose for.”
Himato Zhimomi brought to our notice the economic boom in China, where the Chinese living abroad invested heavily in their home country. He thus asked, “Can we be part of the investment that we require here in Nagaland? Is it possible to get some of the investment back in our society?” Sure enough, turning his back on a very senior position in Paris, he came to Nagaland to serve his people and initiate them towards betterment and positive change. Two retired medical practitioners living in the UK, Dr. Tssikhen Kithan and Dr. Longsho Lotha expressed the desire to spend half the year in Nagaland in order to promote health care through mobile medical road shows. They felt the need to educate our people on relevant health issues and to propagate a healthier mind-set and life-style of the people.
My good friend from school, Marina Murray Schilling, a traditional craft entrepreneur from Australia (handcraftedwithheart@gmal.com), showed keen interest in reviving the slowly vanishing traditional arts and handicrafts. Agreeing with Himato Zhimomi that we need global entrepreneurs to market our products, she added, “Our businesses should not be for profit only, or at the expense of innocent villagers. We should do everything with integrity.”
A concern shared by Temsuyanger, the London based artist centered on “tourism” in Nagaland. Looking ahead 20 years from now, he feared a “tsunami effect” that unbridled tourism may have, especially with regard to rural areas. He maintained, “Does Nagaland have any tourist-friendly infra-structure? No! But why do tourists still come here? It’s to see our culture, the way we live in our villages. Our tradition and culture is unique. Yet if we push tourism too rampantly into our villages, we will soon see the effects of social evils that will land us in dirty waters.” Thus speaking about “responsible tourism,” he said that we must not forget our past and where we come from; we need awareness and open intelligent dialogue as Nagas are leaping in terms of time.
Prior to the historic gathering of the ONA members for the conference, most of them were clueless as to where they actually stood in regard to Nagaland. This conference gave them an emotive direction toward concretizing the relationship between Nagas abroad and at home, and the specific areas that they felt competent to invest in. A need was also felt that they should engage with people in a more concrete manner through the government machinery. Credit goes to Dr. Visier Sanyu (ONA President & Refugee Coordinator, Act for Peace, Melbourne, Australia), Dr. Paul Pimomo (ONA General Secretary & Professor of English, Central Washington University, USA) and other significant ONA members who worked relentlessly to make this conference a reality, and a very enriching one at that.
Susan Waten - HAWA, Dimapur (susanwaten@gmail.com)
I was fortunate to have attended some of the key sessions and to have been plunged into a sea of meaningful dialogue with people holding diverse perspectives on life. As a friend of ONA, I too genuinely sought to find a connecting link between Nagas abroad and those living in Nagaland. No, it was not simply “intellectual talk” per say, but rather it was crucial interaction that addressed the very core of every Naga caught in the push-n-pull of tradition and modernity. On the one hand, we had Himato Zhimomi, (Indian Foreign Service, the present Commissioner & Secretary, Art & Culture, and Tourism, Nagaland Government) who spoke of progressive socio-political and economic change. And on the other hand, we had Easterine Kire (Writer & Publisher based in Norway) who resisted any “money talk” and spoke of going into the villages in order to put back value into our traditional art practices.
Machutmi Shishak (Economic Officer, US Embassy in Burma, First Secretary (Economic), US Department of State) put forth an “open ended question” as to how Nagas may come back with a wealth of experience and expertise from overseas and invest it back home. He spoke of productive investment, whether of a social or financial nature, to be poured back home. He took the example of his father, Tuisem Shishak, who lived 15 years abroad and established Patkai Christian College in Dimapur. He said, “Regardless of who you are, where you come from, you have a role to play. We have to see ourselves as people God has a purpose for.”
Himato Zhimomi brought to our notice the economic boom in China, where the Chinese living abroad invested heavily in their home country. He thus asked, “Can we be part of the investment that we require here in Nagaland? Is it possible to get some of the investment back in our society?” Sure enough, turning his back on a very senior position in Paris, he came to Nagaland to serve his people and initiate them towards betterment and positive change. Two retired medical practitioners living in the UK, Dr. Tssikhen Kithan and Dr. Longsho Lotha expressed the desire to spend half the year in Nagaland in order to promote health care through mobile medical road shows. They felt the need to educate our people on relevant health issues and to propagate a healthier mind-set and life-style of the people.
My good friend from school, Marina Murray Schilling, a traditional craft entrepreneur from Australia (handcraftedwithheart@gmal.com), showed keen interest in reviving the slowly vanishing traditional arts and handicrafts. Agreeing with Himato Zhimomi that we need global entrepreneurs to market our products, she added, “Our businesses should not be for profit only, or at the expense of innocent villagers. We should do everything with integrity.”
A concern shared by Temsuyanger, the London based artist centered on “tourism” in Nagaland. Looking ahead 20 years from now, he feared a “tsunami effect” that unbridled tourism may have, especially with regard to rural areas. He maintained, “Does Nagaland have any tourist-friendly infra-structure? No! But why do tourists still come here? It’s to see our culture, the way we live in our villages. Our tradition and culture is unique. Yet if we push tourism too rampantly into our villages, we will soon see the effects of social evils that will land us in dirty waters.” Thus speaking about “responsible tourism,” he said that we must not forget our past and where we come from; we need awareness and open intelligent dialogue as Nagas are leaping in terms of time.
Prior to the historic gathering of the ONA members for the conference, most of them were clueless as to where they actually stood in regard to Nagaland. This conference gave them an emotive direction toward concretizing the relationship between Nagas abroad and at home, and the specific areas that they felt competent to invest in. A need was also felt that they should engage with people in a more concrete manner through the government machinery. Credit goes to Dr. Visier Sanyu (ONA President & Refugee Coordinator, Act for Peace, Melbourne, Australia), Dr. Paul Pimomo (ONA General Secretary & Professor of English, Central Washington University, USA) and other significant ONA members who worked relentlessly to make this conference a reality, and a very enriching one at that.
Susan Waten - HAWA, Dimapur (susanwaten@gmail.com)
