Portion of mud covering two girls Landslide area
On 7th August 2020 at 1.10 p.m. I rang up to Fr. James Sangtam, presently stationed at St. Ignatius Parish, Razeba to get some first-hand information about the landslide that occurred at Angangba on 14th August 2011 whereby two girls were buried alive and later rescued. I requested whether he can share about the incident. At first, he thought that it may not be necessary. But I insisted that such courageous act will be good to share perhaps it might be an inspiration for others. He calmly told me that the saving mission that very dreaded midnight was a miracle and that he did what could be done to save the lives of two girls. He agreed to share the incident, not for his personal glorification but for the greater glory of God. He strongly believed that God answered his prayers that very night.
1. What happened on the midnight of 14th August 2011?
I vividly recalled that incident that took place at my previous place of work at Christ King Parish, Angangba on 14th August 2011 at 12.15 a.m. It rained heavily the whole day and night. It was so unfortunate that all of a sudden landslide occurred at the side of the Presbytery and destroyed two rooms wherein two girls were buried alive in their sleep, namely Thsazila and Kyupila. Thsazila was studying in Cl. 7 as well as helping out in the kitchen after the class along with Kyupila. They hailed from Trongar village.
2. What was your instant reaction when you came to know that the girls were buried under the mud?
Mr. Joseph, the driver came and knocked loudly at my door to inform me that the room where the girls were sleeping was already covered by landslide. I got up in shocked. My instant reaction was that both girls must have been dead since they were fully covered by the fallen mud. Another thought which disturbed me was how to inform their parents that they are buried alive by the landslide (since I was looking after them). With shocked and disturbed feelings, I went and prayed in my private chapel with tears in my eyes. I prayed, “Lord I know you are a living God whom I have committed my life. Lord, I know nothing is impossible for you. At this very moment, I need your powerful miracle to save the precious lives of these innocent girls who are buried alive by the landslide.” Instantly I felt within me as if someone was telling me, “Don’t lose hope in despair, I am with you, call on the name of Jesus.” With this inner voice, I gathered my scaterred self and started to dig the mud with my bare hands.
3. How many people were there to save the girls?
We were four - Me, Mr. Regi George, Mr. Joseph, and Mr. Richard. I am so much indebted to them for helping me to save the lives of the girls. Some of them even told me that by now the girls must have been dead. But we worked to the best of our ability in digging the mud with our bare hands searching for the girls.
4. What pushed you to risk your life to save them?
At first, I thought to myself whether the girls will be alive or not. Another running thought in my mind was to leave the mud slide as it is till the next morning. Leaving aside all these passing thoughts, I made up my mind to remove the mud that covered them with all my strength amidst the heavy rain at midnight. Yes, I can tell with conviction that God gave me strength to save them with hope.
5. How many minutes did it take to remove the portion of mud covering them?
The landslide occurred at 12.15 a.m. At first, because of the sudden and unexpected tragedy, I could not speak for a moment. Therefore I went to my private chapel to pray. As have mentioned earlier, I knelt down to pray and surrendered the girls into the hands of Jesus. After the prayer, I decided to remove the mud along with Regi, Joseph, and Richard. All these took around 15 minutes. We then began to remove the portion of mud that was covering the girls. But we could not trace them as they were fully buried inside. Fortunately, a portion of wall (a piece of wooden plank) fell on them. The top portion got stucked on the headboard of the bed in which they were sleeping. This prevented the mud falling straight on their face. Thus, they were able to breathe somehow (although they were fully buried inside). With the maximum desire to save them we took only 25 minutes. This means we took 40 minutes from the time of landslide that occurred till we manage to rescue them (12.15-12.55 a.m).
6. What was your feeling after rescuing them?
After removing the mud which covered them - realizing the girls were still alive we spontaneously shouted in loud voice, “Thank you Jesus and Mother Mary.” We kept shouting at the top of our voice calling the names of Jesus and Mary as we continue to remove the mud. The incessant rain made it even harder to remove the mud with bare hands. Almost like the blind man in the Bible who cried out, Jesus son of David have mercy on us (Lk.18:38), we kept calling out, ‘Jesus show your power…Mother Mary intercede for us and so on…” After rescuing them, with great joy I kneeled in prayer raising my hands and thanked Jesus for listening to our prayers and Mother Mary for her powerful hands that protected the precious lives of two girls.
7. Did anyone recognize or appreciate your courageous life-saving work?
After rescuing them miraculously I requested Mrs. Serela, (Women Leader) to come and massage the girls as they their bodies were almost numb. They were even finding difficult to breathe properly. At 4.00 a.m., I went to Longkhim PHC along with the girls for first aid. There they dressed my fingernails which were badly injured. The girls too received necessary treatment. Later, we went to Mokokchung for further medical check up. After two days, I reached the girls to their village, Trongar. Meanwhile, I called up to Most Rev. Dominic Lumon, the then Diocese Administrator and Fr. Carolus Neisalhou - Vicar General, Both did not attend my call. So, I sent text messages to both. I informed the Priests in Tuensang and Mokokchung regarding the incident. Later, Priests and Nuns from Tuensang, Noklak, Mokokchung and Shamator Parish respectively came and visited us. They too sympathized and appreciated our courageous act.
The saving act of rescuing the lives of the girls was purely based on bounded duty as they were working with me. So it does not require recognition or appreciation from anyone. I am grateful to God for giving me courage (at that particular moment) to face the situation. I also give my thanks to Mary, the Mother of God for standing beside us. I thank the village council for bringing a JCB to remove the fallen mud free of cost. May God reward their good works.
8. As a Catholic Priest, how do you relate this mission to your Priestly ministry?
The unexpected incident shocked me and those people who were staying with me. It was a clear reminder for all of us that the God we worship is a living God who cares for us unceasingly. For me, it was a very tangible experience of God’s revelation which made me realized that every individual person is precious. God never enjoys the sufferings of humanity whether they are faithful or unfaithful to Him.
The incident strengthened my priestly life and ministry. Often, in my priestly life, I have questioned God in moments of trials and temptations. I complained that God was not listening to my prayer but gradually I realized that God is guiding and helping me in spite of my failure to rely on Him. Secondly, it is not because God does not listen to my prayer but it is I who shuts the doors of my heart; very often, I closed my eyes and ears and do not seek Him. God comes to us in the most unexpected ways because his ways are beyond our imaginations and understanding.
Very often we judge others by their appearance or qualification. Accordingly, we conclude the person by ourselves. Whatever may be the status of our life whether be it family life, single life, priests, or religious life we are called to live a committed life in the service of God and humanity. All that matters is our sincere and dedicated life to serve Jesus our Lord and His people who needed our service. St. Paul in his letter to the 2nd Corinthians 9:7 reminds us, “God loves a cheerful giver.” And again in 1st Corinthians 13:1, he says, “If I could speak all the human and angelic tongues, but had no love, I would only be sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Love for God and neighbours matters a lot to every Christian.
Message to the readers: My message to all the readers is that you should show charitable service to anyone who requires your help with a cheerful heart even when situation demands of you even to the point of risking your own life. If we are able to do this, then we can be sure that God will reward us for our single-minded service done in love. Let God be our strength to live our lives for His greater glory. Let our life be of service to mankind. God bless you all.
Concluding Note: Today, like Rev. Fr. James Sangtam there may be many unsung heroes in Nagaland who ventured into saving mission risking even their lives. Such people are the real heroes of our generation. They can also be called ‘freedom fighters’ in all truth for they snatched the chain of death to give life to people. They must be recognised and appreciated.
(As narrated by Rev. Fr. James Sangtam and Mr. Joseph)
Accounted by,
Rev. Fr. G. L. Khing
Kohima
