Future Generations pays tribute to 3 northeast Indian staff

On October 31, 2008, tragedy struck in one of the most remote parts of India.  Three female Future Generations staff members, who were involved in training health workers and conducting community surveys, were killed when their car plunged off a cliff.  While the pain of this loss is felt by our staff and friends around the world, the work to which these young women devoted their lives goes on, with renewed resolve and your help.  

Dr. Tage Kanno, Executive Director of Future Generations/Arunachal writes the following tribute:

I had just landed Kolkata from Bangalore where I had been to attend a training program on health research. I got a call from Along in Arunachal Pradesh which brought all my activities to a standstill. The vehicle in which three of the staff of Future Generations Arunachal (FGA) were traveling had plunged into a deep gorge on Menchukha-Along road.

Kuru KoniaKuru Konia was the daughter of Late Kuru Tubin and Kuru Aniyo of Reru village in Lower Subansiri district. She was born on January 26, 1985. She did her schooling in the Government Higher Secondary School, Ziro and later pursued her graduation course in the Dera Natung Government College, Itanagar. She obtained a bachelor¹s degree in economics from the college in 2007. Before joining FGA in July this year, Konia had been working in a printing press, taking care of the page set ups and editing works. When I asked her why she wanted to quit such a cozy job and join FGA where she needs to travel restlessly, she said, "How long can I remain confined to a room? I want to travel to distant and remote places." When she was asked to travel to Ziro during the training period, she decided to go instead to Bameng, a far more remote and difficult place in East Kameng district. In August, when she was appointed as a Project Supervisor, she had been to Menchukha for a pilot visit for Pregnancy History project. In keeping with her wish to travel to far-flung areas, she had chosen one of the remotest places in the state. She has now traveled to the farthest place one can imagine ­ never ever to return.

Yalung MibangYalung Mibang, daughter of Tanying Mibang was from Sille village in East Siang district and was born on September 9, 1981. She studied in Higher Secondary School, Sille and IGJ Government Higher Secondary School, Pasighat before she joined the Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat. She obtained a bachelor¹s degree in history from there and did her masters in history from the Rajiv Gandhi University in Doimukh in 2005. She had been to Palin in Kurung Kumey district as a trainee when she joined FGA in July and then worked for a month in Tamen in Lower Subansiri district. She visited several villages of Boleng circle in East Siang district in August, when she was appointed as a Project Supervisor. "I was skeptic about the works of the NGOs," she confessed to me once. She went on, "But now, I am learning a lot by working with the people in need. I think I have discovered what I want to do in my life." Alas, life did not give her much time to do what she wanted to do!

Riniyo BaminRiniyo Bamin was born to Bamin Hinda and Bamin Chunya of Michi-Bamin village in Lower Subansiri district on January 1, 1981. She obtained her BA (Hons) degree from Delhi University in 2005 and joined Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai to pursue her Master in Social Works. After she completed her studies there, she was working with an organization called Akansha Foundation in Mumbai. She left that organization to join FGA in August this year as a trainee. She visited various project sites of the organization like Ziro, Palin and Sangram in a short period. She was appointed as the Assistant Director (Community Development) in October. I had tried to persuade her to continue her work in Mumbai as she will have better career options in big cities."³I was working there to learn," she said. "Now I want to apply what I learnt by working with the communities in Arunachal Pradesh. Our people need more social workers." She had plans for our people that she intended to share with us. That will never happen now. We were too late.

Konia, Yalung and Riniyo had gone to Menchuka in West Siang district, almost at the border of Tibet in mid-October to carry out a baseline household survey. They were returning after successful completion of the survey when the vehicle they were traveling in fell into a deep gorge, killing them on the spot.

It is hard to gauge the implications of such an event now. Maybe it is too soon. All the programs of FGA involve frequent travels to difficult areas. Two years back, the volunteers and staff working with Future Generations Arunachal had traveled to some of the most difficult places in the state, trekking on foot for days together, treading on narrow paths overlooking deep gorges, through thick and pestilential jungles and snow covered mountains. Their objective was to train the elected village-level Panchayat members and to take the programs to where they live.

"What if something happens on the way?" one of the volunteers had asked me. I did not have any answer. I did not like to think about anything happening.  "Nothing will happen," was all I said. "Nothing happens to people who goes out to do good work." Even this trust on the protective power of good work seems to have been questioned now.

Two other teams had gone to Yachuli circle in Lower Subansiri district and Nari-Koyu circle in East Siang district to carry out the same baseline surveys. All of them were scheduled to come back to Itanagar in the first week of November when I too will be back. When the news spread, all the staff went to Pasighat and Ziro to see off their friends in their last journey.

In the meantime, the fruits of their labor are back in the Itanagar office. The survey questionnaires are safely back from all the sites. The next step now would be to make a preliminary analysis of the data, go back to the communities and start the project as soon as possible. The staff are determined to carry out the works started by their friends. Lives should not be sacrificed for nothing.