Orphaned children from naxal-hit Chhattisgarh, who are in Delhi for a four-day visit, give the message of courage
Orphaned children from naxal-hit Chhattisgarh, who are in Delhi for a four-day visit, give the message of courage
They are too young to understand the national implication of Naxalism, but they have suffered the worst of it. Not only fear and panic, the ghastly Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh have also left behindu00a0-- Kids, who lost their families to violence. But, their eyes still twinkle with hope and dreams for peace.
The victims of violence, want to become doctors, engineers and and cops for the sake of their motherland. A 14-year-old Sunil Durgam, who lost his fatherin a Naxal attack last year, wants to join CRPF to fight those who killed his father. With tears in his eyes, Durgam said, "I am always worried about security of my mother and sisters who live in the village. People live in a state of fear but hope for peace is alive."
For Kumari Ash Manju, who wants to be a Doctor, this trip is an opportunity to tell others about her native land, which has lost its serenity to the landmines and bullets. "My father died last year and my mother is having a hard time raising me and my siblings. I want to tell the countrymen about state where people are being killed everyday," she said.
The children are students of Astha Gurukul Vidyalaya, a state-sponsored orphanage in Chhattisgarh.
"These kids lost their parents in naxal attacks in the forests of Dantewada. The terrorism in their state has deprived them of being well informed about their country and its vast culture. Our aim is to make them responsible citizens and this is our first priority," said MK Sharma, who is the party commander of the group.u00a0
u00a0"We are trying our best to bring these children in the mainstream. We are trying to give them the best possible education along with sports and other recreational facilities," said Mohan Ram Netam, the teacher accompanying the group.
While for the children coming to Delhi was like a dream, their teachers too had never travelled in train before.
"None of us came to Delhi before this; in fact we hadn't even saw any train compartment from inside. The children are thrilled and at least for sometime they will not remember their troubled childhood," said Lakshman Sahu, who teaches in the primary wing of the school.u00a0
u00a0Dressed in blue tracksuits the children were a disciplined lot and excited about the visits to Red fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan and Taj Mahal.u00a0 They will visit all the historical places in the capital and meetu00a0 the home minister P Chidambram. The group will go back to Chhattisgarh on December 20.
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