To borrow the words of Willard Libby, it is true that the initial ideas are in general those of an individual, but the establishment of reality and truth is in general the work of more than one person.
It is also true that reality can be difficult to handle at times – the realities of life sadly do include pain, loss, and disappointment. We can find our escape from reality through a lot of things but sometimes we need to face it head one. Other times, running away from it seems to make more sense.
The lived experience or reality of life in Mokokchung today is as harsh as it can get. Normally, as human beings, we find attachment and develop a sense of belonging to one’s hometown and tend to acknowledge it rather subconsciously that one’s hometown is the best place to be. However, in Mokokchung, the reality is that there are no good roads – which actually are a constitutional right.
Worse, even the roads that we build every once in a blue moon don’t outlast a monsoon cycle. At this very moment, look at the condition of the roads that connect Mokokchung with the rest of the state and country – be it Mariani road, Kohima road, Amguri road, Tuensang road or Zunheboto road. It is like we are being punished. Our healthcare sector is in itself in need of resuscitation; winter season will soon greet us with dry spells and you know how acute a problem water scarcity is in Mokokchung. Other sectors like education, sanitation, employment, commerce, sports, etc. cannot be said to be doing any better. It is tiring to keep count of all the things that ail Mokokchung. Yet, who cares? If anybody cared, things would have improved by now at least marginally.
Bringing about change in Mokokchung, at this rate, will take a lifetime or longer. It will require the whole community to work together to bring about change – but it is difficult to expect the people of a blighted society to come together and work in unison for the collective good. It is no wonder then that people are leaving Mokokchung for good. It is meaningless to stay put in a place that you know is not going to improve when you can conveniently move to another place where you can lead a more comfortable life – one is tempted to think.