Assam ropes in children to spread message of peace

Runumi Gogoi, a class X student of ghilaguri high school in sivasagar district of Upper Assam,

Runumi Gogoi, a class X student of ghilaguri high school in sivasagar district of Upper Assam, has seen violence from close quarters. Several young boys from near her village had joined the ULFA and were killed in encounters. She has also seen people being killed by insurgents. Today, she wants to become a volunteer of peace.

“I am born in an era of violence. But I want to see peace return to my village, to my state and to the entire world,” the 16-year-old said, expressing her views at a two-day workshop — Children as Peace Volunteers — which began here on Friday. Runumi is among the 200 children from Assam and the neighbouring states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh who want to become volunteers of peace. Kamini Devi, an inmate of SOS Children’s Village in Guwahati, too has joined this new movement. “I have already participated in several street plays through which we tell people that violence is futile. If the children of the country together work for peace, I am sure violence will come to an end,” a highly optimistic Kamini added.

Referring to Indian Idol finalist Amit Paul, Mohammad Walid, a class XI student of St Anthony’s School in Shillong, said: “You don’t always need a gun to be heard. Gaan (song) is non-violent, and more people listen to you.”

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The Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, which has joined hands with UNICEF and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti to organise the workshop for child peace volunteers, observed Gandhi Jayanti as the International Day of Non-Violence.

“We want our children to live and grow in a better environment,” said Shankutala Choudhury, who although in her 80s, refuses to give up working for the trust. During the opening function of the workshop, Choudhary focused on how children can constitute a “shanti sena” that would sooner or later usher in an era of peace.

Assam Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman said violence had seriously affected the psyche of children. “We do not want children to become terrorists,” Barman, who inaugurated the workshop, said.

For UNICEF, this workshop is only the beginning. “We have been working with about 400 children across Assam for nearly two months now. We have a two-pronged focus through this programme, promoting peace and promoting child rights,” said Anirudha Kulkarni, child protection officer at UNICEF’s Guwahati office.

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