Message for envoy: We146;re praying, do your job

Over two years ago, when Nengcha Lhouvum8217;s mother was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, doctors gave her six months. She survived for two years.

Over two years ago, when Nengcha Lhouvum8217;s mother was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, doctors gave her six months. She survived for two years.

Today, as India8217;s Ambassador to Lebanon goes through what is probably the most trying period in her diplomatic career trying to evacuate Indian citizens caught in the Israel-Hizbollah crossfire, that stubborn streak from her mother is shining through.

In Churachandpur, around 65 km from Imphal, her family puts on a brave front even as they admit they haven8217;t heard from her.

8216;8216;She called her elder sister in New Delhi yesterday. From what we8217;ve heard, she8217;s sleeping in bunkers while coordinating the evacuation effort. We are praying for her safety, but she is representing the country and she must do whatever her job demands of her,8217;8217; says SL Boikho Thadou 62, her elder brother.

Boikho says, 8216;8216;Our parents were Christian missionaries who later took up government jobs. But for years, they did missionary work in the state border area between Assam and Manipur in Tamenglong district. Whatever Nengcha does, she does it with that same missionary zeal and conviction.8217;8217;

Born in a Thadou-Kuki family an ethnic tribal minority, Lhouvum and her five siblings endured tough times when their parents stopped missionary work due to the Naga-Kuki divide that was carving the field of missionary work along community lines.

When Lhouvum left Manipur for New Delhi in the early 80s, Kuki groups in Churachandpur were gravitating towards the Mizo National Front MNF movement, and a decade later, Manipur had a slew of militant outfits. Boikho says his sister is possibly most mentally suited to be serving in Lebanon.

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8216;8216;For anyone born in Manipur, militancy-related situations are like daily meals,8217;8217; he grins.

When she last visited Manipur in May following her mother8217;s death, Neisi says her sister found Lebanese people to be 8216;8216;nice8217;8217;.

8216;8216;She was excited about her visits to Hizbollah camps in Lebanon, said she was finally getting to see some action. Who would have thought that a couple of months later, this kind of a situation would come up?8217;8217;

Lhouvum8217;s two children 8212; Maya and Mihir Chochon, studying in Class XII and X respectively 8212; have been evacuated to Damascus, Syria, and are with their ambassador-father Gautam Mukhopadhyay, informs Boikho.

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8216;8216;The country of her posting is on fire, and we8217;re worried. But her determination will see her through, as we believe our mother8217;s spirit inside her awakens to the call of the hour,8217;8217; says Boikho.