HARBINGER OF A NEW DAWN
“It’s time we all start motivating and
encouraging one another to venture into the world and start earning
through our sweat and sincerity instead of joining various groups or
becoming phaltu middleman-extortionists and spoil the image of oneself,
family, church, village and the tribe he/she belong. It’s time youths come out in the streets and start doing open street business”.
Akavi N Zhimomi Naga
Egg rolls to initiate change
There were around 20,000 educated unemployed youths in the state in
1991. After 22 years, in December 2013, over 60, 000 educated unemployed
in Nagaland registered in the list of the Employment Exchange. The
actual numbers will spring much higher as there are many educated
unemployed that have not registered. Figures of the educated unemployed
youths in Nagaland have been rising at an alarming rate with almost all
youths hoping and depending on a government job after finishing their
various pursued courses.
Dependency on government for a job has
reached its chronic stage where most of the educated unemployed do not
see beyond government jobs as careers. With a mindset nourished and
structured by the society for eyeing and vying only white-collared jobs,
many youths do not and cannot see and regard the multiple job
opportunities beside government jobs.
“There are numerous works
that could be undertaken if we seek without the mentality of considering
only government jobs as jobs”, exclaims Akavi N Zhimomi Naga who runs a
small shop outside Delhi Public School (DPS) at Darogapathar selling
egg rolls. He adds, “We should not be at all ashamed to take up manual
works like masonry, carpentry, construction works, loading and
unloading, hair cutting, rickshaw-pulling, auto-driving etc”. Zhimomi is
a second grade graduate from Government College, Dimapur, 2013 who did
not accept pocket money from his parents even as a student. He worked
part time in different companies after his classes and studied at night.
Exhibiting maturity while expressing his thought and concern, he states
that Naga youths should take up not only government jobs and
high-salaried jobs in multi-national and big companies but also
undertake manual jobs instead of wasting time idly and depending on
one’s parents even for the two square meals a day. “We can always rise
to the top from the bottom”, he exclaims optimistically. “One just needs
to give cent percent effort”. A study by the Directorate of Education,
Government of Nagaland, few years ago concluded that the income levels
of many unskilled Non-Nagas are higher than that of many government
employees in Nagaland.
Equipped with experiences of working for
some companies, he asserts he took up the present endeavor to show
youths of Dimapur that there is dignity in any kind of work. “I want to spread the
message of dignity of labor”, he affirms. He wants many of the educated
unemployed youths to work like him and discard the outlook of dependency
on the government and non-locals. “Only then will we develop and
advance as a people”.
While expressing the depressing reality of
unemployment in the state, he shares the threat of unemployed youths
getting engaged in extortion, immoral and other rebellious activities
that is detrimental to a peaceful society. He connects anti-social
activities with unemployment and laments that the government is not
doing enough for its people. “Real and needy people do not benefit”. He
supports his claim by recollecting a tractor a rich man acquired meant
for poor farmers. “There are numerous such instances”, he states.
Zhimomi also discourages chief guests at different functions donating
huge amount of money and expects the public will also learn not to be
expectant. He reasons that if such money were utilized towards imparting
free job oriented training's and educating on various job avenues, the
real value of the money would be realized and the unemployment problem
lessened.
The 23-year-old owner of the egg roll shop also shares
his view that the church plays an important role in not only nourishing
the spiritual aspect of its members but also the overall well-being of an
individual and the society. “Churches could impart vocational training's
to the youths apart from its regular church activities”, he states. He
adds that this could also be initiated by some of the many rich Nagas in
their respective colonies- providing vocational training, motivating
them and also assisting financially to those in need.
He has come
across many Nagas that are very rich but not one has he met yet that is
an admirable philanthropist. “Most of the rich people care only about
themselves and not concerned about the society”, he rues. He also wants
to encourage teachers promote dignity of labor in schools as many
students are influenced by what is taught in schools, especially during
early childhood.
Zhimomi actively participates in both virtual
and real world social groups, advocating what he believes and lives for.
He writes in facebook, “It’s time we all start motivating and
encouraging one another to venture into the world and start earning
through our sweat and sincerity instead of joining various groups or
becoming phaltu middleman-extortionists and spoil the image of oneself,
family, church, village and the tribe he/she belong. It’s time Naga
youths come out in the streets and start doing open street business”.
authored by:-
follow akavi in facebook:-
https://www.facebook.com/akavi.nzhimomi.9?fref=ts
Pool
Address: Dimapur, Nagaland 797112
