HARBINGER OF A NEW DAWN-Akavi N Zhimomi Naga (Egg rolls to initiate change)

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:-

Imojen Jamir

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