(This is part of a series of field based reports spotlighting lesser known cross-cutting humanitarian issues that are emanating from the ongoing conflict in Manipur. In addition to understanding the socio-economic impact of the conflict, the series also seeks to map out instances of resillence, local innovations in humanitarian action and examples of community peacebuilding in the context. The Mapping Humanitarianism Initiative is being undertaken by the Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES) in close collaboration with Peace Centre Nagaland located in Chümoukedima.)
There is a growing tendency to quantify the impact of violence, human loss, and, brutality in numbers that stems from the normalisation of violence permeating the media landscape covering conflict. The greater the intensity, the numbers keep elevating which does not always reveal the real picture. A similar situation is unfolding in the state of Manipur – the site for India's biggest humanitarian crisis which the mainstream coverage seems to be taking a distant approach towards.
The underlying story being – since the outbreak of ethnic conflict in Manipur in early May, there has been a resurgence of direct attacks on health workers, ambulances, and obstructions to emergency health service providers.