Chin State Chin State Residents

that they are the original owners of tion of the trip. Along the way, the Paletwa. team experienced frst-hand the weak LETTERS FROM THE FIELD transportation infrastructure faced by Major ethnic population in Chin State Chin State residents. Although road Chin State are the Chin, which is divided into transportation is the main mode of six main groups, namely Asho, Cho, travel in Chin State, it remains fairly Khum, Laimi, Mizo and Zomi. There undeveloped. In the days following, As a part of wider CDNH Research are dozens of Chin sub-groups all interviews revealed that for most resi- program that aims to provide infor- over the state, with at least forty-fve dents, poor transportation infrastruc- mation and analysis on the state of spoken dialects. The most widely ture indeed stands as the biggest chal- social harmony and citizens’ voic- spoken are Tedim among Northern lenge. Despite recent improvement es on political process in Myanmar, Chin; Hakha and Falam among Cen- in roads and bridges during the latter the CDNH Research team travelled tral Chin; and Mindat Cho among 1 part of U Thein Sein government, re- around Chin State for 46 days in No- Southern Chin. Each dialect, espe- spondents informed us that new road vember and December 2016, dissem- cially northern and southern, appears developments lack quality and lon- inating about 2500 questionnaires for to be so distinct that different Chin gevity. Even since the construction Social Harmony and 2500 question- speaking different dialects will not of new roads, respondents informed naires for Political Process research. likely understand one another, which us that during the rainy season, the Surveys were conducted in six town- new roads have become muddy and ships of Chin State: three in the north, damaged by landslides, with no mon- Hakha, Falam and Tedim townships, itoring or maintenance. Considering and three in the south, Mindat, Matu- that the fow of trade and transpor- pi and Paletwa townships. In addi- tation of goods in Chin State rely tion, the Research team conducted primarily on road transportation, the several interviews with community Chin lady at her small grocery shop in Mindat (credit: Michael McGrath) price of goods can rise drastically elders, CSO members, political party 48 when the means of transport are dis- members, religious leaders, groups of Chin State hard to access from the moved to Hakha Township, which More than 48 hours of rupted. Furthermore, local residents, young students and general citizens in rest of the country, hindering devel- brought about some grievances in interview particularly from Mindat Township, selected townships to gain further in- opment process in the State. Chin the hearts of Falam residents. Pal- expressed their concern about the en- sight into regional events and to bring State thus remains as the least devel- etwa Township, located at a border vironmental damage caused by care- in analyses for the data. oped state in the country – with the region between Chin State and Ra- less planning and construction, such as the endangerment of rare orchid Located on Myanmar’s western bor- highest poverty rate of 73 percent. khine State on the Kaladan River, of- species and wildlife. der, Chin State is the second small- fcially became a part of Chin State was witnessed during the Research The administrative regions of Chin under U Nu’s administration and was est State/Region in Myanmar. With a State consist of nine townships and team’s trip. Despite widespread poverty, Chin population of 478,801 (2014 Census also a source of territorial squabble State hosts beautiful towns that are four sub-townships within three dis- between the two states. While Rakh- After a 48-hour ride in a cramped data), Chin State is also one of the tricts: two in the North (Hakha and relatively well-organized and devel- least populated states/regions with ine claimed that the area initially be- bus, the Research team arrived in oped, with the team being partic- Falam) and one in the South (Min- longed to the Arakan hill tracts under Hakha Township, the frst destina- sparse settlements in hilly areas. In dat). Falam Township used to be the ularly impressed by the cleanliness term of topography, entire region of the British colonial rule, implying that of each town. From on-the-ground state capital during the British colo- 1 Center for Applied Linguistics (2007). Chin State is located within mountain Paletwa was reallocated to Chin State observation both in towns and villag- nial rule. During the reorganization Refugees from Burma: Their Backgrounds ranges with most towns and villag- only after the independence, Chin re- es, the team noticed many well-built, of the government in 1974 led by and Refugee Experiences. Culture Profle es sitting 5,000-7,000 feet above sea buked that Chin people resided in the concrete houses that one would not U Ne Win’s Burmese Socialist Party No. 21. http://www.cal.org/resources/pubs/ level. Its mountainous terrain makes area preceding the British rule and expect to see in a poorest state. The Programme (BSPP), state capital was burmese.html Page - 1 existence of these houses is explained identities, languages and lineage. by the migration and remittance dy- namics that so often determine f- Moreover, a more concrete division nancial statuses in Chin State. Ac- appears to exist between Northern cording to 2014 Census data, 1-in-5 and Southern Chin groups. Several Chin residents have migrated to ei- factors contribute to this. Firstly, the ther foreign countries, or else other dialects between North and South are parts of Myanmar. Locals confrmed mutually unintelligible, despite the that a majority of households in each fact that the sub-groups are all clas- towns and villages had at least a fami- sifed as being ‘Chin’. Uniting around ly member living and working abroad, a common language is seen as neces- who would send back remittance that sary by those who strongly advocate a would contribute to the living condi- federal state, and yet deciding which tions of those fortunate enough to language would be prioritized as the have a family member overseas. Thus State’s language stands as a major while some residents live in relative challenge. One interviewee suggest- security, others live below the poverty ed Mizo language (the Chin dialect line in precarious circumstances with- spoken in Mizoram State, India) be out a support-line. adopted as the common language for all Chin groups mainly for the Lastly, diffcult transportation acts as reason that textbooks and curricu- a barrier to the unifcation of Chin lums for those languages are already sub-groups. The division and isola- established. Due to poor transpor- tion of groups by the mountainous tation links, not a lot of interactions Overlook of part of Falam Township (credit: Michael McGrath) terrain has resulted in discrete ethnic between different sub-groups exist, which leads to weak relations among sist that they are Zomi. tlement in the village to worshipers the groups. of the unique Parsian religion, which Furthermore, the interviewees deny can be found only in Tedim, forming Chin youth nowadays seem more in- any obvious tension between dif- a separate and self-sustaining com- clined to adopt a unifed ‘Chin’ iden- ferent sub-groups, yet subtle rivalry munity on the outskirts of the town. tity than are older Chin generations, and nationalist spirit was detected in who still identify themselves using numerous interviews. Even though Despite the challenges encountered different Chin tribes and clans. Eth- there is no outward discrimination by the Research Team in Chin State, nic nationalism appeared the stron- towards one another, there is a strong the trip was overall a very rewarding gest in Tedim Township, where a notion in the South that the govern- and successful mission, and will no strong notion of tribal identity seems ment favors the North because since doubt yield fascinating results for our to have been successfully used to gar- the revolutionary council period, ongoing project. Reports on analyzed ner public support for the local po- most of the governors were from the survey data and in-depth discussions litical party – the Zomi Congress for North, especially Tedim Township. fndings from Chin State will be Democracy. Indeed, in Tedim, many Even nowadays, the Southern groups published by April 2017 and shared locals did not even identify with the feel that opportunities for Chin State with relevant stakeholders. For more term ‘Chin’, which is understood to have gone more to the North. information and updates on our re- be a term implanted by the Bamar ports, please subscribe to CDNH Re- and other outsiders. They instead in- A highlight of the trip was a visit to search Team at [email protected]. a village in Tedim; that restricts set- Page - 2.

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