A Land of Beauty and Misery

“The government should have stored food for these poor people and delivered it to them from the time the problem started,” said an official from one international NGO, requesting anonymity for himself and his organization because of the sensitivity of the issue.

“The government has had 50 years to prepare to help these vulnerable people, but it seems that they’ve done nothing during those years,” the NGO official added.

One elderly Chin man said: “This government never works for the people; they just work for themselves.”

Many Chin people say they feel they’re discriminated against by the government because of their ethnicity and religion. Few Chin—some 90 percent of whom are estimated to be Christian—achieve high positions in governmental departments.

Due to extreme poverty, human rights abuses and general insecurity, many Chin leave in search of a better life. While some flee to Mizoram in India, others go to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the US.

But there are still many Chin who don’t want to leave their homeland, hoping that one day it will be free and prosperous.

“When our country has democracy, I strongly believe our land will be developed,” said one Chin student, who occasionally guides tourists and local visitors to Mt. Victoria, a well-known summit of 3,100 meters (10,200 feet) in southern Chin State.

“Then, our lives will be as beautiful as our landscape,” she added with a smile. “Please come and visit us again when that happens.”