Tens of thousands of Burmese Chin lead a shadowy existence in India's remote Mizoram State The morning air is crisp and smells of wood fire. Up on the mountain crests, fog sits like snow in a fairy tale. People wrap themselves in clouds of tobacco smoke, puffing leisurely while sitting on their heels. Women carry their babies wrapped in colorful fabrics slung on their backs.
Mizoram’s capital, Aizawl, clings like an eagle’s nest to a mountain peak, where houses lean partly on stilts and partly on the hillside. It’s a town where the local Mizo population and Chin from Burma go about their daily chores side by side. Tens of thousands of Chin live in Mizoram illegally, slipping easily through a long, porous border. They cross over to earn money to send back home, or to escape poverty or persecution by the Burmese military. But without legal status and proper permits, the Chin usually get the lowest-paid jobs, in road and construction work, markets, restaurants or as domestics. As porters they carry produce to the market in huge cone-shaped baskets fixed by straps to their foreheads. Others sell goods spread out on the ground. The Chin lacking proper documentation generally face deportation if they are arrested by police and cannot afford the usual bribe of 200 to 500 rupees (US $4.50 to $11). Weavers among the Chin tend to fare better. They are skilled laborers in an important sector of the local economy, and this usually spares them harassment. Pari, 37, is one of the lucky ones. “I arrived in 1997 from a Chin village in Sagaing Division,” she said. “Two of my six children are still back in Burma, and I support them with my work.” Mizoram is now classified as a peaceful state within India, while protracted conflicts continue in other parts of the isolated northeast, which have high concentrations of Indian military and paramilitary forces, police and intelligence agencies. Following the independence struggle of the Mizo National Front, the 1987 peace agreement granted Mizoram the status of a state within the Indian federal system with its own government and police—something along the lines of what ethnic groups such as the Chin would like to see happen in Burma. The Indian government has channelled modest investment into Mizoram. But the Mizos, in spite of being ethnic kin and somewhat sympathetic to the Chin, try to protect the little they have from outsiders. Dr Walter Fernandez of the Guwahati-based Northeastern Social Research Centre in India says the lack of development amplifies the Mizos’ fear of outsiders attaining economic, political or social power. According to a leading Mizo activist, discrimination against Burmese prevails because they are associated with HIV/AIDS, drugs and crime. From Aizawl, a day-long journey to the border between Mizoram and Burma winds through magnificent, lush green mountains. How easily this state’s tourism potential could be developed to benefit everyone, but along the roadside Chin live in shacks and eke out a living by breaking stones. Pu Thang, a thin man in his 40s and covered in dust, said that he and his wife get 150 rupees ($3.40) for filling 15 baskets in a 10-hour working day. “Our children help us and cannot go to school, but anyway we have no extra money for schooling,” he said. Next to their hut, red chillies dry in the sun and colorful clothes flutter in the wind. But what could look picturesque to passing tourists is merely an expression of the poverty of a marginalized population in an underdeveloped part of India. The border town of Zokhawthar illustrates real poverty and a lack of education. The town’s refugee-run, Western-sponsored clinic is short of medicine and has no trained doctor, but it still manages to care for more than 2,000 outpatients a year free of charge. “We would welcome the help of local and international NGOs,” said the clinic’s manager, “but they never come here.” Special 10-day permits are required for both Indian and international NGO workers, diplomats and even tourists. In a mountainous region with poor transport infrastructure, this is barely sufficient time for NGO workers to assess community needs. Crossing the border is easy, provided fees are paid to the military on both sides. When I was there, a long line of Burmese carrying their belongings on their backs queued to return to Burma. But while some Burmese migrate between the two countries easily, others cannot go back and need to pay off the police in Mizoram in order to stay. Nute, a young, gaunt-looking woman, is one of those stranded. “I crossed over to get treatment for my baby. Now I cannot return because my village was burnt down and people are fleeing.” According to human rights activists in New Delhi, the Indian public and central politicians see Burma and Burmese refugees as part of the general malaise of the northeastern region. However, Indian military leaders are acutely aware of security threats stemming from the border. These concerns, combined with strategic and economic interests, have led to New Delhi’s so-called “Look East Policy.” To this end, the Indian federal government has announced plans to spend about $100 million improving navigation of the Kaladan River, which flows from southern Mizoram into Burma and out into the Bay of Bengal at the Sittwe port in Arakan State. India also wants to modernize the Sittwe port, and says agreement has been reached on this with the Burmese regime. New Delhi says the Kaladan could become an important trade route giving Mizoram and other northeast states access to the sea. In the meantime, the Chin community tries to help itself. Throughout Mizoram, small groups have been set up to fund the schooling of the poorest children, as well as to provide health care and safe houses for women. Some of their leaders are educated Chin who benefited from a recruitment drive by the Mizoram authorities in the 1990s to deal with the Chin problem. Pa Lian, a native Chin teacher, community leader and health worker, said: “We all received training, legal papers and jobs.” But Pa Lian’s team, which helps in providing housing for Chin often finds it difficult to operate. “To rent a house, a Chin needs two recommendation letters issued by the village council and the Young Mizo Association (see box story),” says Pa Lian. “In practice, this is very difficult and again people are threatened with deportation.” It’s not clear how many Chin live in Mizoram. Hngaki, a Chin activist, said there is a tendency by Chin to give low figures to avoid raising fears among the Mizos. “The visible population of Chins who identify themselves by speaking and dressing like Chin and attending Chin church fellowships accounts for over 60,000,” she said. But many other Chin have adopted Mizo customs and language for survival and to avoid discrimination. “Our existence as Burmese here in northeast India has been ignored by the international community, neglected by the pro-democracy movement and downplayed by Indian officials,” said Hngaki, in an appeal for help. Tamara Terziana is a researcher based in Southeast Asia *All Chin names in this article have been changed The Chins’ Enemy Within Despite its declared non-political status, in some respects the YMA operates like a parallel government, and even leading Mizo politicians are hesitant to speak out against some of its questionable activities. When the Mizoram government planned to issue work permits for migrants in 2003, the YMA objected and set about illegally deporting many Chin. YMA members carry out house-to-house checks for housing recommendation letters. People unable to produce correct documents are deported. Local authorities tend to turn a blind eye. YMA members also undertake frequent road checks, searching cars for alcohol. Without uniforms or ID cards, YMA members appear more like plain clothes police. Some churches, including the Presbyterian Church, were instrumental in helping to organize the YMA. The church has also played a pivotal role in the politics of Mizoram, and this is said by some observers to have enhanced stability in the state. However, many researchers point to the emergence of a clash between Mizo traditionalism and church fundamentalism. There are strong undercurrents of political-ethnic conflicts within Mizoram, and Burmese refugees from Chin State and Sagaing Division are caught in the middle. —Tamara Terziana |
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