Church leaders, politicians request Chin people not to migrate
- Thursday, May 28, 2009, 12:10
- Myanmar-Burma News
- 2 comments
Khonumthung News, 28 May, 2009: Church leaders and politicians in Chin state, western Burma, has requested the Chin people to stop migrating to third countries as refugees.
According to a local person from Falam Township, a campaign was conducted regarding this matter among the Chin community, earlier this month by Church leaders, politicians and elderly people of Chin State.
“Chin people are leaving their home-town on a daily basis, so the population is decreasing year by year. The bad thing is that teenagers cannot attend formal school as they have to work in other countries for their livelihood. That is why I tell people not to leave their own towns,” a pastor of Falam town said.
In fact, the population of Chin State has been decreasing annually, especially after 1989. A record shows that there are two lakh Chin people residing in foreign countries during the past 20 years.
“Currently, our church members are very few compared with last year. If one of our members die, there are no workers for burial activities. Some are very lazy as they are getting financial support from their relatives in foreign countries. They do not want to work anymore. It will certainly have bad consequences for our future. Indeed Chin people have no desire to settle in their home towns,” he told Khonumthung News.
Nowadays, most Chin people leave for Malaysia, India and other countries like USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Australia.
“There are about 4000 Chin people in Malaysia. The average of Chin people, who are entering Malaysia are 10 persons per day,” a Chin lady in Malaysia said.
There are 3000 Chin people in Zokhawthar village on the Indo-Myanmar border area; they are from Chin State, Burma.
“Currently, there are about 700 houses in Zokhawthar village. Of these 500 houses are owned by Chin people. Their population may be around 3000 and some are still coming from Chin state and other parts of Burma. After two years, the number of houses will easily reach one thousand,” one of the immigrants from the border area said.
The main reason for leaving their home town and migrating to foreign countries is in order to escape and survive from hardships, oppression and economic crisis in Burma.
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I am a pure Chin, my parents to my encestors are Chin. Needless to say, I love Chin people and the Chin Land as every Chin does. Of course there is an Irish saying “every man loves his native land whether he was born there or not”. Nobody loves his country more than any body. As one of the chin immigrants to the third country, I would honestly like to share my view upon this article. “I Could Not Agree with It More”. And I would like to invite the Chin interlectual to to be honestly say what we really are feeling in the third countries and immigrants. We should not think and behave like those who immigrate to the third country as they cannot read and wirte even Chin or Burmese literature or those who never read even a daily newspaper and megazine from Burma despite their high education. Every country has its own problem. No country with full of honey and milk in the world. I would like to humbly say that I have a good education both in my county and in the third country. I have a good job in both my country and in the country I am now. My job now is one of the best I can imagine, and of less than 1 out of a thousand among our Chin may have. ” No place like home”. I would like to brutally honest to say that “no Chin are as happy as in our native land”. 90% of us say if we work very hard in our native land like we are working now 8 hours a day in this third country, we will definite get our daily bread there. If we work hard 5 to 6 months every we get enough food and support for every years. Here in the third county if you lose your job for a month or two you become home less or lack of food. Therefore now is a time to be brave we the educated Chin to say the truth. Most of us are doing politics for our daily bread. Most of us are serving God for our daily bread. How shameful and ugly it is. If we take the statistics on the ratio of Churches and pastors to the our population, it would terribly shock the world. Be honest! Do not pretend to be a politician or an angle for your daily bread. If you are honest there are a lot of things to do as I mention before ( 8 hours working every day in our native land). It is time to deeply think our Chin future. It is time for considering more than 25 years of immigrating in the third country: How many of our big brothers and sisters become supporters of our land, how many of us become a respectful person in the third country, how many of our fellow have gained a good education ( SAT, ACT, scores, GRE, GMAT, MACAT sore) leading to a professional career. We are in the lowest of lowest class in the third nation. As politics for daily bread follows the trick that we must hate burmese people, and even pastors have a politics that we must uproot the Budhism, educated people are responsible for steering to the right direction. “Hatting Burmese does not mean loving Chin”. Stop masterbating politics. Do the practical work. I love who bravely loby not to immigrate in the third country any more. The proof of the 30 years time in the third countries is the best lesson to all of US. “Doing the same thing every day, and expecting different out come” = FOOL
you are dead right. Those opportunists tarnish Chin reputation as honest and hard-working people.
Myself got good education from both myanmar and ifrom a western country ( i did secular course by the way) but returned back to my home country and work.