Executive Director visited Chin refugees in Mizoram, India in December 2022.
Due to the third time military coup in February 2021 in Myanmar, many Chin villagers fled to the border of India to escape from Myanmar’s brutal military assault and horrific torture of villagers. There are now more than thirty thousand Chin refugees, including 5000 children under 12 in Mizoram State, India and thousands of internally displaced at the border villages adjacent to India.
Two Chin refugee children who are living in makeshift hut at Lungzarhtum camp in Mizoram state, India coming up the hill to join others who are meeting with CCC executive director at their makeshift church. December 2022
It is so heartbreaking to see many Chin refugee children living on the Indian border struggling for daily survival. The children did not know why they were suddenly there and how long they shall live there. They keep on asking their parents why they cannot attend school and their desire to go home. As children, they are unaware of the burning of their homes into ashes by the Myanmar terrorist regime since most children living there are from Thantlang town. Around 10,000 people are living in Thantlang town with more than two thousand households before two-thirds of houses were razed down by the military soldiers and every house were now vacated due to the military regime daily arson attack since September 2021 until now in March 2023.
Meeting refugee children at Canaan camp, Mizoram State, INDIA (Dec 2022)
More than 5,000 Chin refugee children under 12 are with their parents in these makeshift refugee camps at the border of India and Chin state. These children and their parents are from Matupi township in Chin state. The Myanmar military regime destroyed all their houses, lost everything they left with nothing, and also arrested young people as old as 13 and used them as human porters in the jungle.
This is Bawinu river which demarcates India and Myanmar as a boundary line between Chin state and Mizoram state.A Chin refugees at Thaizawl refugee makeshift camps. This is how they stacked firewoods to cook. There are over 600 Chin refugees in this camp.This is how local people in Mizoram State tried their best to build refugee camps and allowed Chin people who are fleeing to escape military atrocities in Chin state to stay in the camp. Even just for their daily food, refugees in several camps are worrying for their children and elderly people.This is so heartbreaking to talk to Chin refugee children as they do not know they are in foreign land as refugees but just keep on asking why they do not go to school and when will the school be reopened since their parents told them that schools are temporarily closed and terrorists are in the villages. They insist that they just want to go home. Refugees in this camp are from Thantlang town which the military burnt down to ashes since 2021 until December 2022.This refugee children are from Paletwah township in Chin state from where they walked on foot for six days to arrive at this camp. There are 5 camps and roughly about 400 people including 150 children under 12 in this surrounding areas called Khawlchaw, Mizoram State in India which housed refugee children and their parents from Paletwah.CCC executive director handed over small amount of financial donations to a Chin refugee leader at Contlangpui camp from churches in Canada so that they can buy food for a few days. This was during night time and the car headlight was used to meet with refugees in this camp.A Chin refugee girl peeking out to see visitors at their camp in Chawnhu camp, Mizoram State, India (Dec 15, 2023)Meeting with Chin refugee children and their parents at Chawnhu camp (India)This lady (Middle) is not just physically suffering but mentally she is so distraught as her husband was killed by Myanmar military regime and dismembered his body into pieces. The photos of her husband dismembered bodies were sent to her and also threatened her that she will be the next. She fled her village in Matupi township with her two children and ended up here in Chin refugee camp at Lawngtlai, Mizoram state (India)This is Bethel Refugee Camp where as many as 500 Chin refugees are living including two hundred children.After the military coup in February 2021, Chin state became a war zone where civilians defence force tried to protect their towns and villages from Myanmar military from taking over. Especially people from Thantlang town suffered the most as their houses were burnt down and all their belongings looted. The town was bombed almost daily by jet fighters since November 2022.
This is Bethel refugee camp where many Chin refugees from Matupi are living.This is the makeshift refugee camp built at the border (Located inside Chin State but closer to Indian border) where hundreds of Chin Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are living in very harsh condition.IPDs camp inside Chin state which located at Indian border.
Thantlang Town, Chin state
Thantlang Baptist church (TBC) after it was torched by military regime.
The upper photo was Thantlang Baptist Church (TBC) which is the first and the largest church built in this town. The photo underneath is the same TBC after it was torched down by Myanmar military soldiers in November 2022 after several attempts to burn it down since 2021. There are over ten thousands people inside Thantlang town and over 2500 houses before the Myanmar military regime started torching down in September 2021.
Thantlang Town ( November 2021)This is how Myanmar military soldiers stoked fire to every house inside Thantlang town since September 2021 until December 2022. Before they set on fire, they ransacked through the houses and took every valuable things.
Myanmar or legally Burma gained independent from British Empire in 1948. However, since 1962 until arguably now, the military regime has ruled the country through three military coup d’etats namely 1962, 1988 and most recently in February 2021. Due to the military dictatorial rule for over six decades, the country now became a pariah and one of the least developed nation on earth.
Due to the ongoing war waged against innocent Chin civilians by Myanmar military regime, there are over ten thousands internally displaced persons (IDPs) just alone in Thantlang township areas and over thirty thousands Chin refugees scattered in Mizoram state, India. Many governmental servants from medical doctors, school teachers and hundreds of governmental staffs chose to participate in Civil Disobedient Movement (CDM) which left the military regime unable to rule the country since they have no government staff in every governmental departments. The country now have no bureaucratic institution to run even as interim caretaker government dubbing themselves as State Administration Council (SAC) led by General Min Aung Hlaing who is the coup leader.
Thantlang Town under arson attack by Myanmar terrorist regime – 2022Scene of Thantlang town burnt down to ashes by Myanmar terrorist regime – 2022
