Insight Myanmar23 Kesä 2021

Courage in Chinland

Today we are joined by Mark, a Chin from the Zomi tribe. For Mark and his fellow Chin Christians, the military coup represents not only a loss of basic political freedoms, but also a loss of religious freedom. Before the recent democratic reforms, freedom of worship was by no means guaranteed; the Burmese military would routinely visit Chin communities to destroy crosses and churches. For the Chins, a return to military rule represents a return to days when their faith could not be practiced openly.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the first known act of armed resistance since the February 1st coup was launched by Chins in Kalay. Mark describes the Chins’ independent spirit: they fought with the Allies against the Japanese in World War II, and against the British before that during the Colonial period. As a result, they enjoyed an usual degree of autonomy during that period.

Even today, every Chin household has home-made flintlock “Tumee” rifle. That weapon was used to ward off the British and is also a mainstay for hunting. That same hunter spirit has motivated many Chin to resist the Burmese military, although Mark has his concerns: the tumee is only able to fire off a single bullet once every few minutes, rendering it ineffective against a Burmese force with military-grade automatic weapons.

The Tatmadaw has exerted particularly brutal pressure on the Chin people, most notably in Mindat, where their city-wide assault resulted in 90% of the residents fleeing into the jungle. Mark shares a call he received from a contact there who said, “I don't know who these soldiers are! They are like crazy, or high with something. They are not like humans, they are very cruel.”

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(590)

Terms of Extraction

Episode #575: Lindsey Kennedy, an investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker focused on organized crime, corruption, and conflict, argues that the scam-compound economy across Cambodia, Myanma...

21 Heinä 0s

Unscripted Awakening

Episode #574: Diego Prieto, a Chilean filmmaker, embarked on a journey to explore the Buddha's legacy and its modern relevance. His documentary started as an effort to explain the core teachings of Bu...

20 Heinä 1h 6min

Behind the Firewall

Episode #573: “I brought you here to the United States not so you could forget our homeland,” Salih Hudayar remembers his father telling him, “but so you could become educated and one day return to li...

17 Heinä 3h 21min

Let Them Eat Cake

Episode #572: “The government will survive for as long as it can feed the people,” says Christopher Lamb, former Australian Ambassador to Myanmar, distilling what he believes defines the country’s pol...

16 Heinä 1h 54min

Class Dismissed

Episode #571: “For students living through uncertainty, I think online learning and online education becomes a lifeline rather than simply an alternative.” Eaint Thet Hmu, a Philosophy, Politics, and ...

14 Heinä 1h 25min

Sacred Grounds Contested

Episode #570: The AAS Conference in Vancouver brought together thousands of scholars and practitioners from around the world, creating a dense, fast-moving environment of panels, conversations, and in...

13 Heinä 57min

No Safe Shelter

Episode #569: When Hla Hla Win was sentenced to twenty-seven years in prison at age twenty-three, she did not focus on the number. “I decided that in politics, the way things change, I will be release...

10 Heinä 1h 32min

Lesson Learned

Episode #568: “I think a world where people partner and support each other is the world I want my kids to grow up in,” says Greg Tyrosvoutis, co-founder and director of the Inclusive Education Foundat...

9 Heinä 1h 44min