CHIN STATE'S UNEASY COHABITATION WITH THE REGIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000370 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EAP/MLS, PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS PREL ECON ETRD CVIS KFRD BM IN SUBJECT: CHIN STATE'S UNEASY COHABITATION WITH THE REGIME REF: RANGOON 0082 ¶1. (U) Summary. Burma's ethnic minority Chin population, long victims of the Burmese regime's "Myanmarization" program, has reached a stage of uneasy but peaceful cohabitation with ruling authorities in its home state. In underdeveloped Chin State along Burma's western border with India, ethnic Chins have garnered some measures of greater religious tolerance at the expense of inclusion in local governance. After years of pressure to convert the Christian Chin community to Buddhism through threats and missionary efforts, GOB authorities seem to have given up. The Chin remain resilient in practicing their faith loudly and publicly. Trade with a rapidly growing India remains a dream just beyond their borders, and the UNDP serves as the only available catalyst for rural advancement. End Summary. A Land That Time Forgot -------------- ¶2. (U) On a recent trip to conduct visa fraud investigations, Conoff traveled by car from southern Sagaing Division deep into the hinterlands of Chin State. Lying on Burma's western border with India, Chin State may be the least developed of all of Burma's ethnic states. It is the only state without any paved roads. Of the half-million inhabitants in Chin State, an estimated 85% live in isolated villages perched upon steep hillsides. Many of these 500 villages are accessible only by foot or horseback; about one quarter still have yet to establish a source of running water; and only a handful have any access to electricity. The economy depends on slash and burn subsistence agriculture of millet and beans. ¶3. (U) Chin State's economic stagnation and lack of development is in large part due to its isolation, both culturally and physically, from the rest of the country. Only three dirt roads connect Chin State with the rest of Burma. They are regularly under patchwork construction, and summer monsoons routinely disable them for days. No commercial airport exists in the state, and Conoff saw only one gas station during a seven day trip through two of the three largest population centers. Upon leaving the Chin State, it is another 10 to 15 hours by car (or boat during monsoons) to reach the nearest substantial market, Mandalay. ¶4. (U) With so few economic opportunities, the favorite 
pastime of young Chin men and, increasingly, Chin women, seems to be migrating in search of employment elsewhere. After the mechanization of jade mining in northern Burma, only three prime job markets remain attractive: the Indian border province of Mizoram, northern Malaysia, and the United States. Seasonal migrant laborers in Mizoram earn about $100 to $200 for three to four months toil, while Malaysian factory laborers earn $200 a month. ¶5. (SBU) Meanwhile, the Chin connection to the United States grows ever stronger and more politically active. Many Chin were converted to Christianity by American Baptist missionaries so they feel a special bond with the United States. Strong Chin exile and expatriate communities in Michigan and the Washington DC area support the homeland through donations to churches and through encouragement to seek travel to the U.S. Locals enthusiastically point out villages that have strong ties to America. As Conoff passed through one such village, he encountered a Chin-American couple, naturalized decades ago, who return annually to support a local orphanage. They proudly displayed a letter from their Congressman requesting consular support as they visited refugee communities in Malaysia and various contacts in Burma. The push to emigrate to the U.S. is supported strongly by a pull from Burmese already there, and the combined effort results some in far-fetched schemes: Chin asylee follow-to-join visa applications in Burma have an egregiously high fraud rate. Visa Savvy -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Conoff investigated five asylee follow-to-join cases by conducting document and neighborhood checks. The applicant for one "marriage" case was actually the petitioner's brother. The applicant in another marriage claim turned out to be the niece of the petitioner who had already married another man living nearby. Another application, by an unmarried child of an asylee, revealed that the applicant is not the biological child of the petitioner, and is likely the nephew. Only one of four marriage claims proved legitimate. ¶7. (SBU) Frustratingly, all of the bad cases were supported by fraudulent information on legitimately issued forms, which highlights the ease with which both information and identities can be bought. The fraudulent document issue is not limited to government-issued documents. The pastor of the Haka Baptist Church uneasily admitted that many churches issue marriage certificates to support visa applications without even conducting a religious ceremony. Interestingly, Conoff found that many people in Chin State, even those living in the most remote villages, could carry on extended and engaged conversations about U.S. visa and asylee processes. Trade and Glimmers of Development -------------- ¶8. (U) Many people in the Chin region recognize the growing opportunities from trade with India, particularly since the Burmese prefer Indian products to cheap in imports from China. Chin engage in border trade with India; however, the primary trade route, a paved road from Tamu, India, to Kalay, Sagaing Division, does not enter the Chin State. Goods traveling this route flow from Kalay directly to Mandalay, leaving most of Chin State entirely out of the equation. Border trade directly between Chin State and India does exist, but it is limited to goods carried over the border by hand or packed on horse carts. ¶9. (U) Virtually the only stories of successful rural development in Chin State come from the UNDP's decade-long grassroots intervention with local villages. The UNDP has introduced running water to roughly 75% of local villages through village tap stands. School houses in many villages were built through villager and UNDP collaboration, proudly displayed on signboards. Its most significant project, however, is the ongoing Self Reliance Group (SRG),a microcredit program managed by a village-appointed committee. This "teach a man to fish" approach has succeeded in educating locals on the value of saving and investment. Villagers optimistically talk about making the leap from slash and burn agriculture to pig or chicken farming, and more ambitiously, to building modest hydroelectric generators. Uneasy Cohabitation -------------- ¶10. (SBU) For the time being, Chin State is one of the few states where relations between the ethnic population and GOB authorities are not raw. Conoff's questions about resistance groups, such as the Chin National Front (CNF),produced only decade-old war stories. After years of a heavily criticized campaign to convert the Christian Chin to Buddhism, the authorities seem to have backed off. Despite accounts of continued severe harassment of Christians in Chin State and other parts of Burma, local authorities appear to have granted tacit approval for Chin expression and practice of Christianity, as long as it remains modest and within the state's borders. Christian imagery and quotation decorate homes, cars, and horse carts, and choruses of "alleluia" can be heard nightly coming from choir practice in every town. ¶11. (SBU) While restrictions on religious expression and practice have eased, the zealous Chin are keenly aware of the risks of pushing the envelope too far. Conversations about religion with Conoff were characterized by many over-the-shoulder glances and hushed voices. Authorities quickly return local Christian missionaries sent beyond Chin State to proselytize elsewhere in Burma. And the memory of authorities tearing down a giant cross from a local hillside in 2004, shortly after it was erected, is still fresh enough to discourage the Chin from attempting anything on that grand scale soon. ¶12. (SBU) The cost for modest progress in religious tolerance is apparently a loss in political access: fewer and fewer Chin find opportunities at any level of government service, even within their own state. Five years ago, Chin ethnics were present in District and, sometimes, State-level civil service jobs. Now, few Chin hold government jobs, even at the Township level. The only government positions still open to Chin are schoolteachers and nurses, likely because they must live in rural villages. The result is a segregated society with divisions between disadvantaged Christian Chins and the ruling Buddhist Burmans easy to see. ¶13. (SBU) Comment: Chin State's ongoing marginalization in part results from its economic and cultural isolation, but that isolation also results from years of neglect by the GOB. The marginalization of the Chin parallels the situation we observed in Kachin State (reftel) with power increasingly concentrated in ethnic Burman hands. Maintaining three dirt roads is the extent of the GOB's commitment to support Chin State. Chin people today do not aggressively seek more autonomy or appear willing to risk conflict. Rather, they seek to maintain peaceful cohabitation and the limited space for religious practice it offers. Even a state of peaceful cohabitation, however, will not attract development support from the GOB. So the Chin are now learning to help themselves with UNDP support. End Comment. VILLAROSA