Saturday, September 29, 2007

Tulai Kawlram Boruak Khaikhawm:

ziang kan tuah thei mi a um?
Sept. 29, 2007


Leitlun ramtin, ramsung ramlengah a ummi Kawlram milesa pawl hrang ahcun tulai Kawlram thu hi kan thlacam mi le kan ngaihven bik mi asi cio ding. Kawlram misa lawng si loin UN Secutity Council le General Assembly khalah Kawlram thu cu rel tel asi ih UN palai Mr. Gambari khal Kawlram a thleng zo ti cu zapi theh cio asizo. US, UK, EU, Russia, China, le leitlun ramtin ihsin Kawlram thu thawn pehpar in tongkam an thlak cio.kawl ralkap kumpi cu an mawhsiat cio. Ramsung ah phungki tlawng ziangmawzat cu siatsuah in phungkhi ziangmawzat cu vuak le velh, thawng thlak tiang an tuart ti ah thuthang dawn asi. Ramsung misa, le Japan journalist pa telin, mi ziangmawzat an thi zo. Kawlram ralkap kumpi in a simnak vek asile mi pahra tluk an thi ih ralkap sawmthum tluk hliamhma an tuar ti asi. Mi dang simdan vek asile, NPR radio in Yagon ih US embasy hnatuan tu thawn biak awknak vek asile, mi 200 ihsin 300 tluk an thi zo ding an zum. Leitlun thuthang, BBC, CNN, NPR, le ram tin ihsin international thuthangah a lar bik pakhat dinhmun ah a cang zo. 1988 (8888) lai ih cangvaihnak vek si nawn loin ramsung ihsin ralkap cangvai, phungkhi lamzin zawh, phungki tlawng ralkap pawlin an siatsuah mi, Japan pa an kah that lai leiparah a tlu ih a sawltal rero lai, tvp, leitlun khawmual in an zoh thei theh zo. Kawlram pi cu khui lamzin zawh in a feh ih Kawlram mipi hmakhua ah ziang in a hngak, Kawlram misa pakhat cio in ziang kan tuah thei mi a um, cu pawl cu Kawlram misa le leitlun ramtin ah million tel in an ruah bik mi pakhat le zoh ringring mi asi.

Ziangvek hmailam dinhmun kan tong thei?

Sim a harsa hrih lai, a tuan tuk lai, ziangvek dinhmun kan thleng ding timi cu mi tampi theih duh mi asiko nan sim theih asi hrih lo. Asinan, a fiang zetmi, a cang thei mi pawl a um:

· Kawlram uknak cu a tha lam a pan thei: leitlun rampi, US, UK, le ramdang pawl le UN thusim mi ngai in Kawl ralkap hotu pawlin Democracy duhtu, mipi le hotu pawl thawn biak awknak a suahter asile thathnemnak a suak phah thei. Ralkap pawlin tuihlan ih an tumtah mi, “Disciplined democracy” uk awknak dindingin an tumtah mi “Road Map” cu a zamrang thei bik in tuahsuak ding le mipi duhdan tlun ve dingin an tuah asile cucu thatnak bik lam asi thei. (Disciplined Democracy uknak ahcun Kawlram uknak constitution sungah kawl ralkap hrangah 25% parliament sheat reserve sak cia ding le Kawlram uktu lubik cu ralkap hnatuan upa kai dah tu si ding thu a tel.) Atuvek dinhmun asile Kawl ralkap pawlin an tumtah vekin “Disciplined Democracy” uknak din ding cu a hlawhtling lo sinsin ding in a lang.

· Ralkap kumpi a siat thei: ralkap sung lala ah lal cuh awknak a um thei. Mi hrekkhat in “Maung Aye in Than Shwe lalnak a cuh zo” tiah thu a than tla an um rero zo. Cun ralkap sungah hotu pakhatkhat lole burkhatkhat in tlunlam thupek ngai loin mipi an tansawn asile nasa ten ralkap uknak cu kuai thei fawn.
· Ralkap pawlin phungki pawl parah an tuah mi pawl thu ah kawlram mipi le ralkap sung misa lala an lungawi lo ih ralkap kumpi thupek thlun duh loin hna an tuan duh lo asile nasaten ralkap kumpi cun mipi uk thei nawn lo ding khawp in buainak a tong thei fawn.
· Ramsung mipi lakah, Iraq ram vek pawl thawn tahtthim tlak ding khawpin, a thup ralkap (secret army) din in ralkap pawl cu a thupin an do asile ralkap kumpi cun ram uk thitha thei loin a um thei fawn.
· A tuvek fang dinhmun laiah ceased-fire group pawlin letaw aw in kawl ralkap pawl do hai sehla ralkap kumpi cu a harsa sinsin ding. Asinan tutiang cu cuvek thu hla theih mi a um hrih lo.
· UN palai: UN palai, Mr. Gambari in Kawl ralkap le mipi, democracy duh tu pawl karlakah palai tuan in thu tha ruat pi dingin a timtuah mi pawl a pitlin asile thatnak lam a suak thei ve mi a um. Asinan, Kawl ralkap pawlin a nemzawng in biak awknak hi tuihlan tiangah an ngai pawimawh dah lo ruangah tu khalah an ngai pawimawh ding cu mi tamsawn in an zum lo.
· US, UK, ram dang pawl ziangtiang an tel thei: US cun kawlram kumpi economic sanction (kawlram thawn pursum leilawnnak tuahlo dingin) a tuah zo hlei ah Kawl ralkap upa tuanvo nei tu mi pahra pawl ih sumpai neihmi pawl cu US kuthnuai ih a ummi hmuahhmuah sumpai lam pawlkom ihsin phihsak theh ding ti ah thu a suah zo. UK, le EU, ram dang pawl khalin tui hlan hnakin na sinsin in kawl ram ralkap kumpi parah pehtlaihnak tuah an tum. Japan khal, Kawl ralkap pawlin Japan mi pakhat an kapthat mi parah nasa ten a thin a heng. Japan hi Kawlram bawmtu lakah a bawm tam bik tu pakhat asive ih Japan in Kawlram a bawmnak pawl a cawl ter asile Kawl ralkap kumpi hrangah thil pawi zet pakhat asi thei.
· Kawlram misa pawlin ziang an tuah: ramsung ah demonratration tuah sunzawm vivo asi lai hrih. Ramleng um pawl khalin ramtin ah, US, Canada, Norway, Korea, tvp, ramtin ih a ummi kawlram misa pawlin demonstration an tuah.


Ralkap pawl hril ding a mal sinsin:
· Kawlralkap pawlin daihnak in mipi aiawh hruaitu pawl thawn thu tha an rel ding maw, buainak nasa sinsin an tong ding maw, cumi pahnih hril ding an nei. Thu thaten rel loin tuihlan vekin hriamhrei hmangin an fehpi tum vivo asile kawlram sungah thisen suah awknak nasa sinsin a suak thei.


Ramleng um kawlram misa pawlin ziang kan tuah thei mi a um:

1. Demonstration tuah: mah le umnak cio ihsin mai umnak kumpi le thunei tu, International organization, UNO, tivek pawl hmaiah demonstration tuah, duh lonak le duhnak langter;
2. Thlacamnak: kawlram misa pawl hi sakhuanak lam ngaihven zetmi kan si vekin Kawlram thatnak ding hrang thlacam khawmnak tuah hi a thupi zet;
3. Sumpai thawh: Kawlram ram uknak a thleng awk nak ding hrangah sumpai neihsun lak ihsin thawh khawm in Kawlram uknak thleng awknak ding hrangah cangvaihnak bawm hi zo cio khal tuah thei mi asi. Tuah thei mi dang lakah a awlsam zet mi pakhat khal asi. Kawlram ramsungah a cang mi thu hla pawl leitlun hmun tintian, ram uktu le leitlun in a theihpi dingin ausuahpinak lamah sumpai thawn bawm ding hi zocio khal in tuah thei mi asi.Tuisan cu “information age” (Thuhla in rorel san) asi vekin ralkap thawnghra le meithal AK47 thawnghra thawn Kawl ralkap kumpi cu voilekhat ah cerek thawnghran thawn na kap hnakin ramsungah Kawl ralkap pawlin mipi, sualnak nei lo, an thah lai, an hrem lai, thiltha lo an tuah lai leitlun khawmualah na than mi hin hmual a nei sawn. Curuangah, mi zocio khalin Kawlram thatnak ding hrangah a neihsun sumpai malte thawn a tuah thei mi cu “Ramsung ah a cang rero mi thuthang, thudik, leitlun khawmual ah ausuahpi, theihter, cuvek ausuahpi nak ding hrangah a ausuahpi tu pawl sumpai in bawm” hi asi.

Mah le umnak, dinhmun cio ihsin mah le tithei tawk kan ram thatnak ding hrang thlaza cam phah in tang cio uhsi.



Thursday, September 27, 2007

Cast your opinion on the current Burma crisis?

Its been almost two decades since the "8888" event changed the whole course of the nation Burma. I was a university student at the time. Now, its been a long yourney for me and my fellow generation.

Hope this time, less people die, more positive result will follow, and the shorter the fight, I pray.

Share you opinion, throw your feeling, your effort, to help Burma free from military oppresion.

Share your journey nad prayer!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Will The CHin Kill Their National Leaders?


Will the Chins kill their national leader?: If there were a person, like Martin Luther King, Aung San, Mahatma Handhi, among Chin, do you think our people will kill him?


Leadership transition is one of the biggest challenges this generation’s challenges that tradition societal leadership, tribal chieftainship and the post tribal leadership under the Burmese military dictatorship left the Chin people’s societal leadership system in chaos. At a result, public trust on societal leadership is totally incapacitated. However, compared to the world around us and many extremist societies, the Chins still have positive aspects of channeling influence. All human societies around the world needs and have come across changes; leadership changes, social changes, policy changes, and those changes were usually caused by sometimes natural social evolution, war, conflicts, and other times, by social movement or political changes. In America, according to one social survey group, 40% of the population always resists social change and 20% always fight against such changes. Among Chins, after 100 years of Christianity, trust on religious leaders is down to the lowest ever, of not down to the bottom. After 100 years of cease of tribal war and after almost 50 years from our forefathers singed Palong agreement and the Falam declaration of joint agreement to establish a democratic society, the Chins have lost trust in societal leadership and people have lost the morally driving force of collective value system. What changes must be taken and who is to stand for such changes?

In the world societies, for the cost of social political changes, leaders paid the price; in Burma Aung San and the martyrs paid the price, in India Mahatma Ghandi, for the blacks in AMeirca Martin Luther King Jr. all of them have paid the price for the social change they had dreamed for.

If Aung San were alive today and live as a Chin, he must be fighting the Burman rulers to free the Chin people from oppression and to open up public opportunities equally accessible for all Chins. Aung San was the enemy of those Burman leaders who wanted to contain the political opportunities within their Burman inner circle leadership. If Aung San were alive today and live among Chins as a Chin, he or she must face the amenity of those leaders who want to contain all public opportunities within their own inner circle group of political social affiliation based on politics, tribes or clans.

Martin Luther King Jr. stood for the spirit of the letter of the America constitution that says “All men are created equal.” He stood for social justice and fought against the manipulators of the spirit of the open social contract of mutual existence as one nation one country. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor, a preacher, as well as a social activist. If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today among Chin and live as a Chin, he must be fighting social injustice, the manipulators of all social political opportunities for the benefits of a handful group of people and those who kill the spirit of the unwritten social contracts and our forefathers’ agreement the fundamental principles of common existence of all Chins together as one people under one societal leadership.

Mahatma Gandhi stood for the freedom of Indian people and peaceful co-existence of all races and religions in harmony. Gandhi was called a priest, philosopher, national leader, as well as a politician. If Gandhi were alive and live as a Chin among Chins, he must be fighting against those leaders who caused division, factions, and fragmentation of the Chin people. He must be fighting religious leaders who caused hatred and division among families, friends, and members of one community. He must be also fighting social political leaders who cultivate hatred and division and manipulated it for personal political gain.

If Aung San, Ghandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today and live among Chins as Chins, will they be killed by the Chins? 72% online poll voters believe that they could be killed, 33% believe that they definitely be killed. (Not that we believe and totally depend on the poll voters’ opinion, from real world observation, it is obvious that our people need social revival, reformation, to overcome overdue negative mental deposition and psychological enslavement of hatred and fear and distrust).

Have you noticed similar things (although it might be much less significant) going on in the socio political as well as religious community you live now? Will you stand for change or against it?

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See below from the poll data:


Will the Chins kill their national leader?: If there were a person, like Martin Luther King, Aung San, Mahatma Handhi, among Chin, do you think our people will kill him?
Yes, definitely!
11 (33%)

No,
7 (21%)

May be
13 (39%)

Don't know
2 (6%)

Vote on this poll
Votes: 33

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A Historical Call

Today’s generation faces the challenges culturally, socially, politically, and morally. For decades, the shape and image of the Chin society is collapsed, the social order distorted, the political system completely immersed, and the moral trend totally derailed. Economically, people are poor, hangry, angry, devastated, and to get a daily food is the greatest challenge of the day for most majority Chins inside the country. People are disorganized, fragmented, and diversified. There is an outstanding historical call, no one has answered yet. Who will answer the call?

Before the British’s invasion, our people enjoyed the fruit of their labor nature provided. The social order was well structured, though the political system could have been better. Economically, though primitive in nature, people were well fed. Citizens were happy and submissive to the rule of their own respective chiefs, for they received, in return, protection, social esteem, and confidence in soceital leadership. Celebration and festivities kept all traditions alive, passing the Chin proprieties on to the next generation. The justice system protected all citizens equally without giving any advantage to anyone and with special consideration to the poor and needy. Once, the Chins were famous and welknown to others, for their moral integrety, honesty, courage, truthfulness, hard working, passionate, loving, and altruistic attitude in society. Now, the suppposed to be morally higher religion, Christianity fails to enforce moral principles in the Church as well as in the society, love, unity, and harmonous human relations have been cornerned.Everyone has to meet his or her daily end by any means.

The societies of the world around us develop every second, minute, day and night.The globilization opens up doors to the far or near neighboring countries to penetrate inside the land our people occupy and share. Our poverty becomes more obvious which become shame and burdensome to the world and to our young generation. In search of means to meet human wants and curiousity, our people travel around the world, adapting both good and bad life styles, bahaviour and way of life. Most, if not all, advanced young generation travel abroad or left the Chin Hills for search of a better life. The Chin society totally lost its regime value control system that anything that safices a temporary human curiousity is justified in both public as well as privite life. Now, the call comes to every Chin to manuver the turn of hisotry in favor of the longtime collective interest of all Chins.

Formerly, in the Chin society, the poor, the needy, and the least fortunate individuals and families were helped by members of the community; food, shelter, and volunteer services were provided freely. The poor and helpless enjoyed the collective status quo of the people in the scoceity; comfort, belongingness, and collective protection created a healthy social environment. Now, the marchants, politicians, travelers, businessmen and women bring home both financial wealth and strange moral attitude and behaviours, overriding the pre-existing value system in the society. Politically, the Chins are fragmented, diversified, and totally lost the collective vision and endevour for the future of the Chin people. Citizens disengaged from public agendas, and distance from national politics and essential progressive social development, leaving the turn of history at the hand of a few key players of non Chins. Traditionaly, our forefathers managed our own national course, drew the lines for reciporcal human relations, governed our own soceity, protecting and preserving our own proprieties. Now, the Chin people’s history is emersed into the historical sea of mounring and lamentation. The call, hisotrical call, is outstanding, WHO WILL GO!
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POLL SUMMARY, Sept. 11, 2007


It might surprise some, that one part of the ancient saying “Falam and sex (fala), Tedim and Meat, and Hakha and Alcohol (zuu)” appeared to be true, if the mock-poll result is taken as true at its assumption value, assuming all voters (46 all Chins and 32 Falam) are different individuals with honest to their own opinion and reality.

In the poll for all Chins in English, there are 46 votes cast and 32 votes in Falam. The interesting part is that the “all Chins” group has much higher virginity rate (28%) than that of the Falam group (21%) as virgin or never had sex before marriage. Also when asked, if “you had used sex too many times before marriage,” the all Chin group 17% and Falam 28% voted as yes. It makes sense?

Compared to the Americans whose statistics shows 95% as who have had sex before marriage against 5% virginity, the Chins (all Chins) 71% against 28% virginity, and Falam group 78% against 21% virginity, the Chins have much more virginity rate; 5% (American) vs. 28% (Chins).

Even if we say the Falams are sexier than the rest Chins, 21% virginity is much higher than the 5% of the Americans.

To understand people’s sexual behaviors is very important not only for moral/religious purpose but also for health, social and economics issues in the society, if not politics (like in the white house).



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Today’s Challenges to Chin Pastors and religious leaders

In human history, there were times when the bad ruled and also when the good ruled as well and time when the ugly ruled the society. It all times, religious leader’s played a pivotal role to pave the moral path of the people, clearing the cloud in a midst of darkness and clouds. Today, the Chin people have been undergoing unpredicted challenges, morally, spiritually, social and politically which put religious leaders under unusually pressure and temptations. Will the Chin religious leaders stand firm to guard the moral integrity of the Chin people or will they be drawn along the massive derail of the people’s moral?

Recently, I have conducted a mock-poll, asking several moral issues questions. The overall responses proved that the Chin people’s distrust to their leaders whether political or religious ones and their moral trend that shows nothing better or more conservative than the westerners. Although the poll by no means perfectly provides reliable statistics, it provides a clue of the general view from where we can draw conclusion on people’s opinion on the issues. Compared to politicians, the Chin pastors, in the opinion of 30 voters, are worse than politicians. 36% voted pastors as worse, 40% voted for pastors and politicians as the same, while only 26% voted as politicians worse then pastors.

The question is, what bad or negative impacts the Chin pastors have in the society? The answers would be given from the following questions? Do the Chin pastors accept opportunities, wealth, name and fame unfairly (if not unjustly or/and illegally)? Do they promote love and harmonious in the society (not hatred and disunity)? Do they cultivate hatred or love? Do they, with divine authority, enforce the morality of Christian belief? Do they accept blood money at the altar? Do they welcome bloody politicians with respect in the Church or do they counsel corruption and deadly destructive activities among the Chin people? Do they envision future prospect for the well being of the Chin people? A lot more questions to poll.

In the religious text (the Bible), pastors/religious leaders were leaders of the society that involve guarding the morality of public decision making process, fairness in distribution of wealth, opportunities, and human relations, and in protecting the needy and lower class of citizens. And of course, they were all the time, defenders of the truth. Now, our people are hungry, depressed, unhappy, and travel around the world, where the circumstances required them to tell lie, to meet their ends by any means. Will the Chin pastors and religious leaders stand for the truth that serves the whole Chin people, who God has made as one people? Will the Chin pastors and religious leaders serve the greater good of all Chin people against lower good that serve only one individual, denomination or tribe or clan or group when such goods are contradictory in nature and function?
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The Great Disruption to Chin Society
Hre MangMay 2006

It has been the round the world that the post modern culture shaped the modern socio cultural norms, reshaping the global social order and threatening the survival of tradition and permanent culture without guaranteeing replacement with systematic and perfect social order. Being among backward and least developed societies, the Chin society has recently undergone dramatic disruption to its social order and value system, restructuring itself with mixed norms and socio cultural practices which leaves many ignorant civilians in limbo, and the collective moral trend in cripple stage. The impacts of contemporary world order, globalization, change in socio economic trend, ongoing Chin political condition, and the recent mass movement of the Chin people, all together shape the existing social order, introducing the uncertain social environment. Most of the driving factors appeared to be beyond the control of social actors, politicians, religious leaders and leaders of the Chin communities, although giving social awareness to conscious citizens may still worth at least some extent to the preservation of the invaluable social tenets for the longtime survival of the Chin cultural identity.

Having said that for the sake of self-reflection and public social awareness, lets look at some important factors and their contribution to the great disruption to Chin society.The incomplete social cultural transition: traditional to Christianity and church’s failure to maintain its claimed moral principles and social standardsLooking back to the recent Chin history, the arrival of Christianity, along with the political transition from independent tribal cities to colonized state, was the greatest historical landmark that put the Chin society into transitional. Unfortunately and unlike the Mizo society in India , the social development has been stagnated by the unpleasant political condition in Burma . The transition from traditional animism to Christianity, of course, is to say almost completed. However, the internal transformation of the people’s belief system and valua system still has along way to go. The outward social structural transition from politically chieftainship and religiously evil spirit worship orientation is completed that the contemporary Chin society now is politically, in nature, democratic and Christian in religion.

Traditionally, the Chin society imposed its unwritten moral norms to citizens by offering security and belongingness to its members, on the other hand, by imposing punitive action, depositing fear and shame, fear of shame in the minds of its members not to break the unwritten moral and social norms. The common sense played a pivotal role. Although physical facilities were limited to implement the social standard, the society’s authority, the people’s common sense and submission to society put all things in order to maintain social justices and moral norms of the day. Following the fall of traditional social order and political structure, the new social order introduced by Christianity as well as by the Burmese political administration were weak to reframe the whole set of the Chin people’s belief system and moral core value. Although part of the ritual practices were kept unchanged, in many aspects, the underlining social and moral principles of the new order failed to provide simple and efficient guideline to ordinary citizens in order to follow a collective moral standard. Therefore, it is still in question, do the Chins adopt the whole pack of western style Christian culture, or maintain part of the tradition as guide to the modern social order, or will the influence of the neighboring societies suffice the demand of the essential social elements for the new social order? A short answer would be, the combination of all.Cultural infiltration:The Chins are the most fortunate ethic group in Burma to be able to resist the strong cultural infiltration of the Burmese dictators’ burmanization policy implemented through the dictatorship political system.

The Burmese military leaders tried to burmanized the Chins by all means of social economic, tradition, culture, and education and by the political administration. One of the social factors that helps the Chins prevent from the shaping of the Burmanization programs is religion that mass majority of Chins are Christians and secondly a clean ethnic blood line, absence of the inter-marriage between the Chins and Burman that is still minimal in its impact. Until today, the Chins still stay ethnically and religiously untouched by the non-chin ethnics, surviving the intrusive social cultural and political administration of the military govt.However, there are negative impact to the Chin society as a result of the cultural infiltration program implemented by the Burmese military govt., such as in literature, arts, business and social contracts that contaminated the Chin people’s social order and moral principles. One of the worst and foremost thing is the Rangoon govt.’s created “ dependency culture” by cutting all opportunities, human rights, and privileges that implicating that the Chin people would always psychologically be filled with dependency on the Rangon gvt., threatening the survival of independent mentality both at individual level as well as the Chin people as a whole ethnic group. In many places, the Chin boys and girls can no longer think of living without the Burmese songs and entertainments. In some places, even the religious congregations use Burmese as their common language when there are a few non-Chin speaking members attend the congregation.Due to such systematic cultural war, the Chin history, tradition, and cultural heritages are diminishing day by day. The young Chin generation do not have opportunity to learn their history, language, literature in formal school, and have no means to preserve and develop their cultural heritages.

Politically, due to the Burmese military leaders’ oppressive attempt to marginalize the Chin social cultural and ethnic identity, the national pride of the Chin people is under challenged and sense of self-determination and independent identity is put under control and freedom beyond dream. With the bloody oppressive history, in the minds of the Chin people, psychological fear is deposited, and the Burman supremacy ideal threatened the individual identity of the Chin people.Economically, by blocking all possible development inside Chin state, the young Chin generation have to go outside their land and work for living whether inside or outside Burma. When working inside Burma , the Chins have to be proselytes or be assimilated into the Burman way of life, especially when the nature of the business required direct contact with the Burma people of government . And when working with government, the Chins have to learn the corruptive administration and bribery business practices. Controlling all opportunities at hand, both in private as well as in public sector, the Burmese military dictators treat the Chins as second class citizens, manipulating all opportunities and offering those opportunities to the Chins in exchange of their national and socio cultural identity.

Needless to say, for social cultural development and preservation, there are no means provided by the central government. Moreover, no freedom to organize and assemble, and no formal education system that would enhance the health of the Chin social and cultural identity. In school, the school uniform Burman typical dress is compulsory for all school children. The national anthem, songs and literatures, all are in Burmese language that many young Chins can no longer able to write and read in Chin and have lost the taste of their own literature, social cultural heritages.

The politics of burmanization has double impacts to the young Chin generation.The increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots:The sense of Chin people’s intrinsic moral quality and human concern is almost death. Wealth is gained thru several steps of briberies, underneath table business and black marketing. In the Chin traditional society, wealth was gained thru hard labor and diligent saving and was well respected. The altruistic human concern of the wealthy and the haves in the society built the society as a whole, without a single street beggar in the whole Chin society. The widows and least fortunate in the society were helped and the essential assistances were provided by the community members. However, under the rule of the Burmese dictatorship, and the corruptive economic practices, people’s morality and ethnical standard has been greatly disrupted.

Today, the unequal distribution of public resources and opportunities, black marketing, illegal trades become vital channels to increase wealth. The respect for the intrinsic moral integrity, altruistic public attitude, and social justice no longer dominate the basic principles of human relation and social contract. At the same time, the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots forced people to strive toward achieving wealth and property possession at all costs, setting aside altruistic and voluntary contribution toward the collective good all. Even at the cost of once mostly highly regarded moral value, people now strive for material wealth and possession.Civic disengagement and decreasing social capitalSince before the invasion of the west, the Chin society have had village council system to manage public affairs where elders of the community got involved in the decision making processes for the collective good of all. Destroying the whole decision making mechanism, the oppressive Burmese military rule marginalized the rule of citizens in the government’s decision-making process. Not only at government level, but also the existence and role of civil society is restricted and kept under the complete control of the centralized dictatorship government.

Needless to say, the civic engagement in public affairs has been not only systematically marginalized but also threatened. As the free _expression of ideas, opinions, feelings in forms of arts, literature, and media or otherwise is restricted, and the fear psyche is deposited to people’s minds that the civic engagement in public affairs become impossible and un-attempted, totally leaving the course of the public management at the hand of the military leadership and their puppet public administrators.Therefore, in the minds of general public, the limitation of the role of the government, the rights and responsibility and moral obligation of individuals, the role of civil society and social cultural rights, the universal basic norms of social contracts in human relation, are unclear and remained as unanswered questions. The individual’s political, social, or economic survival becomes one’s basic striving object at all cost. When the individual survival at any cost becomes the most striving thing, the collective moral value and the pursuit of collective good play no more important role in human relation. The Burman saying “Betu ti-ti nga matizin pi-zaw” (whoever dies as long as I survive, that’s enough) becomes the bottom line principle of social relation for all sojourners of the day.

Dismantling the traditional value system, there has been no underlining qualified moral principle that determinately dictates the moral behaviors of individuals. The bad, the good, and the ugly all are well accepted based on one’s relationship to the bad rulers or based on one’s skill to approach to the corrupted system and get advantages of it.Altruistic moral obligation toward fellow members of the society, the collective moral force of the society, and the individuals’ civic engagement to public affairs, all have been vanished. And all public resources and opportunities, available social capitals, are distributed and shared among the opportunists and most aggressive and unconsidered individuals, dis-encouraging public civic engagement and raising the essential social capital to build up national foundation of today’s generation. Trust, whether to the government, to the system or between individual citizens, is at its lowest that no one can be trusted any longer that forced individuals to withdrawal from civic engagement and vlountary contribution to the collective public good. As a result, the available social capital is at its lowest level.LiesIn the Chin traditional society, liar never won public respect, whether the color of the lie was white, black, blue or colorless. Liar can never serve in the village council, become as a priest for animist worshipers, or serve as a diplomat. Lying was a shameful act. However, today can any adult escape from lie? Can today’s pastor, who had to travel outside the state to gain his education or to get connected with his foreign sponsors, or to gain more members against the rival churches in the city, escape from lie? Can a government servant, working with the military government survive without lying? Can a business man inside the country get rich without telling lie or without engaging with any immoral business practices? Can a politician be honest and still be happy with the military dictators? Can the pro-democratic activist or leaders gain enough fund without telling lie? Can the so called pro-democratic leaders travel country to country without telling lie to embassies or to travel agents? Or without gaining fake ids? Can a refugee or political asylum seekers gain their legal protection and status without telling lie? These questions might come across many of the readers’ minds when thinking the role of lie in the Chin society. When lie is no longer regarded as lie, or lie is justified by its end, or when lie becomes a constant behavioral practice, the society, at its underneath bottom, is eroded with potential consequences of total destruction.The matter of fact here is not simply blaming all the modern liars or experts liars or preofeeional liars or to reveal their shame, but what are the dangers those lies impost to the Chin society-the double impacts of moral derail. First, respect for honesty and sincere behavior play no more important role and “shame” no longer post threat to those liars’ credibility. Having been addicted to systematic lie, one can still shamelessly claim for place in the public. Having enjoyed the benefits of lying, one directly or indirectly encourages others to take the same steps. So lying becomes a well-accepted behavior. Second, the problem with lie is that one lie requires the second lie to cover the first and the second requires the third lie to cover its ugliness side, and so on. So that lie becomes most protected behavior than honesty, sincerely, or even more than the intrinsic moral quality of our forefathers. Thirdly, lying has its psychological side affects to the liars. If one is gifted with a skill of reading human psychological screen, he or she might have noticed the consequential syndromes among leaders-the tilting of their lips, how often they put their fingers inside their nose in public place, the color of bloodline inside their eyes, the unusual movement of their heads, their inhuman reaction to their opponents, etc. Lastly, lying has severe destructive follow up, that once one lies, one becomes a liar and a liar hates the truth or the defenders of the truth or people who are in the side of the truth. In other word, the day one lies the battle begins. Once one lies, he or she hates people who knows his or her lies, and hates people who do not lie.

Hatred is one of the most destructive elements to the health of one’s human soul. Especially, when those expert liars become public leaders, their action encourages lies and destruction of the traditional moral values. Therefore, lying posts dangerous consequential behaviors to Chin society at every level, individual, family, community, and society as a whole. If honesty and sincerity are threatened and lie dominantly survive, the total moral derail will cause greater pain for many to serve the interests of a few in the future Chin society. In addition, lie also serves to increase hatred and distrust among individuals as well as tribal groups, and when those factors are manipulated and cultivated to promote particular tribal group’s political or tribal interest, it works like poisonous venom, destroying unity and the collective force of the Chin people.

Backward political trend: tribal politics vs. democratizationBefore the invasion of the west, the Chin tribal groups never been under one political administration. During the rule of the British, the Chin people were under the control of several administrative regions and the Chins never been united as one people one nation. Having overcome the British colonization, the Chin people realized the historical challenge posted by the world around them and that all Chins who joint to the Union of Burma came to unite under one political administrative region. Not only that the sense of oneness was enhanced by the declaration of the Chin People conference held in Falam city in 1948. However, the sense of oneness as one people one nation still lacked in-depth influence to segments of the Chin society as well as at individual level. Meanwhile, to enhance such sense of belongingness toward one united people group, there were no political system to facilitate the essential means, leaving the Chin society internally segmented and fragmented, surviving just like amalgamation of several small tribal groups. Nevertheless, due to lack of political choices and exercise of individuals wills, the fragile ethnic setting of the Chin people still stay below the surface of the Burma politics.

Here we go! The 1998 Burma pro-democratic movement stimulated hundreds of young Chins. A few, if not none, might notice their own internal tribal mindset at that time, embracing democracy as an ideological savior of the age. When choices are at hand and when one can freely exercise his or her political free will in exile or in the peripherals, the reality of the young Chins’ tribal mindsets wholly revealed. The term “Chin” could no longer help the young Chins see their brethren equally and undividedly. Many came to acknowledge the different tastes of their touches and knots when mingled with other activists from different tribes, favoring members of one’s own tribal group, and becoming unpreventable not to play such mental impulses to gain political favors from one’s tribal group. Therefore, the correct description of the young Chins’ pattern of political thoughts become obvious-that is tribalism, not nationalism. Although, most of the time, if not always, they like the term “national”, their pattern of thoughts provoked them move with their tribal political mentality, with a strong zeal to contain all political opportunities and chances within one tribal group against the rest.Speaking in terms of real world description, the nature of current existing Chin political parties and organizations are solely tribal parties and organizations, not reflecting the whole scope of national image. (Keeping in minds that like the northeastern tribal groups, who the Indian government categorized them under schedule tribes, the Chins may not like being categorized as tribal). For example, the Mara People Party is the political party of the Mara Tribal group, the Zo mi National Congress (ZNC) is the political party of the tribal group who identified themselves as Zomi, and the Chin National Front (CNF) is the armed political party of the Hakha tribal group who mainly occupied the Haka and Thlantlang districts, etc. Therefore, when the existing political parties organized themselves and formed a council called Chin National Council (CNC) that becomes the political alliances of certain tribal groups of the Chins particularly who identified themselves as Zomi and laimi. Not only political association, but the religious and social organization reveal the reality of the Chin people’s pattern of tribal political thoughts. For example, wherever and whenever the Chin people happened to live in a closed locality whether inside or outside Burma , their religious and social organization always reflect their tribal settings.

There is nothing wrong or no one to blame unless one wants to blame God. However, ignorance or over-emphasizing or manipulating such facts may or already have caused unnecessary pain and loss. In short, the pre-independent tribal politics is now recalled and tribal politics becomes a threat to the Chin National cause as well as to the democratization of the Chin society that unless otherwise correctly handled all the twists and turns of the contemporary political trend inside and outside Burma , the political trend is seriously challenged by tribal politics. In other word, the return of tribalism collides with the progress of democratization.


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Xth Birth reflection (2007)


To see time as it is:

To see time as it passes is one of the things I learn thing. I also see a sleeping man always see time as standing tall. To carry things of the past and to let them harm today and tomorrow is one of the most foolish and worthless things people can’t avoid.Scrutinizing my inside, I discover lots of unwanted fragments the past deposited at the deep bottom of my soul structure that produces no good but being hardwired at the flat wall that enslaved the productivity of my future. It needs strength to pass all that are of the past and push the future with maximum effort, capacity, and energy for a better tomorrow.

Impairment:

There were times when I was intellectually impaired due to the pressure of my wants, extreme zeal and due to the painful force of the life scars but thank God that I was aware of myself being impaired by such my own mental impulses that helped me prevent myself from executing words and actions of maximum stupidity that I might hit the wall of impossibility. That I came to learn the existence of things that can impair human minds and that can foolishly and dangerously employ human capacity to serve self serving interest or even suicidal action of human foolishness, hurting the greater cause of the greater numbers, for the sake of personal greediness and self serving interest. I came to learn that ignorance is the enemy of success and destroyer of the happiness of the ignorant.

Spiritually:

When the devil wrestled me and threw me down, I hit my forehead on the floor, stretched out my two hands and cried to God, “Lord, every thing is in your hand and the purpose and end goal of my life is to glorify your name. I know you have purpose in creating me in your own image and saving me by the blood of your Son. I know, the devil can never take away the blessing you have placed before me and the devil cannot also prevent you from accomplishing your purpose in me. The purpose of my existence is to glorify your name.” The Lord heard my prayer.In times of spiritual battle:There were also times when my physical body was crushed; I did remember what Job said “My skins cling on my bones.” When I felt like standing at the gate of death village, I did remember what Paul said, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure” that I thought I was not that far from sharing the pain of their sufferings. But all those times were the best times I ever spent closest with God and when I heard God’s voice the closest ever. So that I can now say, like Paul, “When I am weak I am strong.” Moreover, those were the best times, when I searched myself deepest ever and discovered the untold stories about me and myself.

Mistake and failures:

Failure or mistake at least that of minimum damage is unavoidable, I learnt. People taught me that someone who dares not to make mistake never achieve high. People also taught me that there are people who will always keep my mistakes and failures forever as their best weapons to attack my personality and mission. We all humans are like babies who love to learn how to walk by scrawling and by falling times after times. That there are things to know and no one will ever know them all. Therefore, it is important to me that to try to avoid mistake whenever and wherever possible by careful approach to all walks of life and by utilizing the available resources and knowledge for the maximum benefits and happiness of me and the people I serve.Criticism and adversaryThere are slanderers, gossipers and the masks at all corners of the world. Many times, I myself was tempted to fall in such lower life line. They will always see and tell the negative aspects of others or even lies with or without purpose or for being addicted to such mouth practices. But I learnt to take all words that are directed to me as tools for learning about myself and my actions and deeds. If their intention is for good, I pay them good credits and if they released their words with ill intention or for being addicted to do so, I would rather pray for them that they might have a better way of seeing things and learning from all sources for their own betterment and happiness. If they lie I would simply watch them, for liars they themselves are the victims of their own lies, the merciless psychological consequences awaited ahead of them. On the other hand, not telling about things when they are deadly gone wrong is moral sin of the timid and the selfish ones. Taking such noble task to prevent one’s fellow human being from committing deadly sins and crimes against the public interest and the people’s happiness is the task of every noble and prudent citizens of our time.About othersIt is extra ordinary thing, I belief, to see people as God’s images. My mission to others is simple, with the best of my capacity and ability vested in me, to help them attain their maximum potential and highest happiness in life that involve sometimes telling the truth about correct path of life whether spiritual or socio political in nature.

(Among Chins: I want to see that our people achieve their maximum happiness by avoiding painful conflicts and eliminating hatred and social political evils of the days that victimized poor citizens to serve the interest of the foreigners or a few people among the Chins, and by equal distribution of public resources and opportunities with fair and just, reciprocal human relation as brethren of one decent.)

Happy birthday!

It is one of the greatest blessings to know how to always be happy regardless of the world around us.Family:I value my family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 2006 Bithday Reflection XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reflection (2006)


A Brief Reflection

HM: Macrch 8, 2006.

When I was born, I had no idea what my world would stand forGrowing up under the warmest love and care of my parents,Ignorance had helped me bypassed all the evils around meCompetitively growing up in both physical as well as rationalI have come to realize the sense of joy, pain and discontentThere were times when I passed young and ambitious agesThat stimulated mental impulses made me committed for valid reasonsFollowed by a massive contradiction of moral imperatives and real world experiencesIn other words, there were times, when things happened at far opposite corner against human willsSuch time is invaluable, though painful, to learn things beyond normal circumstancesThroughout such learning period, these are a few remarkable feelings:

There were times when I felt like standing at the valley of deathThere were times when I felt like walking thru fires but as though I'm clothed with iron skinsThere were times when I felt like passing thru thorny bushes but as though I have no sense of painIn spite of all, the scars of life made my skins harder and my life more capableI learnt that experiencing things is one thing and being victimized by it is another thingExperiencing pain is the best way to teach about the goodness of healingExperiencing hatred, rejection, and being slandered is a test to one's soul

Experiencing things opposite to one's wills also is a test tool to one's insightAbout all, experience that made me realized my constant need for God becomes my best teacherSeeing one's own self as God sees helps me see God's image in othersSeeing God's power that works in man made clear the vanity of anything that stands on His way That the matchlessness and richness of the universal designer determines a clear meaning of lifeIn spite of all human weaknesses and failures, when I am informed that the purpose of my creatorAnd my designer, in me, is met, my soul wholly content, wanting nothing more than His holy presence.

This is the path my soul has gone thru that I wish all who share the path would enjoy the Way!

May God Bless You!=++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++"Hatred is the weapon of the timids and the weaks, but forgiveness, of the strong