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ROAD TO HAKHA CHIN STATE MYANMAR

Presentation · September 2017

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18261.73440

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http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2017-5-september-october/last-
words/close-bus-plunge-myanmar
The national magazine of the Sierra Club
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*This* Close to a Bus Plunge in Myanmar

Now I know why my fellow passengers prayed before we left
ILLUSTRATION BY LA JOHNSON
The bus ride to Hakha, a city in Myanmar's northern Chin State,
begins with a prayer for a safe journey. It's just after dawn on a
drizzly gray Monday in the provincial border city of Kale. I was
supposed to leave the day before, but although Myanmar is a
predominantly Buddhist nation, Chin is a Christian state, so no
buses depart on Sunday.
Eleven of us on the bus bow our heads in prayer. There are two
men who have claimed the back row, four women, and one very
happy baby, who, over the course of the ride, will be passed
around to spread her joy. I am the only foreigner, because Hakha
isn't on the tourist trail. I'm not a tourist, though. I'm here to report
on climate change.
I have been in Myanmar for five days, and I am traveling alone.
My brain, fogged by erratic sleep and the task of processing so
much newness, has defaulted to passivity. I observe much,
question little. The prayer strikes me as unusual, though—when
was the last time a Greyhound bus ride began with a prayer?
As I sit in this cramped minibus, head bowed, a thick wash of
memory rolls over me: of my Catholic school days, of yellow
school buses, of rituals like this. Hours later, I realize that the
prayer wasn't ritual; it was insurance.
On maps the road is a thin ribbon snaking along the Chin Hills,
taking us up to 7,000 feet, down to 1,000 feet, then back up again
in a meandering roller coaster. Although badly deforested, Chin
State still appears lush. There are beautiful—if young—forests,
waterfalls, and tiny towns with homes built on stilts, dangling off
the sides of cliffs.
Google says the 110-mile trip will take three hours and 49
minutes. Locals say seven hours. In the end it takes 11. At some
points the holes and crevices occupy more surface than the road
itself.
The bus bumps and lurches, and my knuckles ache from gripping
the seat. There are no seat belts. The road is designated for two-
way traffic, but it's only wide enough for one and a half. We honk
aggressively around blind turns and slow down when the road
puts us within inches of its edge. There are no guardrails.
Because of deforestation, when it rains the road is buried under
waves of rock and soil. Climate change is causing erratic and
intense rainfall and thus more road damage. Seven hours in, the
bus plows through what the driver thinks is a puddle but is really a
deep pothole. A large rock at its bottom gets wedged behind a
wheel, jolting us to a stop.
Behind us forms a line of cars and buses that can't squeak past.
Eventually a rope is procured and we are towed out. We are
going up again, higher into the mist-ringed mountains. I notice
that the mileage markers resemble gravestones. The baby falls
asleep. Taking her cue, I do the same.
It's the screaming that wakes me up. The road is veering toward
the right. Despite the driver's best effort, the bus is not.
Something must have broken back there in the pothole. We can
no longer turn right and are heading off the road, which is to say
off the mountain. A friend who'd worked in Myanmar told me that
when a person dies in public here, photos of their dead body often
surface on social media. I'm thinking, "I don't want to end up on
Myanmar Facebook" as the bus stops a foot from the cliff's edge.
The bus is finished. I make it to Hakha in an SUV that another
passenger flags down. I wonder if I can use my travel insurance
to helicopter out. Then I realize that this is everyday life for people
here. I'd come to observe climate change's impacts; the road
forced me to actually experience them. I pray. I take the road
back out. I do not end up on Myanmar Facebook.
This article appeared in the September/October 2017 edition with
the headline "The Road to Hakha."
https://burma.irrawaddy.com/article/2017/09/03/141942.html

ဘုရ ားဝတ်ပ ြုပ ား သ ားရတဲ့ ဟ ားခ ားလမ်ား

ချင်ားတတ င်တန်ားတ ေါ်မ ကကံဲ့ကကံဲ့ခံ တမ င်ားတနဆ ဂျစ်က ားတစင်ား / ဧရ ဝတ

By Kendra Pierre-Louis 3 September 2017

ပမန် မ နင
ု ်ငံ အတန က်ဘ က် ုင်ား၊ ချင်ားပ ည်နယ်၏ ပမြုြို့တတ ် ဟ ားခ ားသ ု သ
ဲ့ ားတရ က်မညဲ့ ် ခရားစဉ်ကု
ဘုရ ားဝတ်ပ ြုပခင်ားပြင် ဲ့ စတင်ပခင်ားသည် လမ် ားခရားတင် အနတရ ယ် ကင်ားတစရန် ပြစ်၏။
ပ ည်နယ်နယ်စ ် ပမြုြို့ ပြစ်တသ ကတလားပမြုြို့ မ မုား ြြနင် ဲ့ မှုန် ျတနဆ နံ နက်တစ တစ တင် စတင်
ထက်ခ ခဲ့သ ည်။ စ တရားသူမ ယမန် တန ဲ့ တနဂဂ တ နတနက
ဲ့ ဟ ားခ ားသ ု သ
ဲ့ ားရန် ပြစ် တသ ်လည်ား
ချင်ားပ ည်နယ်သ ည် ဗုဒ္ ဓ ဘ သ လွှ မ်ား မုားတသ ပမန် မ နင
ု ်ငံမ ခရစ်ယ န် ပ ည်နယ် ပြစ်တသ တကက င် ဲ့
တနဂဂ တ နတနတ
ဲ့ င် မည်သ ညဲ့ ် ဘတ်စ်က ားမျှ မထက်တ ။

ဘတ်စက ားတ ေါ်မ စ တရားသူတု ခရ

ဲ့ ားသည် ၁၁ ဦားလံုား ဦားည တ် ဝတ်ပ ြုကကသည်။
တန က်ဘက်ခံုတန် ား တင် ထင
ု ်တသ အမျြုားသ ား ၂ ဦား၊ အမျြုားသမား ၄ ဦား နင် ဲ့ လန် စ တ ျ ်ရွှင်တနတသ
ကတလားငယ် တဦားတု ပြစ်
ဲ့ သည်။ ထက
ု တလားငယ်ထ ံမ တ ျ ်ရွှင်မှုမျ ား ကူားစက် လ တစရန်
ခရားတတလျှ က်တင် တဦားပ ား တဦား လက်ကမ် ား တ ြို့ချခဲ့ကကသည်။ ဟ ားခ ားသည် ကမဘ လ ညဲ့ ်
ခရားသည် မျ ား၏ လမ် ားတကက င်ား မရတသ တကက င် ဲ့ နင
ု ်ငံပခ ားသ ားဟူ ၍ စ တရားသူ
တတယ က်သ သည်။ စ တရားသူသည်လ ည်ား ကမဘ လညဲ့်ခရားသည် မဟုတဘ
် ရ သဥတုတပ င်ားလ မှု
သတင်ားယူရန် လ တရ က်ပ ခင်ားသ ပြစ်သ ည်။

စ တရားသူသည် ပမန် မ နင
ု ်ငံသ ု တရ
ဲ့ က်ရတနသည် မ ၅ ရက်ရပ ပြစ်ပ ား တဦားတည်ား ခရားသ ားတနပခင်ား
ပြစ်သည်။ ံ ု မန် မအ ် ရပခင်ားနင် ဲ့ အသစ်အဆန် ား အမျ ားအပ ားကု တတြို့ ကကံြုရတသ တကက င် ဲ့
စ တရားသူ၏ ဦားတန က် မ အလု ် မလု ် တ တ ဲ့ဘ ပင မ် သက် မှုန်ဝ ားတနသည်။ မျ ားမျ ားတလဲ့လ ပ ား
တမားခန် ား အနည်ားငယ်သ တမားနင
ု ်တ တ သ
ဲ့ ည်။ ခရားစဉ် မစတင် မ ဘုရ ားဝတ်ပ ြုပခင်ားမ ံ ု မန်

လု ်ရု ားလု ် စဉ် ပြစ်သည် ဟုသ ခံစ ားခရ

ဲ့ တသ ်လ ည်ား ငယ်စဉ်က Greyhound ဘတ်စ်က ား မစားမ
တန က်ဆားံု ဝတ်ပ ြုခဲ့သ ညဲ့ ် အချန် ကု ပ န် စဉ်ားစ ားမသည်။

ကျ ် သ ် တနတသ မနဘတ်စ်က ားတင် တခ င်ားငံက

ု ဲ့ ထင
ု ်တနရင်ား ငယ်စဉ်ဘ၀ အမတ်တရမျ ား
တခ င်ားထသ ု အလံ
ဲ့ ုားအရင်ားပြင် ဲ့ ဝင်တရ က်လ သည်။ စ တရားသူ ကက်သ လစ်တကျ င်ား တက်စဉ်
တနရက်
ဲ့ မျ ားက၊ အဝ တရ င် တကျ င်ားဘတ်စ် က ားကကားမျ ားနင် ဲ့ ယခုကသ
ဲ့ ု က
ဲ့ ား စတင် မထ က်ခ မ
ဝတ်ပ ြုတသ ဘ သ တရား ထံားု စံ မျ ား စသညဲ့ ် အမတ်တရမျ ား ပြစ်သ ည်။ သတသ
ု ဲ့ ် တန က်န ရ
အတန် ကက တင် မူ ထသ
ု ု ဝတ်
ဲ့ ပ ြုပခင်ားမ ဘ သ တရားထံားု စံ မဟုတဘ
် အသက်အ မခံ အက အကယ်
ပြစ်တကက င်ား သရသည်။
သစ်တတ ပ ြုန်ားတားမှု အကက ားအကျယ် ခံထ ားတသ ်လည်ား အချြုြို့တနရ မျ ားတင် ချင်ားတတ င်တန်ားသည်
စမ်ားလန်ားတနဆ (ဓ တ် ံု – ဧရ ဝတ)

စ တရားသူတက
ု ဲ့ ု အပမင်တ
ဲ့ ၇၀၀၀ အထ မ အန မ် တ
ဲ့ ၁၀၀၀ အထ တခေါ်တဆ င်သ ားက တကြို့ ဝုက်ပ ား
ပ န်တက်သ ားတနတသ လမ်ားတကက င်ား မျ ားကု တပမ ံုတင် ကကညဲ့်တသ အခ ချင်ားတတ င်တန်ားတ ေါ် ရ
ကကြုားမျှင်မျ ား သြယ် ပြစ် တနသည်။ သစ် တတ ပ ြုန်ားတားမှု အကကားအကျယ် ခံထ ားတသ ်လည်ား
အချြုြို့တနရ မျ ားတင် ချင်ားတတ င်တန်ားသည် စ မ်ားလန်ားတနဆ ပြစ်သ ည်။ လ နု ျြုတသ သစ်တ တ မျ ား၊
တရတံခန် မျ ား၊ တချ က်က မ် ား ားမ တတလ င်ားကျတနသညဲ့ ် တပခတန် ရည် အ မ် ကတလားမျ ားနင် ဲ့
ပမြုြို့ကတလားမျ ားကု တတြို့တနရသည်။

မုင် ၁၁၀ ရတသ ထခ

ု ရားသည် ၃ န ရနင် ဲ့ ၄၉ မနစ်ကက မည် ဟု Google က ဆသ
ု ည်။ တဒ္သခံမျ ားက ၇
န ရ ကက မည် ဟု တပ သည်။ တန က်ဆားံု တတ ဲ့ ထခ
ု ရားသည် ၁၁ န ရ ကက ခဲ့သ ည်။
အချြုြို့တသ တနရ မျ ားတင် လမ် ားခင်ားထ ားတသ ုင်ားထက် ကျင်ားမျ ား၊ ချြုင်မ
ဲ့ ျ ား ပ ညဲ့ ်တနတသ အ ုင်ားက
ုမုမျ ားပ ားသည်။

ဘတ်စ်က ားသည် ခုန်လု က် ယ မ်ားလုက် ပြစ်တနပ ား ထင

ု ်ခံုကု တင်ားတင်ားကျ ်ကျ ်
ကုင်ထ ားရတသ တကက င် ဲ့ စ တရားသူ၏ လက် ဆစ်မျ ားမ န ကျင်တနသည်။ ထင
ု ်ခံု မျ ားတင် ခ ား တ်
မ တ ။ လမ်ား ကု နစ်လ မ်ားသ ား အပြစ် သတ်မတ်ထ ား တသ ်လ ည်ား ယ ဉ်တစားခ သ ကျယ်သ ည်။
ကကြုတင် မပမင်ရတသ အတကြို့ အဝုက် မျ ားတင် ဟန်ားကု ကျယ်ကျယ် တလ င်တလ င် တားပ ား
လမ် ားအစန် ားနင် ဲ့ လက် မ အနည်ားငယ်သ က တတ ဲ့တသ အခ မသ အရန် တလျှ ဲ့ရ သည်။
လမ်ားအက အရံ လ ည်ား မရတ ။

သစ်တတ ပ ြုန် ားတားမှု မျ ားတကက င် ဲ့ မုားရ တသ အခ လမ် ားသည် တကျ က်ခ မျ ား၊ ရွှံ ြို့ မျ ားတအ က်တင်
တရ က်တနသည်။ ရ သဥတု တပ င်ားလပခင်ားတကက င် ဲ့ မုားရ သန် ားမှု မ အလန် ပ င်ား ထန် ပ ား
လမ်ားမျ ားကုလည်ား ုမု ျက်စားတစသည်။ ၇ န ရမျှ တမ င်ားလ ပ ားတန က် က ားဆရ သည် ဗက်အင
ု ်ဟု
ယူဆတသ တနရ ကု ပြတ်တမ င်ားရသည်။ က ားဆရ က ဗက်အင
ု ်ဟု ထင်တသ တနရ မျ ားသည်
အမန် တကယ်တင် ချြုင်ကဲ့ ကား ပြစ် တနကကသည်။ ထ ုချြုင်၏
ဲ့ တအ က်တပခမ တကျ က်ခတလံုား သည် ဘားကု
ည ် ထ ားတနသလု ပြစ်ပ ား က ားသည် တဆ င်ရ
ဲ့ ် သ ားသည်။
လမ် ားခရား အခက်အ ခသည် တဒ္သခံ မျ ား အတက်မူ တနစဉ်
ဲ့ ရင်ဆင
ု ်တနရတသ အတတြို့အကကံြု
ပြစ်တနသည် ဟု စ တရားသူ န ားလည်လ သည်။

စ တရားသူတ၏
ု ဲ့ တန က်တင်လ ည် တကျ ်တက် မရတသ တကက င် ဲ့ တန က်မ လုက် လ တနသညဲ့ ် က ားမျ ား၊
ဘတ်စ်က ားမျ ား အတန်ားလု က် ရတနသည်။ ထတ
ု န က် ပမြူမျ ားဆင
ု ်ားတနသညဲ့် တတ င်ကု
ဆက်တက်သည်။ မုင်နန
ှု ်ားပ တသ ကရယ သည် အုတ်ဂူမျ ားတင် အမည် တရားထားု တလဲ့ရသညဲ့်
တကျ က်ပ ားချ ် နင် ဲ့ င် တူသ ည်ဟု သတထ ားမသည်။ ကတလားငယ်မ အ ် တ ျ ် တနပ ပြစ်သ ည်။
သူလ
ဲ့ ု င် စ တရားသူသည်လ ည်ား အ ် လု က်သည်။

စူားစူားရရ တအ ်သတ
ံ ကက င် ဲ့ ပ န် နားု လ သည်။ လမ် ား က ည ဘက်သ ု တက
ဲ့ ြို့ ဝု က်သ ားတသ ်လည်ား က ားကု
ည ဘက်ကု တကြို့ မရပြစ် တနသည်။ က ားဆရ က ကကြုားစ ားသညဲ့ ်တင
ု ် က ားကု ည ဘက်သ ု ဲ့
တကြို့မရတတ ဲ့ဘ တညဲ့ ်တညဲ့ ်သ ားတနသည်။ တစ တစ က ချြုင်ထ
ဲ့ ကျစဉ် တခုခု ချြုြို့ယင်ားသ ားခဲ့ ံ ုရသည်။
က ားသည် လမ် ား မ လပ ား တတ င်တအ က် ပ ြုတ်ကျရန် သ ရ တတ ဲ့သ ည်။ ပမန် မ နင
ု ်ငံတင် တစံု တဦား
လူအမျ ားတရ ြို့တင် တသလျှင် ထသ
ု ူတ၏
ု ဲ့ အတလ င်ားဓ တ် ံ ုမျ ားကု လူမှု ကန် ရက် တင် တင်ကကသည်ဟု
ပမန်မ နင
ု ်ငံတင် အလု ် လု ် ြူားတသ သူငယ်ချင်ား တဦားက တပ ခဲ့ ြူားသည်။ တတ င်ားတစ င်ား အစန် ားတင်
ဘတ်စ်က ား ရ ် သ ားချန် တင် စ တရားသူသည် ပမန် မ နင
ု ်ငံ၏ တြဲ့စ်ဘ တ်တင် ဘဝနဂံ ုား မချြု ် လုတကက င်ား
စဉ်ားစ ားတနချန်ပြစ်သ ည်။

ဘတ်စ်က ား၏ ဇ တ်လ မ်ား မ တခန်ားရ ်သ ားပ ပြစ်သ ည်။ အပခ ားခရားသည် တဦား တ ားတ ားသညဲ့် SUV
ယ ဉ်ပြင် ဲ့ ဟ ားခ ားသ ု ခရ
ဲ့ ားဆက်ရသည်။ စ တရားသူ၏ ခရားသ ား အ မခံ တငက ရဟတ်ယ ဉ်င ားလု ဲ့
တလ က်- မတလ က် စဉ်ားစ ားမတသားသည်။

စ တရားသူ ကကံြုတတြို့ရတသ ထ ု လမ် ားခရား အခက်အခသည် တဒ္သခံ မျ ား အတက် မူ တနစဉ်

ဲ့
ရင်ဆင
ု ်တနရတသ အတတြို့အကကံြု ပြစ်တနသည် ဟု စ တရားသူ န ားလည်လ သည်။ စ တရားသူသ ည်
ရ သဥတုတပ င်ားလ မှုကု တလဲ့လ ရန် လ ခဲ့သည်။ သတသ
ု ဲ့ ် လမ် ားခရားက ရ သဥတု တပ င်ားလမှု၏
အကျြုားဆက် မျ ားကု စ တရားသူ ကုယ် တင
ု ် ခံစ ားရတအ င် လု ် တ ားခဲ့သည်။ စ တရားသူ
ဘုရ ားဝတ်ပ ြုသည်။ အပ န် တင်လ ည်ား စ တရားသူသည် ထလ
ု မ် ားမ င် ပ န် ခဲ့သည် ။ မည် သ ု ဲ့ င် ဆ ုတစ
စ တရားသူသည် ပမန်မ နင
ု ်ငံ၏ တြစ
ဲ့ ်ဘ တ်တ ေါ် တင် ဘဝနဂံ ုား မချြု ် ခရ
ဲ့ တ ။

(www.sierraclub.org တင် တြ ်ပ ထ ားသညဲ့် *This* Close to a Bus Plunge in Myanmar, Now I

know why my fellow passengers prayed before we left ကု ဘ သ ပ န်သ ည်။)

Kendra Pierre-LouisContributor
http://www.unocha.org/story/road-hakha-thousands-remain-
displaced-monsoon-floods-chin-state-myanmar

The Road to Hakha: thousands remain disp laced

since monsoon floods in Chin State, Myanmar

01 Dec 2015

Chin State was one of the areas most severely affected by the
monsoon rains that temporarily displaced almost 1.7 million
people across the country this year.
The road to Hakha, in remote Chin State in western Myanmar, is
not an easy one to travel at the best of times. Even without
landslides and rains, it takes between seven and eight hours to
drive. Now it often takes longer as sections are still blocked by
mud and stones following landslides caused by the heavy rains
and floods in July and August.

Chin State was one of the areas most severely affected by the
monsoon rains that temporarily displaced almost 1.7 million
people across the country this year. The remoteness of many of
the townships in the state and the damage caused by landslides
meant that aid was slow to reach this area compared with other
parts of the country. Hakha was cut off from outside assistance
for two weeks.

Overall, close to 1.7 million people were temporarily displaced

and 172 killed by floods, landslides and strong winds that affected
12 of Myanmar’s 14 states since June 2015, according to the
Government. While most of those displaced were able to return
home shortly after as flood waters receded, almost 11,000 people
remain in evacuation sites in Chin State and neighbouring
Sagaing Region as of early November. Most of them are awaiting
relocation as the Government and partners carry out geological
surveys to find suitable new spots.

The Government has promised to provide housing and services

for all who need to be relocated but in the meantime, families are
staying in temporary camps. Many of the displaced are worried
about the future particularly as winter starts to set in and
temperatures drop to freezing.

Communal housing
Kit Luai, 32, a carpenter, lives in one of the camps with his wife
and three children. He is softly spoken and often stares
distractedly into the distance. He is now unemployed and had to
vacate the room he rented when landslides destroyed his home.
“Even thinking about what will happen to us tomorrow is difficult,”
he said. “How can I think about the future? We had just moved
here and we have lost everything.”

Zing Hha Hoi, 17, has been living in Kai Kam camp in Hakha
since the landslides destroyed her family’s home. Her top priority
echoed that of many others: “I wish for a safe place for my family
to relocate to and where the whole community will be able to stay
together.”

Chin State’s remoteness and lack of infrastructure mean it is also

the poorest of Myanmar’s states and regions. Most people here
who lost their homes, crops and food stocks have limited means
to cope, and they will need continued support to get back on their
feet. Particularly vulnerable are the rural families whose farmland
and crops were destroyed.

Many of the displaced people are still living in communal living

quarters, some with no privacy and limited facilities, such as
latrines or bathing spaces. The Government, local NGOs and
faith-based organizations have been leading the response,
providing food, shelter, water and other basic necessities.
Emergency response agencies include WFP, UNICEF, Save the
Children, the Myanmar Red Cross Society, UNHCR and IOM,
while UNDP is helping with early recovery. Despite this help,
some items such as stoves, solar lights, plastic sheeting, repair
kits for tents and fuel are still needed. UNFPA has given some
protection training to civil society organizations as protection
remains a concern, especially for women, adolescent girls and
children due to the communal living conditions.

Hlawn Tin Cuai is the Programme Manager for the Hakha Rescue
Committee, a coalition of local civil-society organizations and
other partners. She decided to take a year’s break from studying
architecture in Bangkok to support the response in her home
town. “We want to ensure people get the assistance they need
and that temporary shelters meet minimum standards,” she said.
“Local organizations need support from international ones as they
don’t have experience in this kind of response,” she said.

Further investment in disaster risk reduction and emergency

preparedness is needed to ensure vulnerable communities are
better equipped to deal with future emergencies. OCHA has been
working with the Government of Myanmar and partners to
strengthen emergency preparedness, including through training
and capacity-building, law development and improving
coordination. For families who remain displaced, a new home and
support to rebuild their livelihoods is the number one priority.
http://elevenmyanmar.com/local/chin%E2%80%99s-mountain-
roads-remain-impassable

Chin’s mountain roads remain impassable

Submitted by ttwin on Sun, 08/23/2015 - 16:19

The damaged Kalay to Hakha road. (Photo – Htay Hla

Aung/EMG)
Chin State’s roads are still damaged and commodity prices are
rising, as residents fear further damage to the state’s already
tattered roads.
More than 5,000 Hakha residents have fled the flooding and remain
completely cut-off as hillside roads and bridges are blocked or
destroyed.
“The road between Kalay and Hakha is very bad. It could further
collapse at any time. Trucks can’t go there, only small jeeps.
Freight charges are increasing, sending up food prices,” said
Nyein, a merchant from Hakha.
Similar crises are reported in Falam, Hakha and Tiddim in the north
of the state and Paletwa, Mindat and Matupi in the south.
The Eleven Media Group’s aid coordinator in Chin State said: “If it
rains heavily again it might take four days to get to Hakha from
Kalay. At the moment it takes two days. Freight charges are more
than Ks10,000 for a bag of rice. In Hakha a bag costs around
Ks100,000. A gallon of fuel costs over Ks10,000. If the road is
blocked again, it will spark an even deeper crisis.”
9/4/2017 A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s Remote Chin State

ASIA

A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s

Remote Chin State
December 09, 2015 4:50 AM Daniel De Carteret Simon Lewis

HAKHA, MYANMAR — Earlier this year in Hakha, the capital of Myanmar’s

mountainous and remote Chin state, days of heavy rain saturated the ground beneath
the hilltop town.

On the afternoon of July 28, Teng Mawng, 52, felt the floor of his home rumble as a
large section of the earth above the town became dislodged, sending the contents of a
lake, along with a mass of dirt and rock, surging through his neighborhood.

“The water rushed past and took away all the land,” he said. “Me and all my
neighbors had to move out.”

In what locals say was the worst natural disaster in living memory, towns and
villages across Chin state were ravaged by landslides. According to data collected
from local relief groups, almost 20,000 people have been displaced and a total of
nearly 55,000 people were a ected by the disaster.

Months after the landslides, the main roads in the capital Hakha have largely been
cleared by bulldozers, but the true recovery has barely started.

Dangerous ground

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9/4/2017 A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s Remote Chin State

The landslide has raised concerns about the long term stability of parts of Hakha
itself. An assessment map included in a Myanmar government report marks a
residential section of the town as a “high risk zone [needs relocation].” Other areas
of the town are denoted: “urgent mitigation needed.” A project is underway to
relocate more than 4,000 displaced members of the town’s population of about
30,000.

In the neighboring township Falam, 23 of the area’s 180 villages will have to
relocated as living there has become untenable, according to Thawng Bik, a local
Baptist pastor and the secretary of the Chin Relief Committee-Falam.

“People here rely on agriculture and livestock. The landslide mostly a ects farmland,
so that’s a ecting people’s economic situation,” Thawng Bik said. “It’s really bad for
some villages that still can’t be reached by aid or support. There are some villages
located beyond rivers, where the bridge that crossed the river has collapsed, so they
are still in real trouble.”

The situation is worsened by long-term central government neglect of Chin state,

home to the mostly Christian Chin ethnic minority, said Flora Bawi Nei Mawi,
program o cer at the Chin Human Rights Organization. That means the state lacks
vital infrastructure, with only a handful of paved roads linking the major towns, and
no airport.

“I’d like to stress the lack of infrastructure. That makes us more vulnerable for the
natural disasters,” she said.

Aid trickles into remote countryside

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9/4/2017 A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s Remote Chin State

Much of the aid sent to help Chin state had to pass through other areas of Myanmar
a ected by flooding this year, so supplies were often depleted by the time they
reached Chin communities in the mountains, said Flora Bawi Nei Mawi.

“And when it comes to reconstruction, the lack of infrastructure makes the process
more di cult,” said Mawi.

The Asian Development Bank’s principle country specialist for Myanmar, Peter
Brimble, agreed that Chin state’s geography and lack of infrastructure were
hampering recovery e orts.

“It’s tough to get in and it’s tough to get out, and that causes a challenge for
agencies like ours, working to get people in, working to mobilize local communities,
and actually to get materials in and out to rebuild [damaged] assets,” he said.

The ADB is preparing a $12 million grant-funded project to help people impacted by
the landslides in Chin state. The bank will provide funds to local communities to
reconstruct vital routes connecting villages to the major roads, and for other recovery
works like rebuilding terraces that allow farmers to grow rice on steep hills.

“In a geographic area that is isolated like that, one of the approaches that we explore
carefully is to utilize the resources and people in community-based organizations
down on the ground,” Brimble said.

As well as funds coming from international donors, the Myanmar government is

spending about $3 million to relocate Hakha residents. With the help of the Japanese
international aid agency, JICA, the government has begun a project to restore the
road connecting Hakha to the nearest major city, Kale.

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9/4/2017 A Long Road to Recovery in Myanmar’s Remote Chin State

Uncertain future

Activists, however, say local communities have not been properly consulted on
government-led recovery e orts so far, which have been directed by central
government agencies, with contracts allegedly awarded to companies closely linked
to favored o cials. Additionally, there are concerns that a rushed reconstruction will
leave residents with low-quality infrastructure that will not be able to resist the
harsh weather conditions of Chin state for more than a few years.

On a hillside just outside of Hakha, more than 700 new homes are under construction
for displaced residents. Inspecting one of the unfinished houses, retired carpenter
Teng Mawng said he had some complaints about the quality of the structure. “This
place is also quite far from town,” he said, “but we will have to get used to it.”

Those waiting to move in are currently housed in temporary camps. While keen to
move into permanent homes before the weather grows colder this month, they say
they are concerned that no firm plans have been presented to build a school or a
clinic in the new settlement. “The house is free, so we have to accept it,” said Teng
Mawng.

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9/4/2017 Chin State needs infrastructure, soon | The Myanmar Times

1. Home
2. » Opinion
3. » Chin State needs infrastructure, soon

Chin State needs infrastructure, soon

Chin State needs infrastructure, soon

Peter Brimble and Nyi Nyi Aung 07 Sep 2015

https://www.mmtimes.com/opinion/16341-chin-state-needs-infrastructure-soon.html 3/12
9/4/2017 Chin State needs infrastructure, soon | The Myanmar Times

ADB Myanmar country director Winfried Wicklein (right) and deputy country director Peter Brimble point to a segment of the Kalay-Hakha
road that was washed away by landslides last month. Photo: Supplied
Chin State needs infrastructure, soon

Mountain ranges across Chin State offer stunning scenery but also contribute to frequent landslides. Chin State is the poorest region in
Myanmar, and frequent natural disasters prevent the 500,000 Chin people from fully enjoying government and development partner
efforts to lift them out of poverty. Making matters worse were the heavy monsoon rains in July and August that lashed the state and
generated devastating landslides.
Recently, the joint World Food Programme/ADB Myanmar team travelled to the Western part of Myanmar to observe first-hand the damage
and impacts of the unprecedented floods and landslides. Chin State has been declared one of the four disaster zones that were severely

https://www.mmtimes.com/opinion/16341-chin-state-needs-infrastructure-soon.html 4/12
9/4/2017 Chin State needs infrastructure, soon | The Myanmar Times

affected by the recent extreme weather. In Chin State over 20,000 people were fully displaced and more than 3800 houses were destroyed.

The team departed Kalay in Sa-gaing State – itself badly affected by rains and flooding – on August 29 to travel along the winding mountain
road to Hakha, the picturesque capital of Chin State. The original plan had been to return on the road to the south via Gangaw, but this
critical access road had been blocked by landslides for several weeks already.

Early in the 13-hour trip, it became clear that road access – on both major and minor roads – has been seriously disrupted and remains highly
vulnerable, especially to the heavy rains that Chin State normally experiences each September to October. The main road from Kalay to
Hakha, along with its buildings perched on stilts high above the valleys, has been transformed by the extreme weather conditions and is
barely passable in places. Some road sections have been completely washed away, requiring construction of temporary bypasses, and many
more segments have been partially damaged or covered in mud. Bridges have been substantially destroyed, and water flowing over many
sections steadily washes away the road material. Large numbers of village access roads have been either damaged by floods or completed
obliterated by landslides.

A key takeaway from our visit was that the nature of the damage triggered by the heavy rains and compounded by the resulting landslides
and earthquake effects is different in nature from that of the flash floods and river overflows in other affected areas. Damage to villages and
buildings tends to be complete, so most affected people have no household to return to – and in many cases, no land plot either. This means
that many displaced people will spend extended periods in public buildings or temporary camps, and require ongoing food supplies as
livelihoods will take longer to reestablish.

After the long day on damaged single-lane roads, we arrived in Hakha after sunset, as the moon rose over the hillside capital and the
household lights twinkled into the distance. It was not until the harsh light of day that we were able to view the dramatic damage – including
an area very close to our guest house where a number of commercial buildings had completely collapsed. Above the older section of the
town, a major landslide flowed through a large water reservoir and destroyed most of the old city lying below, which now stands largely
deserted. Even in areas where landslides did not directly reach, the earthquake-like land-shaking effects severely damaged many roads and
buildings, including schools and churches.

https://www.mmtimes.com/opinion/16341-chin-state-needs-infrastructure-soon.html 5/12
9/4/2017 Chin State needs infrastructure, soon | The Myanmar Times

A house that fell victim to landslides in August demonstrates the compound effect of Chin State’s unique natural disasters. Photo: Supplied

On the positive side, one noticeable feature of the disaster response to date has been the rapid and effective measures taken by the
government and civil society, as well as the highly visible resilience shown by affected persons. The night before we arrived in Kalay on
August 28, two villages across the Chin border were completely destroyed by a nighttime landslide. Fortunately no one was hurt, as a monk
heard the approaching menace. Within the day, all residents from the 65 destroyed households were relocated to a tent camp some distance
away and supplied with emergency food and water by WFP, with UNICEF providing child-friendly facilities.

And large numbers of heavy earth moving equipment have been deployed along the main connection between Kale and Hakha and have
succeeded in keeping the road open in the face of numerous landslides.

During our short stay in Hakha, the UNICEF’s head of office in Chin State kindly hosted a dinner with other development partners. It became
very clear that donor involvement in Chin State is very limited, and that information on the extent of the damage has not spread widely.

Before setting off for the 12-hour drive back to Kalay, we had a meeting with the Chin State minister and his cabinet, and were again
impressed by the professionalism with which the disaster response has been handled. He stressed the tremendous ongoing needs for food,
especially for those destined for long stays in the camps, and for road reconstruction to ensure continued access and to consolidate the
temporary emergency repairs.

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9/4/2017 Chin State needs infrastructure, soon | The Myanmar Times

In sum, the key message that we take away from our mission is that the disaster damage in Chin State appears much more serious than
expected or perceived by the government and aid agencies. A major landslide could cut the state’s only remaining lifeline from Kale to Hakha
for many weeks. In view of all this, the isolated and poor mountainous state deserves more attention and support in this time of serious
need.

Peter Brimble and Nyi Nyi Aung are deputy country director and external relations officer at ADB Myanmar.

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9/4/2017 Hakha (Chin State) information | Go-Myanmar.com

1. Home
2. >Destinations
3. >Rakhine, Chin And Western Myanmar
4. >Hakha

Hakha
OverviewAccommodationGetting ThereGetting Away

Despite being the capital of Chin State since 1974, Hakha is by no means a large city – and remains
a simple and undeveloped place, reflecting the state as a whole. With its wide, dusty streets, slatted
wooden buildings, and prominent churches, Hakha sometimes feels like it has been transplanted from the
American wild west.

https://www.go-myanmar.com/hakha 9/16
9/4/2017 Hakha (Chin State) information | Go-Myanmar.com

Above Hakha there is a viewpoint from which you can see the entire city and the surrounding mountains –
and often a bunch of local teenagers hanging out. For maximum effect, take in the vista
at sunrise or sunset; watch our YouTube video here. The viewpoint can be found just off the road to
Gangaw, and is a long walk or short taxi/motorbike ride from the centre of town.

Another point of interest is the Chin national football and athletics stadium called Vumtu Maung, which can
be found on the east side of town. A large structure, the stands that surround the dusty playing field and
track are unusual in mostly being made out of wood.

https://www.go-myanmar.com/hakha 10/16
9/4/2017 Hakha (Chin State) information | Go-Myanmar.com

As with much of Chin State, the majority of the population in Hakha is Christian (for more information on
religion in Myanmar, go here). A feature of Hakha is the colourful clothing that the locals wear. There are a
number of tailors around town, as well as a number of shops where you can buy locally made traditional
Chin jewellery.
Located at an altitude of 1,867 metres (6,128 feet), Hakha can get cold, particularly winter nights in
December and January. There are a number of simple guest house choices; most are comfortable, but do
not have hot water (you may be provided with a large thermos flask to wash with). Electricity can also be
limited to certain hours of day in Hakha.

https://www.go-myanmar.com/hakha 11/16
9/4/2017 Hakha (Chin State) information | Go-Myanmar.com

For awider selection of photos from Hakha, go to our Flickr photo set.
For more on traditional textile craftsmanship in Hakha see this Kite Tales blog and to find out about local
music, go to our blog post ‘Musical traditions in remote Chin State’.
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9/4/2017 Musical traditions in remote Chin State | Go-Myanmar.com

1. Home
2. >Musical traditions in remote Chin State

Musical traditions in remote Chin State

December 22, 2014

Remote and mountainous Chin state has a complex history that tells a great tale. According to locals
in Falam, the history of the twelve clans that surrounded the old capital has always been retained orally,
through songs. In a feat of human memory, each clan had singers that would retain up to five hundred
years of village history in just one song! I don’t know how long that song is, but the average person can’t
remember the lyrics to their favorite three minute pop song. Such skills show an impressive song writing or
listening ability.

https://www.go-myanmar.com/music-in-chin-state 9/16
9/4/2017 Musical traditions in remote Chin State | Go-Myanmar.com

Like valuable books, singers pass important cultural information about love, wars and life events down to the
younger generations. Where I went, sadly, there isn’t much traditional music left. Maybe I needed to go
deeper into Chin State to get more answers, but for now no information was forthcoming; the locals didn’t
know anyone left.

When missionaries arrived they rid the local population of their animist traditions. They introduced new
songs about Christianity, the English language and made the locals cover up with ‘modest’ clothing. Today
the locals still write in a Roman script, and unlike most of Myanmar you can get by on English easily. The
British colonial government can be applauded for putting an end to the plundering, slavery and rape

https://www.go-myanmar.com/music-in-chin-state 10/16
9/4/2017 Musical traditions in remote Chin State | Go-Myanmar.com

consistent with inter-clan warfare, but sadly, how they did it was probably through violence. To a certain
extent I speculate, but it’s safe to assume that there were no NGOs and aid organizations involved!

Today what’s left of local songs is the memories of just a few people, who have a couple learned by memory
and some basic instruments for accompaniment. The instruments sound beautiful but they are the most
simple you could make. Their modern music is like any other pop music, the local studio runs advanced
software and makes pop that sells up and down Chin State.

But, like song birds, the locals sing everywhere they go. The songs draw you into friendships; I’ve never felt
so welcomed anywhere.

https://www.go-myanmar.com/music-in-chin-state 11/16
9/4/2017 Musical traditions in remote Chin State | Go-Myanmar.com

The influx of foreign music shows that the locals’ instruments really don’t stand up to a lot of other musical
technology. Their flute lacks the clarity of the Indian or western flute and their gongs and drums don’t have
the range of a drum kit. Their sound and history is unique though, and that makes it well worth practicing
and preserving, foremost for their identity’s sake. Their traditional instruments have been duly replaced in
recordings by western sounds, but that’s ok, in music progress can be seen as simply being able to express
emotion or thought better. The better you do this, the greater the music.

Some of their traditional songs will live on, albeit to the backing of a pop guitar riff and hip hop beat. But I
also hope that someone from Chin will be inspired by our recordings and carry on playing just how they
have in Chin throughout their history, or someone elsewhere will take what they hear and find new ways to
mix it with other music. That way, Chin culture will deservedly live on.

Adam Nicholas, December 2014

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9/4/2017 Northern Chin State:diary of a foreign traveller | Myanmar Insider

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Northern Chin State:diary of a foreign traveller

Kyaw Su Thway
November , 2014

Categories
Insider Luxury
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Northern Chin State journey can start in Kalewa, which is to the east of Kalay and can be reached by Insider Travel
bus or by boat up the Chindwin Riv- er from Monywa. Ones could go to Falam, Hakha and Tidim but
Insider Analysis
said it would be dif- ficult without a guide as foreigners cannot speak Burmese, and nobody speaks
English there. Goverment Insider
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9/4/2017 Northern Chin State:diary of a foreign traveller | Myanmar Insider

I took a 7am pick-up to Kalay and arrived at around 9am. I then found a motorbike taxi and asked the Insider Review
driver to take me to the bus station from which I could go to Tidim, Hakha or Falam. He stopped on Insider Business
the way to ask a policeman if it was okay for me to go there; I was then asked if I have a permit. I
Insider Art
didn’t have one, told the policeman I didn’t think I needed one, and asked where I can check if I really
needed a permit. He told me I could risk it, but they might turn me back at the Kalay checkpoint. Insider Info
Professional Insider
The checkpoint was only 16km away, so I decided to go and check; it was no problem. When I started
asking questions, the guy at the checkpoint just took a map of Chin state from the wall, drew lines on Insider Culture
it, circled open towns with a marker and asked me to give it back when I was finished with my Insider Investing
travels! Insider Cuisine
It was Saturday, and because Chin state is very Christian, there are no buses on Sun- day – which Cover Story
meant I would have to wait two days if I wanted to take the bus. A motor- bike taxi driver told me he Insider Opinion
could take me there and we just continued driving – eight hours on a motorbike in the mountains. This
Insider Interview
turned out to be a two day journey (207 km one way) and cost K65,000 (room, food and petrol
included), and I feel like it was a fair price. Insider Artist
Insider Beauty
We stopped in Falam as there were some problems with the chain, so I went to a tea shop. There I met
a local called Daniel, who knew ten languages – the majority were dia- lects but he spoke decent Insider Profile
English. We agreed that when I am back to town, I would give him a call and he would show me Insider SME
around. Insider Education
In Hakha we stayed at Rung guesthouse. I paid 10,000 kyats for my room and half the price for the Culture
driver’s room. I got discount as I stayed two days – normal price for foreign- er is 15,000 kyats. The Election Insider
room had a shower and western toilet. I saw two other places which looked plusher; one looked like it
Insider Politics
had been built recently. The girl at reception didn’t know if other guesthouses had licens- es. There is
lots of construction work going on in Hakha at the moment, so there might be more guesthouses soon. Insider Health
Insider History
I was surprised so many people spoke En- glish and couldn’t understand the Kalewa policeman’s
concerns. I met a few people as well with whom I was not able to commu- nicate in Burmese – they Insider Nature
only knew Chin. Along the main street I saw three internet spots – two of them were open on Sunday Insider Briefs
and the internet speed was really decent (probably because it was Sunday!). A hand- ful of simple NGO Insider
convenience stores were open but almost everything else was shut. There is a restaurant with good
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food called Chin Taung Taan, which you can find just to the left when you face the clock tower in the
cen- tre of town. Its existence is not obvious as it is on the first floor and signs are only in Burmese. START-UP Insider
HEALTHCARE INSIDER
I was told that the bus back to Falam and Ka- lay leaves at 6am; the girl in the guesthouse told me it
sometimes leaves at 5am. I decid- ed not to spend an additional day in Hakha and woke up at 4.30am. ADVERTORIAL
The bus turned out to leave at 5.40am, but I am pretty sure it could easily be a bit earlier or later. I was Media Insider
in Falam at 9am. There were four landslides on the way and the guys got out of the bus to remove the
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9/4/2017 Northern Chin State:diary of a foreign traveller | Myanmar Insider

stones and make the road passable. I went with Golden Lion Express Hakha Kalay, and the ticket was
2000 kyats.
In Falam I stayed at Moon guesthouse and the owner is a charming, very welcoming person and
speaks English. The room was 8000 kyats and I got a key to a private bath- room with a western
toilet. I saw two inter- net cafes in Falam, and they were open till 9pm.
I met a guy in Falam called He Dun who speaks very good English; he shared many interesting stories
with me, and his knowl- edge of Myanmar and Chin state was really impressive. If you go to Falam,
I’m sure He Dun would be happy to meet you. He gave me a list of places that are now open to for-
eigners in northern Chin. From the south, heading north, these are:
Hakha, Falam, Taingen, Tedim (Tidim), Tonang (Tonzang), Cikha (Chikha).
The regular bus from Hakha to Kalay leaves at 7am and costs 3000 kyats. However, as the road is
very bumpy I decided to go for the later, more luxurious minibus, which left at 9am and costs 7000
kyats. We arrived in Kalay at 1pm.
Each time I took a bus in Chin state it stopped at some point near the beginning of the journey and
everyone prayed. Reli- gion plays a huge role here and the biggest group are the Baptists. Typical
names in Hakha and Falam were “Mercy” tea and net café, “Holy” guesthouse, “Nazareth” fashion
shop, “Genesis” café, and my personal fa- vourite – “Blessing” internet café!
This was my second visit to Chin state and I find it a little bit strange to feel the differ- ence between
Christian and Buddhist people in Myanmar. Dogs definitely look better in Christian areas; in Buddhist
states dogs tend to look miserable. On the other hand, I feel super safe in Buddhist areas, where I
might be happy to leave the door to my room open when I’m having a shower; the padlocks and
chains in Chin state made me feel a bit uneasy. I’ve never had anything stolen anywhere in Myanmar,
but the feel- ing of trust definitely seems to change.
In Falam I was taken by a guy from my guesthouse to a Baptist church and after a mass, a woman
approached me and was trying to explain something. I told her in Myanmar that I didn’t understand
but she kept on speaking Chin. I just left but she followed me, I turned out and repeated I didn’t get
the point, so she pulled my bag and wanted to open it. I guess she wanted to be offered some money.
It might not be anything to do with religion but this is just what I noticed.
I was told that the last foreign traveller in Falam was in October 2012. I am really glad I did it; this
part of Myanmar is amaz- ing nature-wise and people are so happy to see foreigners. Of course the
poor infra- structure can make travelling hard, but the area has a lot to offer and is still untouched –
which is a great value. Strongly recom- mended!

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9/4/2017 The fabric of life | The Kite Tales

The fabric of life

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HAKHA, Chin State

Dawt Kheng’s fingers flit across threads that stretch before her like harp strings, weaving an intricate traditional design that will consume her for
months and then disappear, shipped from her remote mountain workshop to a client in America, a fellow ethnic Chin whose life could not be
more different.

Her textiles are so coveted that people wait years for them. But the family’s precarious finances mean Dawt Kheng has never woven her favourite
design for herself and must sell all of her most precious creations.
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Poverty, military abuses and the persecution of religious minorities under Myanmar’s Buddhist-dominated junta has driven tens of thousands of
people to leave Christian-majority Chin state and seek sanctuary abroad, many in the United States.

An exiled heart beats strongly for home and Chin fabrics are an exquisite — and portable — connection to traditional life. Shawls, throws and
wedding outfits are ordered by an informal system as complex as Amen Nu’s tapestries, filtering requests from across the world through family
connections, friends-of-friends and now — in a leap into modernity — Facebook.

Eventually the orders reach Dawt Kheng’s simple wooden home teetering on the precipitous hillside above the state capital Hakha. Clinging to the
mountain against all odds and in defiance of gravity and landslides, the community here has spread in an almost vertical patchwork of little green
homestead gardens, each guarded by the watchful eyes and curious snout of a paunchy black pig.

Communities here have faced devastating landslides, while the city is connected to the rest of the country on a single precarious mountain road

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Dawt Kheng is from a village outside the city, but moved here 18 years ago after the death of her first husband for her children to get a better
education. She now has five children and the youngest, a playful six-year-old, ducks beneath the silvery threads of the weaving loom as his
mother works a tangle of coloured threads into the fabric.

Dawt Kheng's youngest son plays as his mother weaves

“My first husband in the village passed away and I was left with two children, so I moved to Hakha as a widow and rented this little house. Later
I met my current husband and we have three children,” she says.

Her textiles became a lifeline for the growing family.

“We survived on my weaving income. My husband’s salary was just 900 kyats (90 US cents) a month. We would use it up in just one trip to the
market. So our family lived on the money I made from weaving.

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“(People) always order them from me. At that time, if the price of a traditional sarong was around 1,500 kyats, people paid me 2,000 kyats to
weave for them because they liked my work.

“Sometimes I would weave for 10 hours a day. I would start from 8 in the morning until night,” she says, but the work took its toll and now she
struggles to sit for so long.

“I love weaving so much. I still love it. The more I weave, the more I love doing it.

She used to weave for 10 hours a day to support her family, but the work took its toll on her health

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9/4/2017 The fabric of life | The Kite Tales

Each piece can take months to complete

“Because I get paid when I finish, I definitely have a zeal to finish quickly. Some people will wait a year, or two years, because they want my
workmanship so much. They only want me so I always try and be considerate to them and weave for them.

“My favourite pattern is this ‘thihni fang kua’ pattern. I’d like to weave it for myself too, but I can’t do that just yet. I accept orders to weave this
pattern for 400,000 kyats (about $300) from people living abroad. I’m always weaving this pattern for other people so I haven’t got the time to
do it for myself.

“It takes three or four months to weave so I have to think about how and what we’re going to eat during that time. So I ended up not doing it.
It’s impossible,” she says.

“Each pattern has a name. Like ‘Arpi farual’, which means the chicken family, or ‘Cengkarh’, which is like a cross.

Dawt Kheng does have some of her own weaving, which she treasures.
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9/4/2017 The fabric of life | The Kite Tales

“My most precious possession is the Chin costume I wove myself. I really value it. It’s a very simple one-piece outfit.

There are a wide array of Chin designs

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9/4/2017 The fabric of life | The Kite Tales

One day she would like to have the spare time and money to weave her favourite pattern for herself

“I can’t weave as much as I used to because of my health,” says the 44-year-old.

“The main thing is it affect the nerves because you are constantly looking down and having to concentrate. Also, because your neck is always
looking down, bone marrow in my neck isn’t very good anymore either.

“Previously, I could finish a traditional sarong in a month. Now it takes about two or three months to complete them, because there are so many
patterns. There’s so much embroidery and patterns involved so it takes a long time.

“I want to continue weaving as long as I’m healthy.

“I feel happy when I’m doing it. I don’t know why. Maybe because I get paid for it?

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9/4/2017 The fabric of life | The Kite Tales

“Whenever I’m weaving, I’m always thinking of how best I can do my handiwork, and what kind of praise people would give it. This motivates
me.”

Interviewed November 2016

women
arts
culture
migration
Craft

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Doyenne of the Kayin hills, Nancy Khaing kept her guesthouse open for years, defying isolation imposed by the army as it battled insurgents

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9/4/2017 The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better | East Asia & Pacific on the rise

EN

EAST ASIA & PACIFIC ON THE RISE

The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better
SUBMITTED BY DEGI YOUNG ON WED, 06/28/2017
CO-AUTHORS: KHINE NWE ZIN, AYE ME ME HTUN, KYAW HTUT AUNG
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Also available in Myanmar

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9/4/2017 The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better | East Asia & Pacific on the rise

Chin state is the second poorest state in Myanmar, located in the mountains with poor road conditions making
it difficult to travel. Photo: Kyaw Htut Aung/World Bank

My journey to Chin state in Myanmar began with a simple question from my colleague – “Where do you want to go?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, “Anywhere is fine.”

This was it. I had volunteered to join the World Bank Group’s Myanmar Performance Learning Review consultations, which are being held across the country
this month to obtain feedback from the government, private sector and civil society on our Country Partnership Framework. Approved in 2015, the
partnership is the first World Bank Group strategy for Myanmar in 30 years and consultations are being held to discuss lessons-learned, review achievements
and consider adjustments.

“Hakha in Chin state it is,” said my colleague Kyaw Soe Lynn with a smile.

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9/4/2017 The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better | East Asia & Pacific on the rise

It was at that point I began my research on Hakha, which is close to the Indian border. I learned that Chin is the second poorest state in Myanmar, located in
the mountains and that the Flood and Landslide Recovery Project, supported by the World Bank, aims to rehabilitate a road from Falam to Hakha once the
Environmental and Social Investment Assessment is done.

The experience from the trip itself had a deeper meaning for me and our team than the facts I’d learned during research. It was the experience of spending a
few hours at a standstill on the road. This, however, was nothing compared to the people of Chin state who have spent decades at a standstill on the road to
development.

This trip made us recognize the interconnection between roads and access to food, roads and access to education, roads and access to electricity, roads and
access to services. We realized that the beauty we experienced could be a boost to tourism, if only roads were safer.

In Chin state, journey on the road can be treacherous, especially during monsoon season. Photo: Kyaw Htut
Aun/World Bank

In order to get to Hakha, our team had to first fly to Kalaymyo and then drove the long stretch from there to Falam and finally to Hakha. We left at 7 am,
excited to be on our first trip to Chin State. There was a light drizzle as we began our ascent up the mountain, but we could still take in the breathtaking
view. We were above the clouds and when we looked down there was a never-ending sea of green covered mountains. It was serene and uplifting.

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9/4/2017 The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better | East Asia & Pacific on the rise

At 9 am after driving 35 km, we came to a halt. During the first few minutes, we began to assess the situation. What we gathered was that there was a
landslide blocking the road, which had occurred during the night. There were over a hundred cars ahead of us. The view had changed to an enormous brick
mountain of mud on one end and a smooth slick slope on the other end.

Around 11 am, we contemplated an escape route. We thought about turning back, but realized that the road back was narrower, with cars blocking ahead
and behind, not leaving much room to maneuver. In addition, the roads were slippery and muddy making the journey treacherous. We saw people walking
up the mountain toting babies and suitcases, motorcycles trying to wiggle through the waiting cars. In the end, we and other people on buses and trucks, just
sat and waited for the excavator truck to come and remove the road block, hoping that the landslide ahead was the last one.

A mother carrying her child walks on a slippery and muddy road after a landslide. Photo: Kyaw Htut
Aung/World Bank

We gave a cry of jubilation when at 1 pm, we saw the excavator truck, signaling the end of our wait.

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9/4/2017 The long road to Chin state in Myanmar: A journey to build back better | East Asia & Pacific on the rise

By 4:30 pm, we finally got out and continued to drive over five hours along the windy and muddy road over hills and valleys, and finally arrived at Hakha at
7:30 in the morning. It was during our 9:30 am meeting that we heard the words of H.E. U Pu Sui Thio, Chin State’s Minister of Transportation, after he
expressed his appreciation for our trip during the rainy season.

“I wish the speed of implementing this road would be swifter than your voice,” he said. He didn’t have to explain any further – we understood fully what he
meant.

This trip brought home the power of experience, being in the situation, and talking face-to-face with our key counterparts. The consultations and this trip
brought back a sense of urgency in the execution of the Environmental and Social Investment Assessments so we can help build roads faster than our words.

After a review of the current Country Partnership Framework and listening to stakeholders across 14 states and regions including Chin, Myanmar and the
World Bank Group agreed to a two-year extension. This extension will help Myanmar strengthen its programs and reforms that will promote growth in rural
areas, improve nutrition, health and education services, create more jobs, and build better infrastructure. This means better roads and connectivity that allow
Myanmar people to seize market opportunities in their region and beyond, setting the standards for future road construction in the country.

It has been a privilege to work for the people of Myanmar and for that – Kar Lun Tu – thanks for the friendship from Chin.

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9/4/2017 The Road to Hakha: thousands remain displaced since monsoon floods in Chin State, Myanmar | OCHA

HOME (/) /  MEDIA CENTRE (/MEDIA-CENTRE) /  NEWS & UPDATES (/MEDIA-CENTRE/NEWS-UPDATES)

/  THE ROAD TO HAKHA: THOUSANDS REMAIN DISPLACED SINCE MONSOON FLOODS IN CHIN STATE, MYANMAR

The Road to Hakha: thousands remain displaced since

monsoon oods in Chin State, Myanmar

01 Dec 2015

(http://www.unocha.org/sites/unocha/ les/OCHA_Category/Top_Stories/P1080080.jpg)
Children at a school in Hakha. Eighty-seven families displaced by oods and landslides are currently staying in tents on the school grounds. Photo: OCHA/Eva Modvig

Chin State was one of the areas most severely affected by the monsoon rains that temporarily displaced almost 1.7 million people across the country
this year.

The road to Hakha, in remote Chin State in western Myanmar, is not an easy one to travel at the best of times. Even without landslides and rains, it takes between
seven and eight hours to drive. Now it often takes longer as sections are still blocked by mud and stones following landslides caused by the heavy rains and oods
in July and August.

Chin State was one of the areas most severely affected by the monsoon rains that temporarily displaced almost 1.7 million people across the country this year.
The remoteness of many of the townships in the state and the damage caused by landslides meant that aid was slow to reach this area compared with other parts
of the country. Hakha was cut off from outside assistance for two weeks.

Overall, close to 1.7 million people were temporarily displaced and 172 killed by oods, landslides and strong winds that affected 12 of Myanmar’s 14 states since
June 2015, according to the Government. While most of those displaced were able to return home shortly after as ood waters receded, almost 11,000 people
remain in evacuation sites in Chin State and neighbouring Sagaing Region as of early November. Most of them are awaiting relocation as the Government and
partners carry out geological surveys to nd suitable new spots.

The Government has promised to provide housing and services for all who need to be relocated but in the meantime, families are staying in temporary camps.
Many of the displaced are worried about the future particularly as winter starts to set in and temperatures drop to freezing.

Communal housing

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9/4/2017 The Road to Hakha: thousands remain displaced since monsoon floods in Chin State, Myanmar | OCHA

Kit Luai, 32, a carpenter, lives in one of the camps with his wife and three children. He is softly spoken and often stares distractedly into the distance. He is now
unemployed and had to vacate the room he rented when landslides destroyed his home. “Even thinking about what will happen to us tomorrow is di cult,” he said.
“How can I think about the future? We had just moved here and we have lost everything.”

Zing Hha Hoi, 17, has been living in Kai Kam camp in Hakha since the landslides destroyed her family’s home. Her top priority echoed that of many others: “I wish
for a safe place for my family to relocate to and where the whole community will be able to stay together.”

Chin State’s remoteness and lack of infrastructure mean it is also the poorest of Myanmar’s states and regions. Most people here who lost their homes, crops and
food stocks have limited means to cope, and they will need continued support to get back on their feet. Particularly vulnerable are the rural families whose
farmland and crops were destroyed.

Many of the displaced people are still living in communal living quarters, some with no privacy and limited facilities, such as latrines or bathing spaces. The
Government, local NGOs and faith-based organizations have been leading the response, providing food, shelter, water and other basic necessities. Emergency
response agencies include WFP, UNICEF, Save the Children, the Myanmar Red Cross Society, UNHCR and IOM, while UNDP is helping with early recovery. Despite
this help, some items such as stoves, solar lights, plastic sheeting, repair kits for tents and fuel are still needed. UNFPA has given some protection training to civil
society organizations as protection remains a concern, especially for women, adolescent girls and children due to the communal living conditions.

Hlawn Tin Cuai is the Programme Manager for the Hakha Rescue Committee, a coalition of local civil-society organizations and other partners. She decided to take
a year’s break from studying architecture in Bangkok to support the response in her home town. “We want to ensure people get the assistance they need and that
temporary shelters meet minimum standards,” she said. “Local organizations need support from international ones as they don’t have experience in this kind of
response,” she said.

Further investment in disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness is needed to ensure vulnerable communities are better equipped to deal with future
emergencies. OCHA has been working with the Government of Myanmar and partners to strengthen emergency preparedness, including through training and
capacity-building, law development and improving coordination. For families who remain displaced, a new home and support to rebuild their livelihoods is the
number one priority.

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