War Scars in Chin State
24 November 2024
Chin State, Burma
Tibual, Chin State, is a small village of about 30 households located about 40 kilometers from the ongoing battle in Falam. The Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) successfully liberated Tibual in November of 2023 and now the fighting has moved to the former capital of Chin State, Falam. Though it is no longer an active conflict zone, Tibual is not without its own marks of war. An empty Burma Army camp looms over the village from a nearby hill, surrounded by a barbed wire fence and unmarked minefield. A home along the main road displays large posters warning children of the types and dangers of landmines. Around the village are the leftovers of armed forces, a resistance checkpoint here, a Burma police hat there. The village hospital and school are both abandoned, the bomb hole in the hospital roof hinting at why people feel unsafe to gather in common buildings.
Zung Lian Che, aged 44, runs a small shop out of her home. Her front door has a sheet metal ‘patch’ covering a section that was kicked in by an invading soldier. Her walls are pockmarked with bullet holes. From her windows, you can see the now abandoned Tibual Burma Army camp. Zung Lian Che’s home was caught in the crossfire between Burma Army troops and CNDF freedom fighters.
Zung Lian Che tells a story that all the villagers seem eager to share. In November 2022, CNDF volunteers came to the village to evacuate the people in anticipation of a CNDF offensive in the area. Amongst the evacuated villagers was Hau Chung Nung, aged 56, a mentally disabled man. Unfortunately, Hau Chung Nung didn’t understand the situation, so he left the group and returned to his home. When some of the villagers returned to their homes after the fighting concluded, they found their homes looted and Hau Chung Nung lying dead in the street, rifle-caliber bullet wounds in his chest and forehead.
According to the villagers, before the CNDF offensive began, the Burma Army reinforced the Tibual camp by helicopter, rappelling a squad of soldiers onto a hill on the other side of town. On their way to the camp, the Burma Army soldiers looted the village homes, taking valuables and even occupying the village church for several days. The villagers assume that during their looting they found Hau Chung Nung in his house and executed him on the spot.
The village today is half empty, vacant houses lining the road. Many of the residents only feel safe enough to return now that the village has been free of Burma Army soldiers for a year. Zung Lian Che is one of these, having only returned six months ago after a year and a half of living in Zokhawthar, a village along the border with India that has experienced a population explosion since the coup. Many displaced people have fled there to escape the fighting and try to find some sort of work in Burma’s war-wrecked economy. Since the coup, Zokhawthar has grown from its original population of about 800 households to now over 2000 households. Ironically, many of the empty houses of Tibual are now providing temporary shelter for a new wave of displaced people fleeing from fighting that has moved further south. These internally displaced people are now making Tibual a temporary home, as many of the people of Tibual make Zokhawthar their temporary home. There is a domino effect of people fleeing the fighting.
Despite the many signs of destruction and death, Tibual is not hopeless. Children play in the street, confident there are no landmines there. People greet each other and wave, even to strangers. The village church is filled every Sunday with the sound of teaching and praise songs. Tibual is proof that war can do terrible damage, but people are resilient. We thank God for the people of Tibual. We thank God for their hospitality to displaced people and their courage in the face of great difficulty. We are also encouraged by their faith and continued hope. Please pray for Tibual, for Chin State, and for Burma.
God bless you,
The Free Burma Rangers
