Chapter 9 of 9

Diaspora

Persecution, war and the search for opportunity have carried Zo families far from the hills. New communities now keep language, faith and festivals alive on four continents.

Why people left

Migration has many causes. Within India, education and work drew people to cities. For people leaving Myanmar, the literature points to political and religious restrictions, military abuses and insecurity. Thangsuanhau and Jamkhanpau describe a large exodus of young people from India’s Northeast to cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata from the 1990s. They cite poverty, unemployment and weak local colleges as reasons people leave, and private-sector jobs and good colleges as reasons people move to the cities. For the Zomi abroad, they cite the view that military action and human rights violations in Myanmar are the single greatest cause. ^[1] A student moving to an Indian city and a family fleeing persecution both shape diaspora life, but under very different conditions. ^{[1] [5]}

United States Documented

Indiana has the largest number of Burmese refugees in the US, concentrated in Indianapolis. ^[2] The first arrived in the early 1990s, with a large wave in 2007–2008. ^[2] By 2020 one agency, Exodus Refugee and Immigration, had placed almost 20,000 Burmese in the city, about 75% of them Chin — one of the largest Chin concentrations outside Myanmar. ^[2] The community centres on Southport and Perry Township on the south side. ^[2]

The Chin Community of Indiana was founded on 20 July 2001 and reports a population of over 30,000 by 2024. ^[6] Other communities have grown in places such as Columbus, Ohio. ^[7]

Malaysia Documented

For many families, Malaysia has been a transit point while they await resettlement. Community institutions there include the Zomi Education Centre in Taman Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, which publishes introductions to Zomi history. ^[8] It names persecution, forced labour and torture as reasons families fled, and separately describes restrictions on Christian practice under military rule. ^[8] The same centre gives an undated estimate of about 150,000 Zomi in Burma, and about 80,000 abroad in the USA, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia. ^[9] In 2019, more than 15,000 of the more than 18,000 Chin refugees registered with UNHCR were in Malaysia. ^[3] That year UNHCR dropped its plan to end Chin refugee status, citing worsening security in southern Chin State. ^[10]

Australia & New Zealand Documented

Australia’s 2021 census lists Zomi as a home language in its own right (code 6105), separate from Chin Haka. ^[4] In Western Australia, Chin Haka is among the main languages of the 9,351 Myanmar-born residents counted in 2021. ^[11] In Melbourne, Maroondah council commissioned public art from Chin textiles in consultation with the local Chin community. ^[12] Zomi communities celebrate Khuado in Australia ^[13] and New Zealand, where families explain the festival as the moment elders pass traditions to children. ^[14]

Europe Documented

Zomi communities are reported in the UK, Germany and Sweden, and Zomi Education Centre materials also list Denmark and Norway. Communities further afield include Japan. ^{[1] [9]} Norway’s Chin community has been studied by the Peace Research Institute Oslo for its support of education and peace-building in Myanmar. ^[15] Official population counts for Europe are still needed.

India as refuge Documented

Mizoram has long sheltered Chin arrivals: by 2004 the state government counted over 9,000 Chin, while the Chin Human Rights Organisation estimated more than 50,000. ^[16] Many families there rely on support from relatives and diaspora groups abroad. ^[16]

Youth corner

If you grew up in the diaspora: ask an elder three questions — what village, what clan, what song. Write the answers down. Then share them.