In Myanmar, the Chin Human Rights Organization, which employs health professionals who went on strike following the military's seizure of power in 2021, has laid off 30 percent of its workforce since the freeze.
Two months ago, Mang Hre Lian was on a stage in Washington being lauded by then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his courageous and inspiring work promoting human rights and religious freedom in Burma. Since Friday, the 2024 recipient of the State Department's Human Rights Defender Award has been roaming the same corridors of American power. Only now...
“The places that we’re working in are the remotest areas in all of Burma, very hard to reach communities without other alternatives to medical assistance, Rural communities, people who are living in displaced situation, don’t know a whole lot about international politics, all they care about is their daily survival,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, of the Chin Human...
Everyone who receives US cash, he said, is in the same boat. UN agencies and multinational NGOs may have more of a cushion than local organisations, but not by much. “All that most people can offer is sympathy,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, who heads the Chin Human Rights Organization. “When everyone is equally affected, you can’t really expect...
Aid Cuts Leave Communities Helpless: Chin State is facing an unprecedented health emergency as disease outbreaks continue to spread unchecked due to a lack of resources and medical staff. Recent cuts to U.S. aid have crippled essential healthcare services, leaving thousands of vulnerable and displaced people at severe risk. Outbreaks of respiratory infections and diarrhea—already
CHRO's humanitarian efforts extend to facilitating peace-building initiatives in liberated areas, laying essential foundations for stability. By fostering resilience through these interventions, CHRO is contributing to long-term peace-building efforts that will support the reconstruction of communities and a federal democratic future, built from the grassroots level.
The definition of “life-saving” is also a stumbling block. “All of the work in Burma could broadly be interpreted as life-saving. I think everyone is nervous about stepping out of bounds of what that could mean," says Salai Za Uk Ling, Executive Director of Chin Human Rights Organization.
CHRO’s Executive Director Salai Za Uk Ling weighs in on how US aid freeze impacts humanitarian and human rights work in Myanmar on Al Jazeera Inside Story program. He appeals for the release of the $ 1 Billion Myanmar’s reserve fund remaining frozen in the US as a critical alternative to helping Myanmar people cope
The ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in western Myanmar represents one of the most acute yet neglected challenges in the region. Despite its severity, Chin State has often been historically overlooked and underreported, even as it has borne the brunt of violence since the military coup in 2021. Over half of the state’s population
FRONTIER: “It’s like leaving a critically ill patient without medicine,” said Salai Za Uk Ling. “He might not die immediately. But he will die.” He admitted that he had expected Myanmar to be exempt from the cutbacks, due to the historically bipartisan support for democracy in the country, especially from the US Congress.