The Chin Fabric Trail

Historically, many great travelers have made their way through trade routes made famous by important commodities being traded at that time. There was the Silk Road across the Asian continent, and the ancient Incense Route linking the Eastern world to the Mediterranean.

Today, trade routes have become a relic of the past as countries are more connected to each other than ever. The ease of transportation mean products from all over the world can be  flown around to fill up shopping malls – available for purchase every day from dawn till dusk through every season.

Competing against the variety and availability of mass-produced products, one might not give a second glance at handmade crafts, such as those made by Mang Tha, an organization to empower Chin refugee women from Burma, based in Kuala Lumpur.

A closer look at the craft however reveals tales of bravery, history, heritage, pride, love and suffering – found in the traditional Chin fabrics of Burma.

From Burma to Malaysia

The Chin fabrics routinely make its way from Burma to Malaysia, though at an economic scale much more microscopic compared to the other historical trade routes, but no less significant to its market.

My first introduction to the Chin fabric was Mang Tha’s red sling bag – almost passing as a generic souvenir commonly found in any South East Asian country.

“This is our traditional fabric used in all our Chin costume,” Ma Engi explained, who escaped the oppressive and violent Burmese military rule in 2008.

There are several versions of the origins of the fabric’s pattern, described by the women in Mang Tha.

One is a story of a man who once fell in love with a beautiful mermaid. The mermaid told him never to tell anyone of their relationship or a tragedy would happen. One day, the man could no longer keep his love for the mermaid to himself anymore, told someone about their love and of how she is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.

He died right after telling the story. The grieving mermaid came out of the water to see her dead lover that night. Only one person saw the mermaid, it was an old lady. The old lady saw the beautiful mermaid dressed in red fabric which she later weaved a copy of. That fabric is what we now recognize as the traditional Chin fabric.

Another story of the fabric’s origins is that it was inspired by the rainbow.

Amongst the red fabric, many other colors and fabric patterns enough to put a fabric collector in seventh heaven – are made into phone pouches, pencil cases and other functional products.

“Every one of the 17 ethnic groups of the Chin people have their specific costume and thus (different) fabric (for each costume)” explained Susan, coordinator of Mang Tha.

Browsing through the wide selection of scarves, table runners and bags, I was advised to buy whatever I like – because there is no guarantee that the same fabric will be available next time.

This erratic supply of fabric is explained through the travelling that each roll of fabric had to make before reaching the capital city of Malaysia, called the “second country” by the Chin refugees as they await to be resettled through the help of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to their “third country” where most of them hope to make their home.

“Malaysia does not recognise refugees. Our legislation, namely the Immigration Act 1959/1963, does not differentiate between an undocumented migrant and refugees. Hence, refugees here are usually treated as undocumented migrants by the authorities. The government on various occasions expressed that they are reluctant to recognise refugees at it would bring an influx of refugees to the country,” explains Temme Lee, refugee coordinator for Suaram, a human rights organization in Malaysia.

The fabrics are brought to Malaysia by Burmese workers coming to Malaysia to work as labourers in construction sites and restaurants, which are then sold to a middle man. The middle man resells the fabric in Kuala Lumpur at the range of USD 20-100, depending on the complexity and rarity of the pattern.

“One set (2m) fabric that is hand-woven takes 3 days and more than 5 days if woven with traditional looms” Susan explained.

The value of these fabrics is not only in the hand-crafted element nor the ’shipping’ surcharge – these fabric represents the Chin people’s heritage and culture.

“We can only bring what we wear and one more set of clothes,” Susan explains.

Their journey by car and boat to get here is difficult, with sometimes up to 30 people cramped into a van. On top of that, they also face the danger of being caught and detained by the Thai authorities.

According to Ngun Thluai who has been a refugee in Malaysia for almost 3 years, many people don’t survive the hazardous journey.

“Refugees continue to come to Malaysia not by choice. In Burma, certain communities are highly oppressed and often are subjected to forced labour. If they do not obey the military, they are subject to persecution. Refugees leave their homes out of fear that their lives might be threatened or even taken,” Temme adds.

Those who managed to make it to Malaysia, struggle to make ends meet as opportunistic employeers take advantage of their vunerable situation by paying them low wages.

“All our income is spent on food for our family and rent. We can’t afford much else,” Ma Engi shared.

Ma Engi is one of the lucky ones to own a piece of traditional Chin fabric, given as a gift from a friend. She uses it as a baby carrier to carry her daughter.

Mang Tha, making sweet dreams come true

At Mang Tha, which means ’sweet dreams’ in Chin – the women tailor these traditional fabrics into functional products such as handphone pouches, purses and bags, to be sold to generate income for their livelihood.

“Often, these women are too scared to go out of their apartments, and some can spend most of their time between four walls for several years waiting to be resettled. Mang Tha allows them to have an activity while staying in Malaysia, to earn some income and improve the living conditions of their family, to acquire a sense of purpose, self worth and dignity, as well as skills they can continue using when they move to their third country,” said Ariel, a Mang Tha volunteer.

Apart from helping the Chin refugees in Malaysia, Mang Tha also reaches out to other Chin refugees in other countries such as India, by buying fabric from All Burma Democratic Lushai Women Organisation (ABDLWO) based in Mizoram.

“India is not a signatory country of the Geneva Convention 1951 and the UNHCR has no operations in Mizoram. Chin in Mizoram face security abuses, severe discrimination, religious repression, (they) lack job opportunities, housing and affordable education. They live largely at the mercy of the local population in Mizoram,” explained Elodie Voisin, a volunteer for Mang Tha since 2008.

Mang Tha gets the fabric from refugees in Mizoram coming to Malaysia in hopes of getting recognition by UNCHR. By buying fabric from ABDLWO, the working conditions for the refugees there can be improved.

Looking at a simple purse made by Mang Tha, it feels as if the purse is whispering heroic tales of a weaver braving oppression in her Chin homeland, or a Chin refugee in Mizoram hoping to weave a better future for her children. Or maybe, of a refugee in Mizoram taking the fabric on his or her way to Malaysia where hope resides.

With the iconic twin towers almost at the backyard of over 27,000 Chin refugees residing in and around Kuala Lumpur, I wonder if every one of them managed to get a hold on a piece of fabric unique to their ethnic group. Something to remind them of their heritage, which tells the tale of someone’s brave escape to a safer place, something to hold on to through rough times in a strange land and something which would travel with them in hopes of a brighter future for their next generation.

Notes:

• Mang Tha’s products are available here
• Keep in touch with Mang Tha through Facebook here
• Names of some interviewees are not their real names at their request to protect their identity.

Meet the Artisans – Malina Soning

Malina Soning is the coordinator of Soning Craft, and founder of the SINOMPURU Women’s Group. In this new series on “Meet the Artisans”, we find out more about her background, and her experience selling online via elevyn.com.

Growing Up

Malina grew up being taught the importance of being independent at an early age.

“If you want new clothes, books, shoes and toys, you have to make handicrafts”, was her parents’ contant reminder.

With 8 siblings in the family, producing and selling handicrafts helped Malina through school.

“Only through education, will a life or a community change”, she noted.

Career

Right after high school, Malina took on voluntary jobs to educate children with special needs in Matunggong, Sabah. At that time, on top of daily necessities, she had to support 5 younger siblings in school and her aging parents.

As the project had little budget, and with falling prices of handicrafts, Malina had no choice but to produce as much as she could, even up to hundreds of them, just to earn MYR 500 a month.

Malina then joined an NGO known as PACOS Trust, where she received exposure in community development and experienced her first interaction with computers. Later, her brother opened up a cyber cafe in Kudat in hopes of exposing the local Rungus students to the Internet. It was here that Malina, tasked with managing the business, learnt about the web.

Founding the SINOMPURU Group

Around this time, it came to her attention of several families in her village, Kampung Tinangol that were living in poverty. The SINOMPURU Women’s Group was then initiated to support 16 families in the form of materials for craft-making, loans for children’s education and emergency needs.

Driven with a sense of responsibility to the SINOMPURU members, Malina and her sister Mazeline rented a small store in Kota Kinabalu to sell the crafts.

It was then, that they got to know Reita Rahim, co-ordinator of Gerai Orang Asal (Gerai OA) who sells the crafts in Kuala Lumpur on a non-profit basis. Reita also works with the artisans on product quality and uniqueness, on top of providing support to members in need.

Selling Online

Malina had always had a vision to sell online, but encountered numerous difficulties. She was not proficient in English, had no technical expertise nor any knowledge in online selling.

The opportunity to get Soning Craft online happened when Malina got to know Sze Ning through the latter’s field work in Sabah a few years back.

For Malina, the online shop is vital to provide wider market access for the artisans, and to gain further support for the SINOMPURU members – not for charity, but through income earned from honest, hard work and expertise honed over the years.

How web surfers built a house

Materials: Photos and Text

Tools: Web 2.0

Results: A house for Aunty Imboi