Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples,
Gender Justice and Peace

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Issue #02, 2023

Voices of Survivors

February 2023 Newsletter

Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace

The Global Alliance celebrates its 4th birthday on February 11th, 2023! We look forward to another year around the sun, and an exciting year of growth to come.

As we step into the rhythms of 2023, we recognize the deep courage and bravery of our Indigenous brothers and sisters around the world who continue to advocate for their rights, for self-determination, and for the nurturing of their sacred spaces within communities where too often those spaces are threatened. The strength of our Indigenous women leaders, our wisdom keepers, our storytellers, our dancers – the strength of those who enable us to see the power, bravery, and persistence of our cultures – will continue to guide us as we walk through the world.

In our February Newsletter, we focus on the ongoing developments within Indigenous refugee communities and survivors of the Indo-Burma region. The Global Alliance has been working around the clock to assess the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis within the region, and to begin delivering humanitarian aid to those most in need.

Humanitarian Work Update

Field team outside of the Centre for Women and Girls in Churachandpur, Manipur, after meeting with survivors (January 23rd, 2023)

In the month of January, the Global Alliance identified several survivors of conflict who are in need of emergency assistance. Many of the survivors are widows or displaced due to regional conflict and medical emergencies. The majority of survivors currently have little to no monthly income and are scraping by to survive. Some of the survivors are weavers who do not have consistent access to looms or weaving material while some run small shops in need of upgrades in order to continue to support their families.

The Global Alliance also continue to help survivors find assistance through scholarships, government schemes & other emergency medical and legal assistance, connecting survivors with additional resource opportunities, and connecting survivors with networks which can strengthen their stability, among many other strategies.

Read more about the initiative

Indo-Burma Region Situation Report



MYANMAR SITUATION: Key Updates

  • 50,000 Asylum-seekers have now crossed the Indo-Burma border since the February 1st, 2021 coup. Numbers are expected to be an undercount.

  • 1,551,900 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still seeking refuge within Myanmar’s borders. This includes 658,600 IDPs in Sagaing Region and 47,200 IDPs in Chin State, two of the three states sharing a border with Northeast India.

  • Air strikes administered by the Myanmar military on January 10th and 11th hit Camp Victoria in Chin State killing at least 5 people and destroying medical facilities. It was reported that the Myanmar Air Force flew into Indian airspace during the attack, and shrapnel landed on Indian territory in the Tiau River, which runs along the Indo-Burma border. No official statement has been issued by New Delhi condemning the Myanmar military’s airspace violations or stray shrapnel, raising concerns among refugees and allies in India. Relentless air strike attacks have continued to kill civilians across Myanmar in January.


NORTHEAST INDIA: Key Updates

  • 7 Insurgents Arrested in Manipur on January 25th, 2023, adding to the 10,107 arrests of insurgents made in Northeast India since 2014. During that same period, 587 insurgents have been killed in counter-insurgency efforts, along with the death of 128 special forces personnel. The Union Home minister, Amit Shah, reported that there has been a 74% reduction in insurgent casualties in the region. There has also been a 60% decline in security forces casualties, and a 90% reduction in civilian casualties in the region.

  • Indian Cabinet Passes Schemes of MDoNER initiative to further development priorities in Northeast India regions. The Schemes of Ministry of Development of North Eastern India focuses on infrastructure and transportation development in the region, and brings India closer to a vested interest in the natural resources of Northeastern regions.

  • 38,200 Myanmar asylum seekers are currently estimated in Mizoram, however, estimates are likely an undercount. The Mizoram government continues to issue Identity cards to refugees, however civil organizations still push the Indian government to afford stronger legal rights to asylum seekers.

  • 6,950 Myanmar asylum-seekers are currently estimated in Manipur, however, estimates are likely undercounted. The majority of refugees in Manipur remain in hiding due to fear of retribution by the Manipur State government.
Read the full situation report

Resources for Survivors in the Indo-Burma Border Region

UNHCR India Refugee Helpline:
Phone (toll-free) 1-800-103-5635

National Human Rights Commission, India:
Phone (toll-free) 91-11-24-651330
E-mail cr.nhcr@nic.in

Manipur State Human Rights Commission:
Phone (toll-free) 91-38-52-451017
E-mail shrcmanipur@gmail.com

To acquire a Refugee ID Card in Mizoram:
Contact local Refugee camp or government office Refugee ID cards are only valid in Mizoram

View the Indo-Burma region Refugee Fact Sheet

Indo-Burma Region in the News

Myanmar junta declares martial law in 37 townships across the country

Radio Free Asia, February 3rd, 2023


“Myanmar’s military junta has declared martial law in 37 townships across the country and authorized military tribunals to hand down life sentences and the death penalty for a wide range of offenses, a move that political and military analysts say will lead to more bloodshed, displacement and terror.

Thursday’s move came a day after military leaders extended their emergency rule over the country for six more months. It marked the second anniversary of the Feb. 1, 2021, coup that ousted the democratically elected government.”

Read the full news article

Hundreds of women protest against gun culture in Manipur

Imphal Free Press, January 29th, 2023

“Expressing serious concerns over the various crimes committed in the state by license gun holders, womenfolk under the banner of various organisations on Friday staged a sit-in protest at Khurai Khaidem Leikai in Imphal East against gun culture in Manipur.

The organisations included Puripuramba Nupi Lup (PNL); Women Empowerment Upliftment Development Association; Mangalleima VLF and Youth’s Forum for Protection of Human Rights.”

Read the full news article

Indigenous Women Leaders:
Rose Mangshi Haokip

Rose Mangshi Haokip has been at the forefront of women’s rights and Indigenous rights activism and advocacy in Manipur for several decades. To many in her community, she represents a voice of justice. She remains an immense source of inspiration to women and girls across Manipur and Northeast India. Her unwavering courage to speak up against unimaginable violence against women, and bring community into spaces to stand together in solidarity with Indigenous women who have been brutally raped and assaulted, has been a beacon of hope for the Northeast India region.

Rose Mangshi Haokip is the founder and president of the Kuki Women’s Association and advisor to Kuki Women Union Manipur. Rose Mangshi Haopkip has dedicated her life to enhancing conflict resolution processes and disarmament within the Northeast India region. She has been a fierce advocate for the demilitarization of Indian Armed Forces in the region as well as enabling the disarmament of insurgency groups and facilitating cross-cultural peace-talks in interethnic conflict. Her work has helped to de-escalate and dramatically improve the safety of Indigenous peoples caught in conflict zones. She continues to tirelessly advocate for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and women’s rights across Northeast India.

Indigenous Knowledges

Excerpt from rebel venom

a woman lacking tears
doesn’t cry on set
doesn’t cry behind the scenes
too used to casualties
a rebel wife
my mother

called irresponsible
negligent
heartless
but “nobody can invert fate”
I wanted to see
if she who turns on flesh and blood exists
I am your mother

I stayed with her
not yet a month
no chance to versify
in memory
at the village entrance
blossoms
under the blue myrtle tree

we talk
with strangers’ eyes
packaged ego
hit the forest searching
for a rebel shadow

By Khaing Mar Kyaw Zaw (Karen)



Amis Harvest Festival

In Amis culture of Taiwan, the Harvest Festival is a three day ceremony to honor and bless the harvest. It is a time of cultural heritage – a time to strengthen intercultural knowledge flows, continue traditions of Amis song and dance, and honor Amis Ancestors. It is also a time when Amis diaspora communities return home to reunite with their families and loved ones. Over the course of the three-day festival, there are communal dances, traditional dances, and modern dances. Within Amis culture, dance is a medium of communication with Ancestors. A sacred language is spoken to Amis Ancestors through feet and the human connection with the ground.

The communal dance is always the first dance of the Harvest Festival, connecting every age group of the tribe in song and dance with each other, and welcoming Ancestors into the space. It is one of the many announcements to the community and Ancestors that the Harvest Festival has begun.

Every age group is in charge of choreographing a traditional dance and a modern dance. The dance seen here is a modern dance. Often times, outsiders who have come to watch the Amis Harvest Festival see this dance and make comments about how the Amis people have lost touch with their traditions. It is a stark reminder that non-Indigenous people still have romanticized perceptions of Indigeneity as an identity that should be a forever unchanging and ancient performance. Quite the opposite, the modern dance is an expression of an ever-evolving Amis identity and culture.

Fellowship and Scholarship Resources for Indigenous Peoples and Refugees

Fellowships

FSC Indigenous Fellowship Program
“The FSC-IF invites applications from Indigenous Peoples to enable them to strengthen their skills, knowledge, capacities, and networks through fellowship opportunities with the aim to facilitate the implementation of a project at the sub-national, national, regional, or global level and to share their experience and learning process with their Indigenous peers.”

Indigenous Leaders Conservation Fellowship
“Through this fellowship, we are creating opportunities for Indigenous leaders to explore solutions to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss using the traditional knowledge of men and women.”

NAIS Fellowship
“The NAIS Fellowship seeks to support emerging scholars — such as graduate students, early career faculty, and community-based scholars — working within or across the international, interdisciplinary arenas of Indigenous Studies.”

Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship
“The Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship promotes intellectual leadership in Native American communities by supporting outstanding Native Americans who hail from a wide variety of fields and who utilize different modes of expression in communicating their knowledge and work.”

Scholarships (refugees and scholars from conflict zones)

HEC Paris – Imagine Fellows
“The HEC Foundation and HEC Paris, driven by the conviction that higher education has a key role to play in making the world a more peaceful place, have created “HEC Imagine Fellows”, a unique scholarship program intended for students from war-torn countries.”

Scholarship for Displaced Students – Columbia University
“The Scholarship supports displaced students from anywhere in the world who are unable to complete their higher education. These students will receive up to full tuition, housing, and living assistance while pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees…”

Humanitarian Scholarship – University of Manchester
“The University of Manchester has created fully-funded scholarships for 20 students who are fleeing war and persecution, with people now able to apply to start studying in September.”

Sanctuary Scholarships – University of Edinburgh
“The scheme aims to provides further academic training for doctoral students whose research studies have been affected by conflict.”

DAFI Scholarship – UNHCR (Myanmar not included)
“The DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) scholarship programme offers qualified refugee and returnee students the possibility to earn an undergraduate degree in their country of asylum or home country.”

Sanctuary Scholarships – University of Bradford
“The University of Bradford provides these scholarships to enable new students seeking asylum, or those already granted refugee status who cannot access student finance, to participate in higher education.”

Additional Resources

inHERE Project – Higher Education in Europe

Explore UN’s Higher Education Scholarship Opportunity Board

Times Higher Education – University Scholarships for Refugee Students

Upcoming Global Events

Location

Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace P.O. Box 27
New York, NY
10032, USA