Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples,
Gender Justice and Peace

Newsletter

Newsletter Archive

2023
Issue #06

Towards Justice and Healing in Manipur

September Newsletter, 2023

Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace

As we welcome you into our September newsletter, we acknowledge September 21st, the International Day of Peace. We hold in our prayers all of our sacred relations in the midst of conflict, processing the traumas of loss, and becoming visionaries of peace.

Although our September newsletter issue focuses again on the increasingly volatile conditions of Northeast India and Burma regions, we will also be highlighting important peace work done by Indigenous activists and organizations across the world.

Throughout August and September, Indigenous women activists for peace across the Indo-Burma region have been targeted and discredited. We believe strongly in promoting peace work by women leaders and women groups, and continue to work tirelessly with women peace builders towards peace resolution processes in conflict zones across the world.

Read the newsletter on your browser

Humanitarian Aid Support to Survivors in Manipur

Support to Sugnu Relief Camp on August 11th, 2023

Since violent conflict broke out in India’s Northeast State of Manipur on May 3rd, 2023, the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (MWGSN) and the Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace (NEIWIP) have been working to distribute humanitarian aid to conflict survivors. Humanitarian aid in Manipur remains difficult, especially in Kuki areas where education and critical medical supplies and medical professionals remain largely inaccessible. A blockade on NH-2 resumed in August, as Kuki organizations demand more relief items sent to Hill districts of Manipur.

MWGSN and NEIWIP have distributed 3,184 Core Relief Items (CRI) across 3 relief camps in Kakching District. CRIs include sanitation kits, female reproductive health and hygiene kits, food items, water, and education materials.

In Delhi, MWGSN and NEIWIP have distributed 438 CRIs to 45 survivors across 15 households.

Children who received education materials on June 10th, 2023, in Kakching Khunou

To date, MWGSN and NEIWIP have also distributed 2,123 CRIs to survivors in Sugnu, Kakching District, 1,060 CRIs to two relief camps in and around Kakching Khunou Government High School, Kakching District.

MWGSN and NEIWIP have also signed MoUs with community leaders on the ground to assist in psychosocial support relief and access to humanitarian aid for survivors.

Broader access to humanitarian and government aid for IDPs across Manipur needs national and international attention as conflict in Manipur continues into its 5th month.

Read more about humanitarian initiatives

International Tribunal for Peace in Manipur

In an effort to bring about peace, healing and reconciliation, concerned citizens and organizations from Manipur and around the world met on August 2nd, 2023, to sow the seeds towards the establishment of an International Tribunal for Peace in Manipur (ITPM). The aim of the Tribunal is to help in charting a pathway for much needed peace in Manipur which is one of the least known and most forgotten war zones of the world. The Tribunal is comprised of concerned and committed individuals and organizations from Manipur and around the world.

Those who were present at the meeting include Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams, Ambassador Steffen Kongstad, Kassahun Checole, Reynaldo Antonio Morales Cardenas, Fred Lubang, Mitzi Austero, Binalakshmi Nepram, International Peace Bureau as well as members of Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace and Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network.

Since the initial meeting, steps have been taking throughout August and September to move the ITPM forward.

Indo-Burma Region Situation Report



NORTHEAST INDIA SITUATION: Key Updates

  • 21 killed in August adding to the 225 people who have been killed in escalations of violent conflict in Manipur since May 3rd. Over 6,000 injured, over 70,000 displaced, and over 8,814 houses burned since the beginning of the conflict. The escalation follows heightened tensions between Meitei and Kuki communities, in part triggered by the Meitei community’s push for Scheduled Tribe Status in Manipur. Kuki groups have feared Meitei ST status would diminish job, educational, political and land opportunities.

  • 20 cases of gender-based violence against women have been recorded, which include gang-rapes, torture, and assault with intent to outrage the modesty of women. Ground realities are likely higher. In addition, 21 women have been murdered since the outbreak of violence in Manipur on May 3rd.

  • 316 arrested, 21,453 in preventative detention, and 6,523 FIRs have been lodged in Manipur since the outbreak of violence in Manipur on May 3rd. Government data also reports 5,558 incidents of arson occurring since May 3rd, however, internal tracking reveals much higher numbers.

  • 40,600 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.

  • 9,450 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.


MYANMAR SITUATION: Key Updates

  • 55,500 Asylum-seekers have now crossed the Indo-Burma border since the February 1th, 2021 coup. Numbers are expected to be an undercount.

  • 1,927,200 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still seeking refuge within Myanmar’s borders. This includes 804,500 IDPs in Sagaing Region and 45,200 IDPs in Chin State, two of the three states sharing a border with Northeast India.

  • 24,586 Myanmar Nationals have been arrested by the military regime (19,901 still detained), and 4,023 have been killed by the military regime. These numbers include arrests of 658 children, and the deaths of 449 children. Many children have died or been crippled by land mines set by the military regime.

  • 2,086 homes have been burned down by the Myanmar military during multiple offensives from July to mid-August. Data for Myanmar reports 74,874 homes have been destroyed by the military since the beginning of the military coup. Shelter and basic commodities remain limited for people in Myanmar’s border states due to road blocks and heightened conflict.

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

2 killed, 48 injured in armed attack in Manipur town, 5th in 4 months

Times of India, September 9th, 2023


“Armed militants struck for the fifth time in four months at Pallel town in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district before dawn Friday, setting off retaliatory gunfire, arson, and clashes between civilians and security forces in which two people died and 48 – including an Army officer – were wounded.

Within hours of the violence, the administration evacuated 1,500-odd tribal women and children from this area with a mixed population, located 60km from Moreh on the India-Myanmar border.

The first bullets were fired around 4am, when about 50 armed men in 15 vehicles coming from the Chandel side simultaneously attacked three villages – Molnoi, Kotlemphai and Munjang – along NH2, sources said. A main identified as Paokholen Haokip (32) was killed in one of the villages.”

Read the full news article

Myanmar receives first shipment of Russia's Su-30 fighter jets, RIA reports

Reuters, September 10th, 2023

“Myanmar has received the first shipment of two Russian Su-30 fighter jets, Charlie Than, Myanmar's trade minister, told the Russian RIA state news agency in remarks published on Sunday.

Two aircraft have already been delivered," Than told RIA on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, Russia's annual forum aimed at developing economic cooperation in the region and encouraging foreign investment, which starts on Sunday in the port of Vladivostok.”

Read the full news article

Press Conference Giving a Platform to Women Peace Activists in Manipur

On September 13th, 2023, a press conference was held in Delhi, India, which gave a voice to women leaders who have been advocating for peace in Manipur since violent conflict broke out on May 3rd, 2023.

The press conference highlighted stories from conflict survivors, and shed light on the difficulties faced by survivors and women leaders in Manipur. Meira Paibi, one of the largest peace organizations in Manipur, has increasingly been targeted in social media, news reports, and by influential leaders as a polarized and decisive force within Manipur.

The press conference gave Meira Paibis an opportunity to speak freely about their work towards restoring peace in Manipur, and steps that they view should be taken by all parties to begin on pathways towards conflict resolution.

Indigenous Knowledge Section

A Right to be Heard

A right to be heard
Not censored of word
A voice that is true
Not a momentary view
A word that is said
It remains in our heads
Of value that's true
In both me and you
It signals the start
From deep in our hearts
A sentence recalls
From the big to the small
It flows like a stream...
"I have a dream"

By Zelda Quakawoot (Torres Strait Islander)

Explore more of Zelda Quakawoot's poems





Painting of Meitei and Kuki Children

By Meena Laishram

Manipuri artist, Meena Laishram, has begun a partnership with the Manipur Women’s Gun Survivor Network (MWGSN) and the Northeast India Women’s Initiative for Peace (NEIWIP) to create paintings of peace in response to the Manipur conflict.

This painting is one of her first paintings of the series, depicting a Meitei and Kuki child arm in arm. As children across Manipur face the traumas of war and displacement, this series of paintings seek to capture the essence of peace and the importance of resolution for the next generation.

MWGSN and NEIWIP are working with Meena Laishram to organize exhibitions of her work across Manipur, India, and the world, as a means to start a dialogue of what peace in Northeast India could look like.

Explore Meena Laishram's work on instagram

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

Location

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