Standing Up for Burma’s Besieged Chin People
“My hometown of Thantlang is empty,” says alum Za Uk Ling (BA’06).
“Burma’s armed forces burned and destroyed at least 1,000 homes there last year.”
It was another blow for a man who’s been fighting for decades to protect the Chin people of Burma (also called Myanmar).
Za Uk majored in political science at Lakehead. In 2025, he became CHRO’s executive director after serving as the deputy executive director. “My Lakehead education gave me the necessary foundation to navigate through anything and realize my passion.”
Despite this loss, Za Uk remains unbowed.
He is the Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO)—founded in 1995 to protect the rights and dignity of the Chin people and other marginalized communities in Burma.
“The Chin state is the only Christian-majority state in a predominantly Buddhist country,” Za Uk explains.
The military is using violence against its own people to try to create a single national identity where everyone is Buddhist and speaks the same language,” he continues.
“They view Christianity and Islam as a threat to this identity, so they’ve stripped minorities—like the Chin and the Rohingya—of their religious and language rights.”
With a small group of committed people, CHRO exposes human rights abuses, advocates for justice, and provides humanitarian assistance to Burmese people affected by conflict, persecution, and displacement.
A Childhood Marred by Tragedy and War
Za Uk has spent his life coping with devastating losses.
His parents passed away when he was a small child and his older siblings had to flee to India because of their involvement in a student movement trying to topple Burma’s military regime.
Za Uk (left) was invited to speak alongside the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 8, 2025. “The Chin state is the size of Switzerland, but the Chin people make up just 1% of Burma’s entire population,” Za Uk says. “Our state has been intentionally neglected and is the poorest in the country.”
Za Uk’s precarious situation deteriorated even further in the mid-1990s when he was a high school student.
“The military started using forced labour to build camps and roads. Young people were in constant danger of being snatched to carry supplies on their backs to the frontlines.
They were forced to act as human shields—walking ahead of military units over mountains so that they would step on any buried land mines.”
Like his brothers and sisters, Za Uk had to escape to India and leave his homeland behind.
A New Life at Lakehead
While in India, Za Uk found his calling when he began volunteering with the Chin Human Rights Organization.
He also applied to the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) program, which enables refugees to attend university. The Lakehead University Student Union raised funds through a student levy to bring Za Uk to the Thunder Bay campus as a WUSC student.
“The professors were great, and the quality of my education was so enriching,” he says.
“Dr. Syed Serajul Islam, who was the political science department chair, became my main mentor. He was always willing to help and encourage me.”
Above, Za Uk (centre) receives a 2023 Exceptional Alumni Award from Alumni Association of Lakehead University President Paul Popo-Ola (left) and Orillia Campus Principal Linda Rodenburg (right).
After graduating from Lakehead in 2006, Za Uk successfully applied for an internship with Foreign Affairs Canada to help refugees in Malaysia. Once the internship ended, he began working full time with CHRO.
“I’m based in Thailand, and sometimes India, because I can’t return to Burma.”
Courage in the Face of Violence
Za Uk travels constantly speaking at the United Nations and meeting with government officials—including the European Parliament and the Canadian Senate— to advocate for the Chin people.
“CHRO has been accredited by the United Nations, which allows us to amplify voices on the ground and engage in international advocacy,” he says.
“Human rights violations in the Chin state are worsening. They’re now at the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
They’re trying to starve the population by not allowing aid agencies into the Chin state. We’re providing basic assistance like food and medical care.”
CHRO is also reaching out to faith communities for their support.
“Knowing that people around the world stand in solidarity with us gives us the strength to persevere.”
“Living without fear and being able to go about daily life in peace is a fundamental right,” Za Uk says. He met privately with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volka Turk (right) in Geneva.
