Meet Jacob, Chin Community Leader
Liam FoldiShare
Jacob Thang’s journey from Myanmar to Australia began in 2005. At the age of 20, he was forced to leave everything behind. It was a difficult decision to leave his homeland, but Jacob knew he could not stay in Chin State. After two days of hiking through mountainous terrain, Jacob and his brother arrived in Aizawl, a small city nestled in the mountainside in India’s northeast. It was Jacob’s first time ever seeing electricity.
“This is heaven” Jacob said, recounting the moment he saw the lights that illuminated the city at night for the first time.
The Chin people, who are predominantly Christian, have faced decades of persecution by the military in majority Buddhist Myanmar. An estimated 90 percent of people in Chin State live below the poverty line. It is a place where even rice is a luxury. When Jacob was growing up, the only reliable food they had was corn – a fact evident in his 5-foot 5 frame, the result of years of malnutrition.
From Aizawl, Jacob and his brother travelled for several days and eventually made it to Delhi. They waited patiently for confirmation of refugee status which they were unsure would ever come. In India, Jacob would work 12-hour shifts, 6 days a week, for a weekly salary of 875 rupees (roughly $10.56 in today’s dollars). Now, they had access to more than just corn, but living conditions in India were hardly an improvement. Chin people in India exist on the fringe of society. They lack citizenship which means they have no rights or protections. They live in houses they do not own. Any job they find can be taken away in an instant. In India they survived, but this was not a country where Jacob could build a life for his family.
After seven long years, Jacob received news that his refugee status had been accepted; his family would be moving to Australia. At this point, Jacob did not speak English. He could just barely locate Australia on a map and had never been to an airport, let alone flown across the world on an aeroplane. But he trusted that in Australia there was an opportunity, an opportunity for a better life, which he so desperately desired.
When Jacob arrived in Australia, he took the first job he was offered at a factory butchering meat in order to support his family. Jacobs first years in Australia were spent working long days at the factory, taking English language classes in the evening, before going home for dinner, a few hours of sleep and waking up at 4am to do it all again. Eventually he saved up enough money to start his own landscaping business, allowing him to employ 80 of his fellow Chin refugees. Jacob is now recognised as a leader for the Chin community around the world, a model of refugee success in Australia.
I met Jacob in 2018, six years after he landed in Melbourne. In the years since we have become close friends. Since 2019, Kenshi Candles have been made by members of the Chin community organised through Jacob. This means not only is every candle funding pasta for people in need, every candle is also providing employment for a member of the Chin community here in Melbourne.
In June, 2024 I travelled to Myanmar with Jacob to visit his home village of Sentung. A beautiful place, where houses are painted in bright colours, chickens and dogs roam free, kids play from dawn to dusk without a worry in the world. A place with no wifi or phone service and a two hour walk from the closest village, disconnected from the outside world. On the surface it almost appears a beautiful place to live. But since the military coup of 2021, the Chin people live in constant fear of being attacked by the Burmese military who burn down villages and kill innocent people indiscriminately.
During our trip we donated 2.5 tonnes of rice. I was able to see first hand the impact this had on those who need it most. But for as long as the military dictatorship in Myanmar remains in power, more must be done.
