About CAM
The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization based in Ellicott City, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. CAM empowers the Chin communities in Maryland to be successfully integrated into American society. CAM also advocates for durable solutions for Chin and other refugees and internally displaced persons, and religious freedom and human rights in Burma. CAM has been documenting human rights and religious freedom violations. This is CAM’s third report since the military coup on February 1, 2021. The others included After the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma: Challenges for Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees. Seventeen Months after the Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma: Escalating Persecution of Christians in Chin State and Sagaing Region. In addition, CAM also produces periodic statements and monthly news updates.
Chins, over eighty-five percent of whom are Christians, are an ethnic nationality from Burma. They are a major recent US refugee group that fled from Burma to neighboring countries to escape ethnic, religious and political persecution by the Burmese military since 1962. In 2001, about 1000 Chin asylees came to the US through Guam, resettling largely in Maryland, Indiana, Florida, and Texas. Since 2002, the US has resettled many more Chin refugees coming through Malaysia and India. Chins now number 70,000 across the United States, with about 5,000 making Maryland their home.
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Staff
Executive Director
Zo Tum Hmung, Executive Director of the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM), previously co-founded and served as the first Executive Director of the Ethnic Nationalities Affairs Center-Union of Burma (ENAC), a research center that supports the peace process and development of democratic institutions in Burma. Mr. Hmung completed his Master in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School focusing on foreign policy and negotiations and also finished his Master of Theological Studies with a concentration in Christian Faith and Public Policy from Eastern University’s Palmer Seminary. He was born in Chin State, Burma, and currently lives with his family in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Research and Project Manager
Jennifer L. Siegel, PhD, MSW, Research and Project Manager at CAM, completed her doctoral degree in social work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Researcher
Zolian S. Zoong Lwe, MS, PhD Candidate.
Community Outreach Coordinator
Bawi Lian, BS.
Research Interns and Volunteers
Esther Par, Research Intern
Abishag Cer, Research Intern – October 2023 to February 2024
Hannah Par, Research Volunteer – October 2023 to February 2024
Htayni Sui, Research Volunteer – October 2023 to February 2024
Field Consultants
CAM also has field consultants in India and in Burma to carry out projects for the organization.