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Frederick, MD – On September 2^nd and 3^rd the Chin Community of Burma in USA gathered at the Monocacy Middle School to celebrate the Chin New Year Festival. The bulk of participants came from Georgia, Michigan and Indianapolis and Maryland. The two-day event, celebrated every year across the US since 2001 gathered about 300 people from 8:00 AM to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Among the crowd were Elizabeth Chung, Director of LIFE & Discovery, Beverly Hendrix, Director of Diversity and Global Initiatives at the Frederick Community College, Jinji Zhou, Center for Peace Advisor on Asian Affairs and the Leaders of the Frederick County Branch of the NAACP who came out to show their support to this small, vibrant and fast growing segment of Frederick County.

When asked about the meaning of the New Year to the Chin community of USA, Mr. Zalian Za of Frederick who coordinated the event under the direction of Mr. Phun Thang replied “It is the time of the year following a great harvest when the community comes together to give thanks to God and strengthen the bonds between the members of the community.” Mr. Albert Sanglyen, predident of the Chin Community of Burma in USA concurred with Mr. Zalian before adding ”…this is also an opportunity for us to reach out to the Americans and encourage our people to better understand the American culture and learn English.”

Events included an exhibition that portrayed the people, history and culture of the Chin province, one of the 14 states of Burma also known as Myanmar. Participants also participated in a soccer tournament, Volleyball, Basketball, cultural music, traditional dances, fashion show and the taste of the Chin food.