Hangzo, like most of her family in India, is a member of the Kuki, which is sometimes referred to as Kuki-Zomi or Kuki-Zo.
After the mob burned the church, Hangzo’s family hid in a local hotel. They watched the growing mob outside on the security camera before escaping to an army camp. Hangzo and others convinced them to leave the region by plane.
“They had to run for their lives with just the clothes on their back,” said Hangzo, who works as an engineer in the tech industry.
With luck and help from people Hangzo describes as “angels,” the family made it safely out of the region. Images from the local news channel showed their homes looted and burned. Eleven members are now crowded in a three-bedroom apartment in New Delhi, India’s capital. Despite leaving all their possessions behind, Hangzo said they feel fortunate to have made it out alive.
Since the violence broke out in Manipur, Hangzo has dedicated her time to informing people about the conflict.
She is one of the founding members of the North American Manipur Tribal Association, a national organization formed to promote awareness of the hill tribes of Manipur in the U.S.
The group wrote letters to President Joe Biden, asking him to raise the issue when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. at the end of June. NAMTA also coordinated efforts with the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, as well as Indian Christian organizations.
“There’s not much we can do on our own, but I think the atrocities and the stories from Manipur have shaken people and shaken the conscience of other people,” Hangzo said.
Indian communities in the Bay Area held rallies in Oakland, Palo Alto and Fremont after a video showing two Kuki women being assaulted in public went viral in India. Members of the Muslim, Sikh and Dalit communities in the Bay Area also combined efforts to pressure congressional leaders to take action.
Pieter Friedrich and Shan Sankaran protested the treatment of the Kuki with a hunger strike. Friedrich, a human rights advocate, ended his fast after nine days at the request of NAMTA and the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations.
On Thursday, Sankaran, a Sunnyvale resident, ended his hunger strike after 10 days. Sankaran said if the central government wanted the crisis under control, they would’ve taken action earlier.
“This is not the first incident under this administration,” said Sankaran, recalling how Modi was denied a visa to the U.S. for several years for “severe violations of religious freedom.”
