In the News ... "Local Burmese Chin refugees launch clothing line"

MRT Photos

Ragini Venkatasubban, Reporter
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Flared pants, colorful skirts and tiny onesies hung on racks Sunday evening at the First Presbyterian Church as shoppers milled around, contemplating their purchases. It looked like a regular launch party for a new children's clothing line -- with one big difference.

The clothes were all part of the Chin Collection at Scarlet Threads, a custom children's clothing line handcrafted by Burmese refugee women living in Midland. The four seamstresses who produced the collection escaped from their native Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in the face of religious and ethnic persecution and came to the U.S. as refugees, moving to Midland because of the abundance of jobs.

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