View Full Version : Minorities:Shunned by Exploitative Ingrates!?
Expedition Thailand
Secrets of the Sea Gypsies
Survivors of the Tsunami (http://adventures.yahoo.com/thailand)
....This month, Richard Bangs Adventures explores the aftermath of one of history's most catastrophic natural events, visiting sites not only of destruction and loss, but of rebuilding and hope. It is a search for lessons in nature's wrath. In particular we visit the Moken people of Thailand's Surin Islands, a tribe known as the "sea gypsies," who suffered but one fatality in their traditional villages despite the havoc the wave wrought on the island. Schooled in oral traditions that foretold of the oncoming great wave, the Moken read the signs of the tsunami and fled to higher ground before the waters consumed their shores.
Our shepherd among the sea gypsies will be John Gray, one of the pioneers of sea kayak adventures over the past 20 years. A resident of Thailand for 16 of those years, John has built up friendships and connections with Thai in all walks of life, and offers his insight as he escorts us on our journey among the Moken, where listening to the voices of the ancestors can save your life....
Always difficult to know how to categorise some posts. This link will take you to the 'Virtual Hilltribe Museum'. However, it is connected to an actual 'Hilltribe Museum & Cultural Centre' in Chiang-Rai Province. This looks to me to be a distinct improvement on the sort of place the average tourist agency guides you to:-
http://www.hilltribe.org/
Having no nationality lands sea gypsies in jail
Nattaravut Muangsuk, Thai People Press [http://www.thaipeoplepress.com]
21 July 2007
News
For more than two months, a group of Moken sea gypsies from a fishing boat owned by rich men from Ranong province have been detained in the Nicobar Islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. No one cares about their fate, perhaps because they have no nationality, or perhaps they are not human beings? Why do concerned people not care at all about their agony?
Against the strong waves and winds of the monsoon season, a small group of Moken from Koh Lao, Tambon Paknam, Mueang district, Ranong, braved the stormy weather to make ends meet. They had to submit to the terms set by the rich boat- owners in the hope that their income from fishing would be enough to feed their abjectly poor families.
On 23 May, the "Porawee" set to sea from Koh Lao with a crew of 13 Moken. There was no fixed destinations for their mission to "dive for trepang (sea cucumber)". The boat vanished into the gusty winds and waves of the sea leaving their families behind with the hope that they would return with big wages to help their families to survive.
On 11 June, sudden rumours spread around Koh Lao that the 19 Moken were being held captive by the Indian authorities off the coast of the Nicobar Islands together with the boat and the Thai Taikong (captain) named "Berm". All hopes are now shattered.
The sea gypsies know too well their "status" on Thai soil. Despite bearing the royally invented surname "Pramongkit', all 19 crew members on the captured boat and their families along with all other Moken on Koh Lao have never been recognized as Thai citizens by the Ministry of Interior. Not a single state cares to recognize them even though they have been living here since ancestral times. Viewed as nomadic coastal tribal groups, the Thai authorities have denied the Moken sea gypsies Thai citizenship.
Their hopes and dreams have replaced by bitter tears and sorrows. They know too well that no one will come to their aid.
An NGO worker who went to collect information about this case disclosed to us that "Since the crew have been at sea for too many days, their relatives know that they must have been arrested"
Repeated arrests vividly reflect the reality of sea gypsy life. It was not the first arrest they had to face. Their livelihood hangs in the balance at the mercy of rich men and local influential groups. Despite knowing how vulnerable their future will be, they are forced to board the fishing boats. With more skills and knowledge in working in the seas than tilling the soil, they simply have to take fishing assignments in exchange for food to eat on board and the small wages they receive once they come ashore. Their relatives have nothing more important to do than to pray for their safe and timely return. Should they fail to return after several days, the relatives know that their breadwinners must have been captured by marine police in another country.
This time, they were informed about the arrest in the Nicobar Islands of India, which were affected by the tsunami on 26 December 2004. Situated 600 kilometres from Phuket Island, the Islands are a heaven for illegal fishing boats. Nicobar boasts very rich natural abundance and marine resources. All the rich men who own the fishing boats are blindly attracted to these "fresh" marine resources which can be fished and traded for money.
"Now, the rich man who owns the boat is trying to negotiate to get his boat back. The Thai Taikong cares nothing about the plight of the captured 19 Moken crew. He simply gave one thousand baht to each family (of the captured crew). But money cannot buy their lives," said an NGO worker who monitors the situation. He further said that given a lack of citizenship among the sea gypsies, they are vulnerable to exploitation by the rich men. When their boats are captured, the rich men simply pay to get their boats and the Thai Taikong back and do not care about the rest of the crew.
"Why do they have to care for those who do not even have documents to prove their citizenship anyway?" said the NGO activist. Since no Moken s have Thai ID cards and are unable to communicate with the Indian authorities, the Thai consul there does not care to help them.
Where do these sea gypsies come from?
According to Narumon Arunothai from the Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, there are three groups of sea gypsies in Thailand including the Moken, Morklen and Urak Lavoy.
Various dialects spoken and used among the three tribes belong to the Austronesian language family and they have no written language. They share some traditions and cultures including the ceremony to honour their ancestors and the boat floating ritual.
The population of the Morklen sea gypsies is about 2,500. They are settled in various villagers in Phang-nga and Phuket provinces. Given the similarity of their dialect to that of the Moken , they can speak to each other. The Morklen have been permanently settled for more than a century and have been able to assimilate well to Thai language and culture. Therefore, they have been given Thai citizenships and are sometimes called the "Thai Mai" (meaning "New Thai"). Their children study in local Thai schools and many have been converted to Buddhists though they still largely respect animism. A big ceremony to honour their ancestral spirits is held every year in Bangsak district, Phang-nga province.
The largest sea gypsy tribe in Thailand, the population of Urak Lavoy is about 4,000. They have settled in various coastal villages and islands around Phuket, Krabi and Satun. Similar to the Morklen, the Urak Lavoy have assimilated well to Thai culture and have been given Thai citizenship and also called "Thai Mai". The Urak Lavoy in many villages organize the boat floating ceremony twice a year.
In Thailand, the population of Moken is about 400, with another 2,000-3,000 in Burma. Most of them live a nomadic life and wander around the sea. Their annual ceremonies include the celebration of the ancestral spirit pillar. During the ceremony, the Moken from various islands will gather together to celebrate and refrain from going fishing for three days and three nights. In the past couple decades, some Moken families have chosen to settle permanently in the Surin Islands. Their nomadic way of life and self-subsistent livelihood have made them the skilled divers who know most about the seas.
The new generation of the three sea gypsy tribes are able to speak the Southern Thai dialect. Some are able to even read and write Thai, particularly among the Urak Lavoy. A large Urak Lavoy community is settled along Rawai Beach in Phuket and these people have adapted their lifestyles to get well integrated with the Thai people. On the contrary, most of the Moken population have hardly made any attempts to adapt and still retain their traditional way of life.
Some Urak Lavoy choose to live ashore and work as waged labour. In contrast, the Moken opt to live off the sea which is their significant food source. Their livelihood is very tied up with the sea. Even in the midst of a globalized world in which they have become waged labour, their livelihood still depends largely on the sea.
The case of Moken boat capture is different from the Thai fishing boats that were caught in Malaysian and Vietnamese waters a few months ago. In those cases, since the crews were Thai, the Thai consul helped to broker a deal to bring them back to Thailand. But the arrest of the Moken from Koh Lao is different as the Thai consul has made no attempt to help them since they are not considered Thai citizens. Until now, the Thai consulate in India has made no move to intervene in the case.
The agonies of stateless persons in Thailand have been repeated a number of times and it seems the policy makers do not care about them at all. Given their lack of citizenship, they are automatically treated as the lowest of the low in Thai society.
Who can they hold responsible for their vulnerability? Perhaps they have to always suffer this plight. In an era where "national reconciliation" becomes a catchphrase together with the celebration of diversity, the tears of young children embraced by their bereft Moken mothers who search the empty sea in the hope that their husbands will one day return, may disturb the conscience of the powers that be. Hopefully, they will come to treat the Moken as human beings who live in the same world.
The answer lies in the heart, not the law.
Names of the Moken detained in the Nicobar Islands, India. The spelling is based on the survey of stateless persons by the Thai authorities.
1. Mr. Jijad Pramongkit
2. Mr. Choy Pramongkit
3. Mr. Poran Pramongkit
4. Mr. Poj Pramongkit
5. Mr. Dong Pramongkit
6. Mr. Don Pramongkit
7. Mr. Chichin Pramongkit
8. Mr. Pan Pramongkit
9. Mr. Amen Pramongkit
10. Mr .Phuket Pramongkit
11. Mr. Teyor Pramongkit
12. Mr. Alem Pramongkit
13. Mr. Tock Pramongkit
14. Mr. Ben Pramongkit
15. Mr. Wak Pramongkit
16. Mr. Wit Pramongkit
17. Mr. Bayen Pramongkit
18. Mr. Waeng Pramongkit
19. Mr. Chang Pramongkit (his name is not recorded in the district registration since he failed to show up in the two surveys)
Translated by Pipob Udomittipong
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=114
I seem to remember seeing a report on this in The Nation, but noting (somewhat suspiciously) that it didn't portray this move in quite the same negative light. For at least a few Paduang, this is an acceptable way to make a living:
Paduang 'Long-necks' Ordered to Relocate to Draw More Tourists
By Saw Yan Naing
September 14, 2007
Forty-seven Paduang, a sub-tribe of ethnic Karenni also known as "long-necks," have been relocated to Huay Pu Keng on Wednesday by order of the Thai authorities, according to a village headman.
Pongdej Tipyoo, the head of the Mae Hong Son Governor’s Office, told the English-language newspaper, The Nation: “When all the long-neck people come to live in the same spot, we will be able to develop it into a tourist destination. The community can become a Mae Hong Son selling point.” He said tourists can reach the community either by boat or by car.
There are three Padaung villages in northern Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province: Huay Sua Tao, Nai Soi and Hyay Pu Keng.
Thai authorities had earlier asked the group to relocate to Huay Pu Keng village. However, most of villagers were unwillingly to follow the order.
Local authorities in Mae Hong Son have kept tight control over the Padaung community. The three camps where Padaung live are called “human zoos” by critics.
Maung Htan, the head of Huay Pu Keng village, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that seven families with 47 people arrived in their new village on Wednesday. He said transportation, shelter and rations were arranged by authorities.
A resident in Huay Sua Tao village, La Meh, said ten Padaung families from Nai Soi village will be moved in coming days.
There are estimated 500 villagers living in Huay Sua Tao and Nai Soi, according to Maung Htan.
Young female Padaung are a steady tourism draw because of their traditional neck rings, which they begin to wear around age six. More rings are added as they grow older; as many as 23 rings are worn by adults.
Padaung women can earn around 1,500 baht (US $38) from tourists who pay 250 baht (US $6.25) to enter villages in Mae Hong Son Province. They also earn smaller sums from selling traditional clothing, jewelry and handcraft goods.
The Padaung migrated to northern Thailand more than 10 years ago because of poor agricultural prospects at home and the threat of danger—including forced labor—by Burmese soldiers.
In 1998 Thai police raided a Padaung village in Chiang Mai Province and charged the businessmen who ran the tourist attraction with holding the villagers against their will.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8608
Cabinet approves naturalization of sea gypsies
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the naturalization of sea gypsies who have settled in Thailand before January 18 1995.
Their children would also given Thai citizenship, Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30049414
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/upload/HilightNews/library/200612/09_230930_44.jpg
[Photo: Prachatai]
Three translated Prachatai articles (of a series) about the continual persecution suffered by the Pangdaeng hill tribe. These two articles are too long for cut & paste - especially as they also have quite a few good pictures. Let's hope these articles don't expire too quickly, as the reporter, the photographer and the translator have put a great deal of effort into them.
Article 1:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=321
Thai Language source:
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=6170&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&SystemLanguage=Thai
Article 2:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=327
Thai Language source:
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=6199&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&SystemLanguage=Thai
Article 3:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=330
Thai Language source:
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=6231&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&SystemLanguage=Thai
Article 4 (Final Part)
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=331
Thai Language source:
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?ContentID=6245&SystemLanguage=Thai&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&mod=mod_ptcms
ALSO Thread on the dire situation of Hmong tribespeople in both Laos & Thailand:
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=2455
American Hmong testimony on the persecution of their people in Laos:
http://www.geocities.com/illhmong/
Hill tribes rock Chiang Mai
The Chiang Mai hills will rock once again when hilltribe musicians stage their second International Pop Concert to bring attention to their legal status and the prevalence of HIV/Aids, human trafficking and drug abuse.
The concert, to be held on November 3 at Kard Cherng Doi, Chiang Mai, will have more than 20 singers from seven ethnic groups, who will lead the show with songs and messages delivered in their mother tongues, namely Karen, Hmong, Mien, Akha, Lisu, Tai Yai and Lahu.
"Minority people are starved for information and entertainment in their own language," says Dr Sheldon Shaeffer, director of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Regional Office in Bangkok, one of the event's co-organisers.
"This puts them at great risk."
In Thailand and the Greater Mekong sub-region, there's a disproportionately large number of highland folk in the sex trade, trafficked individuals, drug users and those infected with HIV/Aids. One of the major issues leading to such situations is the lack of citizenship and the scarcity of information in ethnic languages, which limits the efficiency of prevention programmes.
"The concert won't prevent the problem, but it will capture the attention of people who aren't easy to reach. It will educate Thais to think of hilltribes as citizens of their country and not as a tourist attraction," says David Feingold, head of the Unesco Trafficking and HIV/Aids Project.
More than 5,000 highland minorities and lowland people are expected to attend the concert. Admission is free, but visitors have to obtain a ticket from Radio Thailand Chiang Mai on Prachasamphan Street, Chiang Mai.
"We're so small that our voice can't be heard," says Chi Suwichan, 27, a Pakayo musician of the Karen tribe, who received a master's degree in non-formal education for development from Chiang Mai University. "But at this concert, at least people can hear stories from the insiders.
"Lowland and highland people are neighbours, but we lack communication. And it leads to misunderstanding. We don't expect people to understand us and the issues better just by attending one concert, but we hope that those who come can spread the word and speak on our behalf," he says.
Organised in honour of His Majesty the King's 80th birthday, the concert is also an opportunity for highlanders to express their gratitude for His Majesty's tireless work in improving the livelihood and welfare of mountain people.
Three years ago, Thailand's first International Hilltribe Pop Concert, organised by Unesco and Radio Thailand Chiang Mai, shook the mountains around Chiang Mai with a crowd of 4,000 stomping, dancing and singing fans.
"The first concert was a major success - both as entertainment and in bringing attention to the issues facing hilltribe people," said Feingold, who has been working with the northern highlanders for almost 40 years now.
"This year's event is even bigger, and highlights the importance of legal identity in preventing human trafficking."
The five-hour show kicks off at 6.30pm on November 3 and will be broadcast live by Radio Thailand Chiang Mai. The broadcast can be listened to across Thailand, southern China, Lao, northern Vietnam, Burma and parts of India from 7pm. Thailand's Channel 11 will also televise the concert from 8.30pm onwards.
The event is part of a continued cooperation between Unesco and the Government Public Relations Office Region 3, Chiang Mai. Additional support comes from the Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Culture Ministry; Plan International Thailand; Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation in Human Development; the International Labour Organisation's Mekong Project to Combat Trafficking in Children and Women; United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; the British Embassy; the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the Asian Development Bank.
For more information, contact Feingold at d.feingold@unescobkk.org; call (02) 391 0577, extension 504; or contact Chotika Khruemanee at k.chotika@unescobkk.org; call (02) 391 0577, extension 510.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/26/rookie/rookie_30053852.php
Piang Luang: Historical lands and changes (1)
Pu Chiangdao
29 October 2007
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=342
"My ancestors were Thai. My grand parents are Thai. I was born in Pok Pian which used to be part of Thailand. We learn and speak Thai. Our ancestors told us we are Thai, but the land was given to the westerners. So we are not Thai citizens." - Sutin Kingkaew
When in Burma, they were called Cha, which means Thai. They were treated as second-class citizens and abused by the Burmese military state.
When in Thailand, they are called ‘displaced Thais', stateless, without nationality. They cannot own land, register marriages, travel across provinces, are denied access to state health care, and so on.
Displaced Thais from Burma (1)
Ongard Decha
17 October 2007
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=316
Thai Script source: http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=9928&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&System_Session_Language=Thai
Displaced Thais from Burma (2)
Ongard Decha
30 October 2007
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=343
Thai Script source:
http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=9961&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&SystemLanguage=Thai
"As a matter of fact, to set the record straight, we are not displaced Thais, rather our land was displaced. We didn't go anywhere. Once the border was settled, we just became non-Thai. Were our ancestors informed that we would lose our nationality?" Sutin complained.
Displaced Thais from Burma (final)
Ongard Decha
02 November 2007
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=352
Thai Script source: http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/page2.php?mod=mod_ptcms&ContentID=10062&SystemModuleKey=HilightNews&SystemLanguage=Thai
http://www.thaipladthin.org
The government passed a cabinet resolution on January 18, 2005, allowing them to change their nationality to Thai. Nevertheless, they still find it hard to come to terms with, as it officially forces them to accept being Burmese first and then to change to Thai.
Another shortcoming of the Jan 18, 2005 resolution is that through the nationality change they will not be completely Thai citizens as they will not be granted certain rights such as political rights.
A bill to restore Thai nationality to their ancestors has been proposed and is being considered.
Pakawin Saengkom, coordinator of community and livelihood project, said that the authorities still regard these people as uncontrollable illegal aliens, a threat to national security.
"This problem is a mistake made in the past; setting the boundary on the basis of geographical features, not taking the people into account. We should recognize the mistake, and solve the problem by changing the laws and orders accordingly," Pakawin said.
LONG-NECK KAREN
Tour company 'kidnaps' six for show
Published on November 13, 2007
Victim uses tourist's cell-phone to plead for help; police hunt for resort
Six "long-neck" Karen from a village in Mae Hong Son were allegedly kidnapped from their homes in September by a private tour company.
The company has since forced the six to display themselves for tourists in a resort in Chiang Mai's Mae Tang district, according to a relative of a victim, who received a call from a kidnapped girl.
Meanwhile, international non-government groups have condemned businesses in Chiang Mai using the Karen to attract tour groups, in what they refer to as "human zoos".
Ya Thae - the husband of a woman kidnapped in Baan Huay Pu Kang in Padong Hill Tribe Conservation Commu-nity, in Mae Hong Son's Muang district - said he found his family missing after returning home from picking up his son from school on September 24.
His wife Ma-se, aged 34, was gone along with his son aged eight and daughter, aged six. They had disappeared with three other children from Baan Huay Sue Tao.
Chanpen Santisuk, an official in charge of the long neck Karen community in Baan Huay Sue Tao, said she had received a phone call on November 3 from Mali, a girl who had disappeared weeks earlier.
The girl said she managed to call by borrowing a cell-phone from a tourist who went to the resort in Tambon Mae Kued, in Mae Tang district.
She and the other five Karen had been kidnapped and held by a group of Thai-Burmese labourers since the end of September.
The victims were forced to show themselves to tourists at the resort in Mae Tang - in return for a salary of Bt4,000 per month. The girl said they were threatened with death if they tried to escape. She asked Chanpen to get police to help them.
The six kidnapped Karen have been given refugee status by the United Nations Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
They were "listed" after complaints from the Burmese government about unscrupulous Thai business people using the Karen as tourist attractions in an unethical manner.
Police in Mae Tang district are now trying to find the hotel where the alleged kidnap victims are being held.
Officials from independent organisations focused on human trafficking have urged the Thai government to treat the problem seriously. They believed the Mae Taeng resort kidnapped the Karen, and has kept them under lock and key to make money out of them, by displaying them in a fake village setting.
For a fee, tourists get a chance to take photographs with "long necks" and observe an "authentic" Karen life.
There have been reports of hotels in Mae Tang, Mae Rim and Chiang Dao districts organising Karen lifestyle shows. Many claim they want to preserve the art and culture of the region for tourists.
"Karen people who live in our area are willing to live there. We never force them," said an official at a hotel in Chiang Dao, which put on a Karen lifestyle show. The official asked not to be named.
Jirat Prasertsup
Citylife
Chiang Mai
Non-specific link:
http://www.chiangmainews.com/
See also:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/13/headlines/headlines_30055834.php
From The Sunday Times
November 11, 2007
Thailand’s ‘human zoos’
The long-necked women of a popular Thai tourist destination have spoken out about the prison-like conditions they are forced to endure as inmates of what they describe as “a human zoo”.
Padaung women, who fled Burma as refugees in the 1980s, are famous for wearing dozens of brass rings that give the impression of grotesquely elongated necks. Thai businessmen quickly spotted their curiosity value and set up tourist villages, charging visitors about £20 to see the women, whose images have subsequently appeared on postcards and in holiday brochures and promotional material for Thai tour operators.
Yet conditions in the villages are “worse than prison”, the women say. “Our men are forbidden to seek work, we cannot grow our own food and if we try to leave, we are beaten,” says Mun Mun, who lives in the village of Nai Soi. “We have no privacy. We are like animals in a zoo.”
Officials who run the villages deny that the women are exploited and say they are free to leave. But six who recently tried to flee were allegedly kidnapped and returned to work in the tourist village.
“We believe that the only purpose of their kidnapping is for exhibition in these tourist camps over the peak holiday season, which is beginning now and will continue over Christmas,” said Thai police major Worapot Phuttawong.
The luxury operator Cox & Kings said that it “does not actively promote visits to tribal groups in Thailand”, and the adventure specialist Explore said: “We are aware that the treatment of Padaung women in Thailand, and the conditions that they live in, are controversial. As a result, we do not visit these women on any of our tours.”
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/article2837081.ece
Somewhat ironic, as always, that those who get most upset about guest worker problems are invariably the same people who are always on the outlook for labor that comes even cheaper than their own bargain basement population:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=378
Straight to the Point : We Need to See our Guest Workers as Human Beings
Jon Ungphakorn
14 November 2007
The way we treat our two million migrant workers is absolutely appalling! We treat them as we see them. We don't seem to see them as human beings with human rights, or as important (even essential) contributors to the Thai economy.
In a letter of October 26th urging factories to keep a close watch and control over their migrant workers, the Governor of Samut Sakhon province described the problems caused by "the alien worker community, particularly Burmese workers, who live together in large numbers" as consisting of "health problems, dependents, stateless children, crimes, violations of laws, together with the display of their culture and traditions at local festivals and organised events which is inappropriate and should not be encouraged as it leads to feelings that they own the community..." [my translation]
On October 31st the Thai News Agency reported that a 700-strong task force of police officers raided the Samut Sakhon shrimp market, nearby communities, two seafood factories and a low-income workers encampment, detaining about 1,200 Burmese immigrant workers, including 30 babies, to check their documents. During the raid, the police found two Buddhist monks from Burma who said they were visiting relatives here and giving sermons and otherwise ministering to the Burmese community. Police questioned them as to whether they might have been involved in convincing Burmese workers to protest military rule in Myanmar.
Earlier, on October 8th police arrested Mr. U Kyaw Lwin, a Burmese migrant worker and community leader in Samut Sakhon with a legal work permit. It seems that his "crime" was to organise social activities among the migrant worker community such as establishment of savings schemes, health programs, and a community library. Police accused him of carrying out political activities because in his room they found copies of General Aung Sun's speeches and documentary CDs of the current Buddhist Monks' movement in Burma, as well as pictures of General Aung Sun and Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi on the wall. His work permit was revoked and he was deported to Burma.
Earlier in the year Phuket, Pang-Nga, Ranong and Rayong provinces announced provincial regulations prohibiting migrant workers from using mobile phones, driving motorcycles and other vehicles, gathering together for any activities except religious ceremonies, or leaving their living quarters after 9 p.m. unless assigned to night shift. The Rayong announcement states that a section of the migrant workforce "has behaved in ways that indicate they are a danger to society or are likely carry out evil acts endangering peace and order, the lives and property of citizens, or national security" [my translation]
According to a May 14th report in the Nation, the National Human Rights Commission has investigated the case of six fishing trawlers with about 100 crew, mainly migrant workers, which sailed from Samut Sakhon in July 2003 to fish in Indonesian waters. The crew were not allowed to return for three years during which time 38 of them died while others returned home seriously ill, emaciated, emotionally disturbed, or unable to see, hear or walk properly. A Samut Sakhon Hospital diagnosed the men with serious vitamin deficiencies. None of the men were paid. The boat owners claimed that crew employment was the responsibility of the trawler skippers. Apparently labour law in this country does not cover fishermen working outside Thai territory for more than a year.
On October 28th the Bangkok Post reported on several cases of migrant workers killed or seriously injured while working, whose families were unable to obtain compensation.
These are just some of the grievances of migrant workers in Thailand. It goes without saying that they are employed in jobs that are shunned by Thai workers, experience extremely difficult living and working conditions, and are generally paid lower rates than the legal minimum wage.
The lack of respect for human rights and lack of compassion exhibited by our society reflects badly on all of us. As long as we don't treat our guest workers as human beings, we are not like human beings ourselves.
Jon Ungphakorn is a former elected senator for Bangkok and at present the Chairman of the Thai NGO Coordinating Committee on Development. Comments are welcome at: ungjon@usa.net
First Publish in Bangkok Post
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Nov2007_news25.php
In contrast, General Sonthi DPM sees guestworkers as a pest that encourage other social vermin such as NGOS:
Babies of illegal migrants ring bells
Published on November 15, 2007
Deputy premier Sonthi sees need for 'the problem' to be dealt with
There are around 2,000 children born to illegal immigrants nation-wide each month, prompting an alarming call for immediate internal security and nationality solutions, Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratglin said yesterday.
Sonthi, who deals with internal security after resigning from the National Council for Security to take a Cabinet post, said a permanent mechanism supervised by the National Security Council (NSC) would need to be set up to deal with "the problem".
"There have been many problems concerning high birth rates, disease control, conflicts with Thai people and among themselves along with social issues, which will all become long-standing problems. They may demand more and more for their rights. These problems may become unsolvable one day," he added.
Sonthi was speaking after a visit to Samut Sakhon province, where most of the hundreds of thousands of fishing trawler crews were illegal immigrants. Only 70,000 of them were registered with the local labour offices.
"I am concerned by the alarming facts. We need to organise the whole issue now, but we will follow the right steps, because if there is anything overdone, human rights groups may get involved to take care of the issue," he said.
In Ranong, which borders Burma, Governor Kanjanapha Keeman made public a nine-point solution issued recently by the Supreme Command for management of internal security and social order in coastal provinces where immigrant workers resided.
Several projects that might provide solutions include the establishment of VHF and Citizen Band radio transmission stations in the province to improve communication between local communities, civilian government agencies and security agencies.
The other projects are aimed at preventing illegal entry, human smuggling, trafficking, slave labour, plus narcotics suppression plans and the registration of all fishing trawlers operating off the Ranong coast and other provinces bordering the Andaman Sea.
Kanjanapha said immigrant workers in Ranong, both registered and illegal, were producing illicit stimulants in their communities to cope with the long hours and hard labour while many of them kept entering Thailand with smuggled drugs.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/15/national/national_30056148.php
Perhaps, also, it is time for Thailand's military to wake up and realize that the Burmese Junta exports the problems it can't be bothered to solve itself to neighboring countries. This is the upshot of too much 'golf' diplomacy!
Sonthi lambasted for remarks on migrant babies
Published on November 16, 2007
Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratglin has been criticised for saying that pregnant illegal immigrants, mostly Burmese, should be sent back to their home countries to deliver their babies before being allowed back into Thailand.
Assoc Prof Phanthip Kanjanajittra, a Thammasat University law lecturer, said such a practice would create hatred between Thais and Burmese. "Repatriating pregnant women is a sign of apparent discrimination and hatred, which will backfire against all Thai people as a consequence," she said.
Phanthip said Sonthi apparently misunderstood the law concerning the nationality of children born in Thailand to illegal immigrants.
"Those children in fact do not automatically earn Thai nationality by birth under an exception under Thai law," she said.
The authorities must exercise caution when dealing with immigrant workers or expatriates, she said. The practice of not issuing birth certificates to children born in Thailand to immigrant workers, whether registered or illegal, is wrong, she said.
Without birth certificates, these children cannot verify their rightful nationality or link to their parents if they return to Burma because they don't have documents proving their status as members of the same family, she said.
"We are not a Wild West or ultra-nationalist society. We need to be careful not to discriminate against fellow human beings residing in Thailand, which is in violation of international laws," she said.
"If we allow rich foreigners to have children in Thailand, we should also allow these poor immigrant workers to do the same."
Ong Bangchun, a Mahidol University lecturer who is a Mon descendant, said Sonthi's planned repatriation was "inhumane and irresponsible".
He said: "How can you force pregnant women to return to their home country when they are not welcome there?"
He said there was no such thing as pure Thais, according to various studies he was familiar with.
All Thais have mixed blood from all races in Southeast Asia going back for generations, he said, so Thais have no right to discriminate against people using state-designated nationality as a criteria.
Ong said several solutions could be adopted to solve the problem of overpopulation among immigrant workers under existing laws and legislation to be passed in the near future.
"But the problem cannot be solved simply by driving them away while they are pregnant," he said.
The Nation [Kwan]
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/16/national/national_30056299.php
This report seems to be connected with the story in the previous post. Link may expire:
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/news.shtml#hd7
Team of wandering Long Necks detained in Chiang Dao
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/pictures/n8-248.jpg
[Photo: Chiangmai Mail]
Six members of a long neck tribe in Mae Hong Son were detained by police in Chiang Mai’s Mae Tang district after they were discovered working at a resort hotel in the Chiang Dao area.
One of the detained members of a Long Neck tribe in Mae Hong Son has here photo taken at the Chiang Dao police station after they were discovered working at a nearby resort.
The Karen tribe members in police custody were quoted saying they had been kidnapped by a tour company who wanted to display them for tourists in Chiang Dao. The police though are investigating whether they the long necks traveled out of Mae Hong Son by force or on their on accord.
Non-governmental groups (NGO’s) have long condemned tour group visits to Karen tribes calling them human zoos, yet the indigenous tribe benefits monetarily by charging for photographs and selling handicrafts.
The six members had been working at the Wang Namyad Resort when police discovered they did not possesses the proper working permits and had left the province of Mae Hong Son without the required documents.
One of the long neck women stated that about one month ago a group of investors had asked them to come to work at the Wang Nam Yad Resort for a salary of 2,000 baht a month for each of the six. The deal included food and board at the resort. They were to work distributing souvenirs to the guests at the resort.
The long neck members were transported back to Mae Hong Son and have been put under refugee protection by the United Nations.
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=394
Mind your language
Harrison George
23 November 2007
In what counts as an act of high bravery for a UN bureaucrat, UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education Director Sheldon Schaeffer recently argued for the preservation of languages. Noting that language diversity is much richer that most people and governments in the region think, he argues that measures to promote the use of minority languages, such as using them in primary schools, not only helps otherwise disadvantaged individuals, but also helps the government. By demonstrating that it values all its child citizens, and not just those lucky enough to be born in households that speak the ‘national' language, the government is more likely to earn, and retain, their loyalty.
If only.
Go back a minute to the report of the National Reconciliation Commission. In case you've forgotten, this is the report that the Thaksin government, after the disasters of Krue Sae and Tak Bai and the farce of the paper cranes, was shamed into commissioning. Neither the Thaksin nor Surayud governments have taken the Commission's recommendations seriously.
(And don't hold your breath. Back then, Prime-Minister-hopeful Samak Sundaravej was co-hosting TV talk shows with fellow idealogue Dusit Siriwan, The pair relentlessly slagged off on the NRC in favour of some sort of gung-ho ‘shoot 'em up' policy. It got so bad that people started suspecting that Thaksin had to keep the NRC going, no matter how much they criticized his policies. Once it disappeared, Samak might turn his vitriol on Thaksin. Now Samak has inherited Thaksin's party, such are political allegiances in Thailand.)
One of the NRC's recommendations (6.8) includes the idea ‘The state must develop a policy of language for education beginning from kindergarten, including a policy of using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction'.
That was a proposal that died a quick death (and not for the first time). Within days of the Commission's report (published in Thai, English, Pattani Malay and Arabic), Gen Prem Tinasulanonda, ex-PM and Privy Council head, was rubbishing the idea.
‘We cannot accept that [proposal] as we are Thai. The country is Thai and the language is Thai. So we have to make efforts to learn Thai and [everyone should have a uniform] command with the rest of the Kingdom,' he was quoted in the press. Clearly, whatever his competence and connections, the good General knows nothing about the psychology of language learning.
Another example would be the recent order by the Internal Security Operations Command to ban the use of the Karen language on community radios in the north. In keeping with ISOC's semi-clandestine modus operandi, this order was first plopped out by a Second Lieutenant at a community radio meeting. No written order, no explanation about how Second Lieutenants get to order everyone else about. But the ban turned out to be genuine and although the Internal Security Act isn't law quite yet, ISOC does seem to be able to run things in this country.
Apparently ISOC's own linguistic limitations meant it couldn't follow what the radio stations were broadcasting. So, as often happens when ignorance and nationalism are combined in the one brain, ISOC got scared. Maybe these unintelligible broadcasts were informing Karen in Thailand of what was going on in Burma, where other Karen live. And, the xenophobic paranoids must have assumed, if the Karen find that out, maybe they'll get ideas.
I'm not sure what frightful ideas the Karen would get that anyone with access to the Bangkok media, the internet, or any of the Burmese information networks operating in Thailand couldn't also get. Maybe the idea that democracy is something worth fighting for. Maybe that there are some countries where military rule imposes poverty, injustice and suffering through acts of theft, enslavement, rape, torture and murder for which they enjoy impunity. Maybe that even if you belong to a minority, you still have rights to practise your own culture, believe in your own religion, speak your own language.
I'm not completely sure why such ideas, protected in the constitution, might be so dangerous in ISOC's eyes. But even if they do worry their poor selves with such fantasies, couldn't they just have used a tiny fraction of their secret budget and hired an interpreter or two, just to check first, rather than go trampling all over someone else's sense of identity with a blanket ban?
You see, languages don't normally die. They're killed off. An unknown number of the hundreds of indigenous languages of North America are now dead for the simple reason that their speakers were on the wrong end of a campaign of genocide. Slightly less extreme measures have seen aboriginal children forcibly snatched from their families in Australia, parents thrown in jail for giving their kids Kurdish names in Turkey and deaf kids, native users of sign language, having their hands tied behind their backs in US schools.
Thousands of children in Thailand turn up to their first day of primary school incapable of understanding the first word the teacher says. And the research is unequivocal. Start kids reading a language they already know and they can thrive. Force feed what for them is gobbledy-gook, and they start the educational rat race a couple of laps behind already.
Show intolerance to other's languages if you want. Just don't start complaining when they show intolerance back.
Wisarut
23-11-07, 09:59 PM
OProabbaly, the bureaucrats have been taught that you are SUPPOSED to SPEAK Central Thai Dialect ... Any otehr dialects or minrity languages "Wrong languages" to speak ...
Rights to speak minority languages are TOTALLY Wrong ... They should NEVER have such rights at all ... ANy who advocate minority languages should be UPROOTED until they have NO root left on earth ,... even it is necessary to use scrought earth tactics to do so ...
doseiai
18-12-07, 10:00 PM
Economic force of migrant labour, BangkokPost Dec 18 2007
Thailand's estimated 1.8 million migrant workers earned $2 billion in wages last year but may have contributed $11 billion, or 6.2 per cent, to the gross domestic product, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) revealed.
According to the ILO report - Thailand Economic Contribution of Migrant Workers - the kingdom is getting a better deal off its migrant workers than it is giving them.
"If migrants are as productive as Thai workers in each sector, their total contribution to output should be in the order of 11 billion dollars or about 6.2 per cent of Thailand's GDP," said Manola Abella, the ILO's chief technical advisor in Thailand, summing up the report's findings.
The total number of migrants in Thailand rose from about 700,000 in 1995 to 1.8 million in 2006, according to the report. Last year about 75 per cent of the migrant labourers came from neighbouring Burma, who now represent 5 per cent of Thailand's total labour force of 36 million.
The remainder came from Laos and Cambodia, Thailand's neighbours to the north and east. Thailand has been registering migrant workers since 1992, but many stay unregistered to avoid the relatively expensive and time-consuming process.
In 1995, some 45 per cent of the estimated 700,000 migrants were registered, while only 26 per cent of the 1.8 million were registered last year.
Migrant labourers are limited to certain sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, construction and as domestics. Nearly half of Thailand's domestics are now believed to migrants, said the ILO report.
It found that migrants, on average, earn about half the minimum wage and are not eligible for state services such as medical care and education for their children.
"What worries the ILO is that migrants are not receiving equal treatment ," said Abella.
The ILO called on the Thai government to abide by fundamental principles is dealing with their migrant labour and to make procedures flexible.
"If the government were to acknowledge that the Thai economy is likely to continue to employ migrants over the medium term, create mechanisms to involve social partners in development of a transparent migrant policy, and promote cooperation with migrant countries of origin, Thailand could reap the benefits of migration while protecting the rights of migrants in Thailand," concluded the report. (dpa)
Also:
A Growing Source of Fear for Migrants in Malaysia, NY Times, Dec 12, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — When his turn comes to stand watch, Kang Long posts himself at a window, peering into the dark streets outside the tiny apartment where his fellow migrant workers sleep 10 to a room.
Greg Constantine for The International Herald Tribune
Kang Long, a refugee in Malaysia, says he lives in fear of immigration raids.
“We always fear, especially at night,” he said. “Maybe there will be a raid. Where will we run? I worry for my wife and children. I’ve been thinking of moving to the jungle.”
Mr. Kang Long, 43, is an ethnic Chin refugee from Myanmar, one of as many as three million foreign workers whose labor on farms, factories and construction sites and in service industries supports the economy of this bustling Southeast Asian nation. About half are estimated to be here illegally.
Like foreign workers elsewhere, they are resented by many local people and demonized by politicians. Here in Malaysia they have become the targets of an expanding campaign of harassment, arrest, whippings, imprisonment and deportation.
In 2005, the government transformed a volunteer self-defense corps, created in the 1960s to guard against Communists, into a strike force deputized to hunt down illegal immigrants.
This force, called Rela, now numbers nearly half a million mostly untrained volunteers — more than the total number of Malaysia’s military and police in this nation of 27 million. Its leaders are armed and have the right to enter a home or search a person on the street without a warrant. By an official count, its uniformed volunteers carry out 30 to 40 raids a night.
As it takes over more police and prison duties, Rela is drawing the condemnation of local and foreign human rights groups. They accuse the volunteers, some as young as 16, of violence, extortion, theft and illegal detention.
“They break into migrant lodgings in the middle of the night without warrants, brutalize inhabitants, extort money and confiscate cellphones, clothing, jewelry and household goods, before handcuffing migrants and transporting them to detention camps for illegal immigrants,” Human Rights Watch said in a report in May.
They often fail to honor legitimate documentation and sometimes destroy documents in order to justify their actions, the group said.
In an interview, Rela’s director-general, Zaidon Asmuni, dismissed the concerns of human rights groups, saying the nation’s security was at stake, and demanded an aggressive defense. “We have no more Communists at the moment, but we are now facing illegal immigrants,” he said. “As you know, in Malaysia illegal immigrants are enemy No. 2.” Enemy No. 1, he says, is drugs.
Illegal immigrants, if caught, are brought before a judge for a trial. If convicted, they face up to five years in jail and a whipping, then deportation.
Some of the migrants, like Mr. Kang Long from Myanmar, are refugees registered with the United Nations, but Malaysia has not signed the United Nations refugee convention. So those migrants are also caught up in the sweeps.
According to the accounts of a dozen migrants, things can get even worse once they are deported. After serving time in a detention center, they say, many are taken to a no man’s land near the border with Thailand where human traffickers await their arrival.
If they can pay about $450, the migrants say, the traffickers will smuggle them back to Kuala Lumpur. If they cannot pay, they may be sold as laborers to fishing boats or forced into the sex trade.
Irene Fernández, a Malaysian who heads a local migrants’ rights group called Tenaganita, said victims sometimes called from the border begging for money to pay the traffickers. “It’s a conflict for us because we cannot support any form of trafficking,” she said. “At the same time, protection of life is equally important.”
The best she can honorably do, she said, is to notify the immigrant communities in Kuala Lumpur, where people often barely have enough money to feed themselves, and hope they can find the means to save their friends.
Terrorized by Rela, many of the migrants have left their apartments in the city and built shacks of leaves and branches in the surrounding jungle. But Rela pursues them there as well, the migrants say.
“Some jungle sites are periodically cleared by local authorities, the inhabitants are displaced, valuables taken away, and at times shelters are burned to the ground,” the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said in a recent report.
Despite the criticisms, Rela — an acronym for the Malay words for People’s Volunteer Corps — has been expanding in numbers and in law enforcement powers. As of November, it had screened 156,070 people this year and had detained 30,332 for not having travel documents, according to the home affairs minister, Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
In the interview, Mr. Zaidon, the Rela director general, said his organization was expanding so fast that it was impossible to train most of the volunteers or to carry out background checks before deputizing them to make arrests.
“We cannot train half a million just like that,” he said. “It’s an ongoing process. It will take time, 5 or 10 years.”
If Rela members were overly scrupulous about human rights, he said, they could not do their job. “To stop a person by the roadside, that is also against human rights,” he said. “But if you talk about human rights, you cannot talk about security.”
The volunteers cast a wide net as they stop and search people who look like Asian foreigners. Most migrant workers come from Indonesia, while others come from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Vietnam as well as from Myanmar, formerly Burma.
In October, the Indonesian government protested when Rela detained an Indonesian student and the wife of an Indonesian diplomat. In both cases, Indonesia said, the victims produced documents that the volunteers ignored.
Most of Rela’s targets, though, are people like Ndawng Lu, 59, an ethnic Kachin refugee from Myanmar who shares an apartment with 20 other people.
Her neighbors fled and she remained alone when Rela made a daytime raid earlier this year, she said. “They shouted at me, ‘Where’s the money?’” she said. “I got down on my knees and begged them. ‘I don’t have any money.’ But they wanted money. They pulled stuff from under the bed. They looked here, they looked there. They opened all our bags.”
Her documents were in order, she said, and the search party left her with the mess.
There is a saying, how we treat the most downtrodden is an indicator of who we are. Lately, Thailand has tightened restrictions and added to clearly biased laws against foreigners. Ironically what is happening in Malaysia mirrors Thailand, though Malaysia seems to be harsher. Farang and Japanese, Singaporeans, etc are in a enviable position of being able to complain. But these people aren't. Whats needed in both nations is a sort of "basic anti-discrimination protections under law" (not equal rights) for minorities, foreigners, etc of all types, regardless of origin, or race and ethnicity problems are going to become a huge problem if they haven't become already.
(Commentary)
Black Saturday in Karenni refugee camp
Mae Sie
January 11, 2008 - The games started on December 14, 2007, ad was participated by all students in the camp. In the evening, normally we play games; enact drama, concert shows, and other fundraising activities. It happened that on the 14th evening, Or Sor (Defence volunteer corps) working as security guards in many refugee camps in Thai-Burma border came to the event. Someone threw a beer bottle at Or Sor. They don't know who, because many people don't like them. In retaliation, Or Sor pulled a student who was standing near them and started beating him up with brass knuckles. The student was injured in his head, requiring 10 stitches. Anger was rising. Or Sor retreated to his near by base at section 20, and in a while they came back with more fellows. We, the teachers, told the students not to do anything to them, in order to tackle the situation. And we went on with our activities.
On the second day, December 15, Camp committee had a meeting with the students to try to prevent the same incident. Two Or Sor officers also attended the meeting. They came up with the idea that in order to prevent the same incident like, Or Sor will not go to the sporting ground at section 8, where the activities were being held. We thought this was a good idea.
In the evening, when the activities started, around 8 pm, Or Sor didn't come to the ground but stayed at the school campus, 200 meters away. Since they arrived there, they started bullying and disturbing those who came to see the activities. They hand cuffed one person without reason. When we heard the news, the students became disturbed. Moreover, they also tried to search people's bags, pockets and buckets. They checked an old man who came back from his farm and saw a knife in his bucket. Or Sor accused him of bringing a knife for a violent purpose. They started to abuse him. They even pointed the gun near his neck and shot. They repeatedly shot the gun into the air. "We heard many times because they are not far from us", said the teacher.
The students became angry with the disturbance of their activities by Or Sor and went to see them. First the camp security guards (refugees themselves) tried to prevent them, but couldn't. The students found their way to where Or Sor were. Arguments started and Or Sor retreated to their base at section 6. Students followed them. First there were around 20 students including four students who had had an argument with Or Sor earlier leading the group. When they arrived near Or Sor's base at section 650 meters away, Or Sor opened fire on them. One of the four students recalled, "They don't' shoot in the air at all, when they opened fire, I could hear the bullets coming near my head, neck, and around me. I am the one who was in front. My friend Aik Oo followed me. He had a flashlight with him. I saw him collapse, and I shouted to my friends, 'one was hit', and we tried to pull him back to Camp Committee Office where he later died".
Now the news spread and loud speakers were used to announce that one person was shot. Be careful! At this point of time, the activities in the play ground were completely stopped and all male students, including other male refugees joined in, marching toward Or Sor's bases. First, those Or Sor who shot the student, tried to escape with their motorbikes and pick-up trucks, but they realized that some refugees from the section above also came down in their way, so they couldn't escape. They fled on foot.
At this point of time, many refugees joined the students and marched towards Or Sor's bases; one group went to Or Sor's base at section 20, and destroyed around 13 motorbikes and other belongings. Another group marched up to section 6, where the student had been shot earlier and destroyed all Or Sor's belonging; 2 pick-up trucks, about 14 motorbikes, documents and other belongings, except the glass- framed photos of His Majesty the King and the Thai national flag.
When they were on their way at section 1, they also destroyed MOI sub-office in section 1. There, they saw a car, parked near the entry of the camp. They were thinking of checking to see who were there, but they were told"These are your leaders" (referring to Karenni leaders). It was about 10 pm at that time. Next day they found out that Mr. Wachiran, District Chief of Mae Hong Son and also commander of Ban Nai Soi refugee camp Site No. 1 was there at that time. "If only we had known that he was there at that time, I don't know that people would have gone to him. People believe that he is the one responsible for this shooting", said the teacher.
According to the teacher, this incident happened because, in the last few years, since 2001, Karrenni refugees in camp Site No. 1 have been abused by Or Sor in many different forms; harassing girls and their families, torturing boys, pointing guns at people, showing money to girls leading them into sexual exploitation. When people complained, their problems were never solved. "No one dared to speak out against them. They have done such things to refugees because they have guns. If they stayed in the camp in the right manner and ruled the camp according to Thai laws, such incidents would never have occurred", said the teacher.
The refugee camp committee can't do much because they are pressured by the camp commander, Mr. Wachira. At the same time, he had given too much power to his Or Sor, who abused their power over the refugees, but their commander preferred not to see it. Therefore, anger exploded, the shooting happened, and one student died. Who will be responsible for this? If you ask the refugees, the answer will be; Parla, Mr. Wachira, Mae Hong Son's District Chief, also Ban Nai Soi Camp commander.
In the past, Or Sor were stationed outside the camps and there was no such power abuse and exploitation of the refugees. However, starting from the middle of 2004, as soon as Or Sor were placed inside the camp, all sorts of abuses and exploitation have begun. This was also a time when Mr. Wachira became Ban Nai Soi, refugee Site No. 1 commander.
The refugees might be guilty of throwing a beer bottle at the Or Sor, but definitely Or Sor is guilty of killing a student. And killing is a crime! Mr. Wachira said in his interview with the Irrawaddy published on 19 December, Bangkok Post on December 23 and Kantarawaddy Times January 5, 2007 that refugees have to pay for the destruction of the properties of Or Sor costing around 2 million baht and the students have to face charges. But he was silent on who has to pay for the life of a student! Whether Or Sor or himself as camp's commander? In principle, soldiers do not open fire until they receive signal from their commander. So, did Mr. Wachira order the shooting? This question has not been answered yet, and maybe the governor of Mae Hong Son is the right person who should ask this question to Mr. Wachira.
Fundamental human rights are naturally inborn and should apply to everyone, irrespective of their nationality, race, sex or religions, whether they are refugees or migrant workers. Finally, they are all human being like us.
Note: (Based on the accounts of a teacher who is working in the camp)
(The author is a Burmese human rights activist, living in Bangkok, Thailand)
http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/EdOp/2008/Jan/11,%20Jan,%202007.html
MEDIA-THAILAND: Interference Mars Community Radio
By Lynette Lee Corporal - Asia Media Forum
BANGKOK, Jan 11 (IPS) - Pride evident in his voice, Weerapol Charoenthum expressed his satisfaction with ‘Maung Loei’, a community radio station run by the youth of the north-eastern Thai province of Loei.
The station is among about a dozen that are part of Loei Community Networks, whose concept entails using radio as a means to teach children how to be responsible citizens and gives adults a way to "listen to what the children have to say" about different issues, explains Weeraphol, coordinator of the networks.
"Community radio has opened up communication channels for people and although we continue to face problems such as lack of funds, we are quite happy with what we have done so far," Weerapol said in a lecture on community radio this week at Chulalongkorn University here.
"There is no question about the desire of local communities to express themselves through small media. It is a global phenomenon. But this is complicated by challenges coming from different sides, including changes in technology, that we don't see the future clearly," explained Prof Drew McDaniel, director for international studies of Ohio University.
Flourishing in the years following the media reforms provided in Thailand's 1997 constitution, community radio became quite popular during ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's administration.
Years later, these local stations continue to experience birthing pains brought about by challenges posed by licensing, funding, programming goals -- and freedom of expression.
In the months after Thaksin’s ouster in September 2006, the military and the government it installed frowned on community radio stations in the north-east, known for giving popular support to the ousted leader, and clamped down on some that were seen to be opposed to military rule or sympathetic to the Thaksin government.
"Like in the Philippines, community radio in Thailand is more development-oriented, focusing on such issues as agriculture, for instance. Those located in troubled areas, on the other hand, naturally would have a more political nature," Thai scholar and activist Prof Ubonrat Siriyuvasat said in an interview.
Unfortunately, Prof Chalisa Magpanthong added, many local stations remain unclear about their goals.
"Because a lot of them get their funding to operate from foreign donors, people tend to misuse it. They would do as they please and have no fixed programming," said Chalisa, whose doctoral dissertation at Ohio University was on community radio in Sakon Nakhon province in the north-east, Lamphun in the north, and Pattani in the south.
Another problem that comes with outside funding, she continued, is the propagation of vested economic or political interests. "We've heard cases of people using the radio to bash each other on air," said Chalisa.
What's more, in places like Sakon Nakhon where a hierarchy exists among different minority groups, problems of discrimination also abound and result in 'lesser' minorities being overlooked and ignored.
In Pattani, located in the restive south where there is separatist sentiment and a history of bombings over the last few years, community radio tends to avoid political issues because they are afraid of being shut down by the authorities, added Chalisa.
"There are cases when the radio programmes just air Public Relations Department news items and don't talk about the real issues and problems affecting them," added Ubonrat.
According to Chiang Mai University lecturer Jiraporn Witayasakpan, only 150 among the 3,000 or so radio stations across the country can be considered authentic community-based ones, meaning they were set up and are being managed by the people themselves. "Forty-five of them are in the northern region and 10 are in Chiang Mai province," Jiraporn stated, quoting a survey done by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Citing ethnic and linguistic diversities in the United States, McDaniel said that one of the major reasons why a community wants to put up its own radio station is "to be able to broadcast in its own language". While the United States can pride itself in giving more leeway to such goals, the same could be a bit more tricky in Thailand, where the use of dialects or other languages are 'discouraged' by the government, experts explained.
"In Pattani, for example, locals used to broadcast in their local language (Yawi). Citing national security threats following the unrest in the south, the government began monitoring these programmes and tried to control the use of local language," said Chalisa.
This, she added, conflicts with the concept of participatory communication, which involves the freedom to determine local language, content and location of stations.
Media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong said: "People --Thais and non-Thais -- should be allowed to freely express their views and discuss their problems. It's funny how government sees other languages, Burmese for instance, as a threat to national security." More than a million Burmese migrant workers, many of them undocumented, are estimated to be living in Thailand.
Limited frequencies are another problem for community radio proponents, because most are 'occupied' by a few state-owned and private media corporations.
The trouble stems from the fact that the National Broadcasting Commission, tasked to allocate frequencies and oversee operations of broadcast networks, has not been formed yet. Yet a law was passed in 2000 to create the Radio Frequencies Allocation and Regulatory Body.
"One problem that we see from this law is that the criteria for allocation of frequencies is very wide and if we're not careful, these frequencies could be dominated by powerful groups and edge out smaller community radio that does not have the same resources," said Supinya.
Nonetheless, proponents of a stronger public-oriented media are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, especially in the wake of the December 2007 election that was held more than a year after the military-led coup that led to closer supervision of community media.
"While community radio has not exactly flourished as much as we'd like it to, the people are excited with the concept and are looking forward to see its development," said Chalisa.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40752
Government officials fail to turn up at Ethnic Minorities Fair
Saksit Meesubkwang
Minorities disregarded; 80% of tourist take comes from ethnic site visits
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/pictures/n5-Ethnic-minority.jpg
[Photo: Chiangmai Mail - Pictured is a group of hill tribespeople parading
with banners on World Ethic Minorities Day.]
Directors of the Ethnic Minorities Network have criticized the Thai government for not recognizing the Ethnic Minorities Fair held at Chiang Mai University August 7-9.
The working committee of the fair, held on those dates in order to celebrate World Ethnic Minorities Day along with ethnic minority groups and their supporters worldwide, had submitted a letter to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security inviting its representative to preside over the opening ceremony. The Ministry failed to reply or to send a representative as requested; the governor of Chiang Mai province, who had been invited to receive a letter from the organizers calling for the recognition of the rights of minority groups, did not attend, nor did the deputy governor. The reason given by the provincial administration was that both were “busy” at the time. A minor official, whose brief was minority group issues, was sent. The event had attracted 25 ethnic minority groups, academics from various universities, more than 50 private development organisations, and a large public and private sector attendance.
Waiying Thongbue, advisor to the National Economic and Social Council, stated government representatives such as provincial governors should place more importance on ethnic minorities, who are accepted worldwide under the 150-member United Nations Charter of which Thailand is part. Pointing out that the Tourist Authority of Thailand uses a majority of photographs or ethnic minority groups to tourism across the world, and that 80% of tourism-related income comes from visits to ethnic minority sites, Waiying said that he could not understand the lack of importance placed by local and national government on both the event and the issue in general.
Non-specific link:
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/news.shtml#hd3
vBulletin® v3.7.1, Copyright ©2000-2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.