Jennifer's Cultural Learnings of Thailand...
There's no where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
Monday, May 2, 2011
Getting My Hands Dirty in Red Shirt Politics
Monday, April 11, 2011
If money had no value...
Last week, my group had an exchange with Pawh Somkiat, a village leader protesting the Pak Mun Dam. He talked about how government development projects are problematic, often trying to change theculture and way of life of local villagers. Locals are very sustainable. They have a lot of natural resources around their community and they don't need money. Nature is their supermarket. Until a few years ago theyhad no electricity but easily survived. And the bottom line of it all was that these locals are happy!
What's Justice got to do with it?
Throughout our unit trips we visit village communities who have been struggling to retain their culture and their rights. We have repeatedly heard stories where injustices are committed against the people. In the land unit I learned about the government arresting villagers for trespassing or global warming when villagers thought they were simply farming on land they have farmed for generations. In this past water unit, we learned how the government built large-scale dams for development. These dams took away the livelihoods and culture of the people who survived by the river resources. The government never provided adequate compensation.
We have exchanged with some government offices to understand their perspective. Frequently their explanation shows the stark disconnect between the government and the villagers. Policies either don’t make sense or they are not carried out to actually protect or help the people. They are often motivated by money gains.
Learning about these cases has helped me come to a better definition of what is injustice. I think injustices are cases that cannot be rationalized nor logically explained. Here, I have learned about many injustices; situations where the government acts against the people causing harmful effects that make little sense. When I cannot rationally understand why a government is acting the way it is, it makes me empathize more with the people or cause. By understanding what is unjust, I can recognize what issues I believe are important.
Our Deepest Fear
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Scavenging
In Nong Wang Slum community located in Khon Kaen, Thailand, P’Dom, age 35, prepare for his daily routine of scavenging. P’Dom has a special needs and cannot talk but nonetheless he is able to go about his daily routines successfully. P’Dom sets out on his motorcycle prepared with the necessary tools for his morning of scavenging. He connects his cart to his motorcycle to carry his findings and takes with him a shovel, a dust pan and a broom.
P’Dom travels just 10 minutes from his home in the slum to Khon Kaen University campus where he scavenges. The dumpster is located in a parking lot on Khon Kaen campus. He is familiar with the area and is at ease as he instantly jumps in to the dumpster.
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Trickle Down Effect of the Government
Just last week I was in Baw Kaew, a protest village in Northeastern Thailand. There, villagers are continuing their 30-year struggle against the Thai government for taking over their land to develop a eucalyptus tree plantation. The protest village is illegally set up in the midst of eucalyptus trees. Back in the 1970’s as part of the national development plan, the government believed they were aiding reforestation by planting eucalyptus as a cash crop, which expanded industry. In reality, the plantation took over local villagers’ farmland.
This past unit looked at the impact of government policies on land. In addition to visiting Baw Kaew, we had a home stay in a forest village community named Toong Lui Lai. Near the forest village, the government established area asthe National Forest Reserve and then later the Wildlife Sanctuary, which designated land for preservation by arbitrarily drawing borders that overlapped with local villagers land. Subsequently, villagers have been arrested and charged for trespassing while farming for what villagers believe is their land. To give voice to their struggles, both Toong Lui Lai and Baw Kaew communities have united with the Isaan Land Reform Network of Thailand to go protest in Bangkok and ultimately to help them attain legal community land titles.
Today, I find myself back in the city considering the greater implications of these villagers’ long-term struggle against the government’s policies and actions. Considering the issues from the villagers’ perspective, it is easy to vilify the government and its policies. The government policies have created challenges to attain adequate living conditions and retain their means of livelihood and subsistence. Development and globalization often times jeopardizes the human rights of people as well as the sustainability of communities. The community visits show thetrickling down affect of policy on the community members. The networks, NGOs and community organizers give voice and legitimacy to the people’s problems. . As I think about the bigger picture, I am questioning the roles and responsibilities of the government to its people in causing and curing these larger issues.
When I begin to understand the concerns of the communities I visit, the roles and responsibility of government is becoming clearer. A mentor here explained that when thinking about change, it is important to first understand the root of the problem and how it functions. I also think it is important to understand the system by which policies are shaped and formed, because in fact they do affect the people. Both understandings are needed to address inadequacies from the top-down policy level.
The eucalyptus trees in Baw Kaew village.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
A Slum Is Not A Slum
Last week I went to Nong Wang slum located just 10 minutes away from my home base apartment here in Khon Kaen, Thailand.