Thailand's forgotten hill tribes

Nirmal Ghosh
The Straits Times
Publication Date: 18-08-2008



Mu Ba(left) and an older Kayan woman. Kayan women have traditionally worn elongated brass coils, a sign of beauty and cultural identity, around their necks but many have now found themselves trapped by that tradition. (Photo by Nirmal Ghosh)


Many of Thailand's minority hill tribes live on the edge of grinding poverty.

In the heart of Chiang Mai, for instance, they inhabit a slum, unseen by tourists who pay tour operators for treks up the hills to see the tribes in their apparently idyllic villages.

Now, many of them may have a chance at a better life - as Thai citizens.

The country has as many as three million people officially considered 'stateless' and undocumented.

After generations of being a people without a country, millions of them may finally be granted citizenship.

New laws on birth registration and nationality, which took effect this year following a Cabinet resolution in 2005, mean every child born in Thailand to currently 'stateless' parents is considered Thai.

It is a start, even if the process of recognising them remains slow because of a cumbersome bureaucracy and entrenched prejudices.

"It is going in the right direction, but it takes some time, and it is a sensitive issue," said one official familiar with the issue, who asked not to be named.

While he conceded that there were "budgetary issues and complications", he maintained that "at the very least, we are well on the way to according better treatment for children".

But one tribe that is not covered by the new law and therefore poses an embarrassment for the Thai authorities is the 'long neck' Kayan tribe of Mae Hong Son.

A huge part of the province's tourism industry centres on the tribe. For example in 2006, when figures were last available, Mae Hong Son received 349,000 visitors, generating 17 billion baht (US$503 million at current rates).

The official who spoke to The Straits Times acknowledged: "It is undeniable that local businessmen support business activities.

"But at the very least, it is a mutual relationship. The Kayan are implicated, not exploited," he said. "We recognise it is a liability (for Thailand) if we are unable to work out the status of the Kayan."

Here, as in many countries, there is a relationship between legal status and access to social services and even human rights; for decades Thailand's hill tribes have been essentially denied physical and socio-economic mobility by the denial of Thai citizenship.

"After a long period of stagnation, the effort (at resolving the status of the hill tribes) has been revitalised," said the Thai official.

The authorities had long seen the issue of hill tribes and other small ethnic minorities - as well as refugees from conflict-torn neighbours - through a national security lens.

But that has been slowly changing to a more humanitarian approach, at least when it comes to the hill tribes, he said.

Activists long involved in the struggle of minority tribes for citizenship agree.

But serious reservations remain about implementation. Some of the lethargy has to do with attitude.

Local officials are prejudiced and also ignorant of what is required under the new laws.

The hill tribes themselves are not fully informed, so they are in no position to demand their rights from local officials.

At a recent panel discussion in Bangkok on the issues, prominent lawyer and long-time activist for hill tribes Surapong Kongchantuk said: "Thailand is a melting pot. It is difficult to pinpoint the definition of the true Thai. So it is ironic that we say this or that person is stateless."