We just came back from a wonderful trip to investigate several locations for the project. We took the scenic drive to Pai and then to Mae Hongson. Pai was nice to have seen because it's famous among the backpackers. We loved Mae Hongson city much more though, beautiful mountains and all was green.
We were meeting several people to find out more about the area which was great. Fantastic people and great places we have seen. The villages we visited were in the sub district Poo Ling and were all Karen. The Karen are an ethnic group out of Burma. Some villages have been in Thailand for many years but there are still people arriving from Burma because they flee the military regime. So some of these people have ID-cards and many don't what makes life really hard.
Poo Ling consist of 12 villages and they are all at least 20 minutes away from each other. To get to the area seems not far, only 46 km, but because the road is a mud road and it's soo steep it takes more then 3 hours! I was often very scared because the road was so small and straight next to it was most of the time a deadly cliff. In the rainy season the road is inaccessibly.
The villages are fantastic, clean and within the lush trees. The people hardly have money but that isn't needed because they live of the land. Unlike ethnic groups around Fang they have plenty of fertile ground to have fruit trees, vegetables gardens. Many cows are in neatly fenced patio's. The woman are weaving so they have clothing, blankets and bags. The houses are made of wood rather than bamboo so very comfortable. The man are good blacksmiths and use certain irons parts of cars to make knifes and other tools. This material is taken out of the city.
See here an online album to view photo's from this visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jildou.brouwer/MaeHongsonTrip
After trying to sort out our visa, what hasn't worked out yet, we went to inspect another site; Ban Lak Teang in Piang Luang in Wiang Heang district. We had a very curvy mountain road to get there but nothing in compare to the challenge in Mae Hongson. We took just met friends with us and we made it a nice trip. The first hour there are only Lisu (Hill tribe) villages in this remote area. After that there were mainly Shan people living there. Ban Lak Teang is right up the border with Burma. We visited a novice school with all boys from whom the parents either died or are stuck in Burma. The kids here have a relative safe place to live and to get some education. The monastery is in the village where only Shan people live. Some live there for a long time and have ID cards and some live in a camp nearby and are unlucky not to have any papers. They are stuck in the camp and work just like the Shan here in Fang for very little money in dirty and dangerous jobs. The teenagers try to find work in the city were they can earn a bit more but without papers they will only find dangerous construction work and the girls often end up in the sex trade. We heard some hearth breaking stories about girls being stuck in Bangkok in the sex industry with no way out. Being kept in dark rooms and when they try to escape the boss will send in a group men to do a groupsrape. The people who shared these stories about what happen to their relatives can't do anything because they are illegal themselves.
The camp looks very nice and the people have made it a actual real cosy place. In the first instance it has the look of a hill tribe village because of the bamboo huts but it's much cleaner and there are many little gardens with herbs and vegetables. They have no land to grow crops outside the camp. The children are going to school in the village sponsored by an international NGO.
There are not many organisations helping here because it's not an official refugee camp because the Shan are not recognised as refugees, so many organisation are not allowed to give aid and support. This is absurd and it leaves these Shan people as the most funerable people in Thailand. Karen, Karenni and hill tribes have the title refugee as where appropriate and so get help from international NGO's and very important; attention from the press. The Shan are really forgotten people.
Ben and I have had a lot to with the Shan this last year and our hearths are with them. We found this place because it was mentioned by TBBC (Thai Burma Border Consortium) as a settlement (not a camp) at the end of their list of refugee camps. Only a few organisations under which the Jesuits are giving support to these people.
The most exiting thing was that the reason I wanted to visit this site, was because I came across a Blog, while gathering information, from a young man called Noom. He seemed to me most inspiring because instead of going of to the city to work (he had some good education and papers so many options) he has decided to stay and help the boys at the monastery to provide them with education. He would get payed hardly anything, but there he is, together with another hero called La, working for his own people in order to help kids in need who are in the same situation as he was as a young boy. To now work as a teacher he provides that what has saved him as a young boy; shelter and education in order to get a future. THESE ARE THE HERO'S OF OUR WORLD!!!!
Visit Noom's blog:
http://noomhkurh.blogspot.com/
To read an article about the history of this interesting area:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=342
To view photo's from this trip, see my online album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jildou.brouwer/BanLakTeangTripWiangHaengDistrict
We were meeting several people to find out more about the area which was great. Fantastic people and great places we have seen. The villages we visited were in the sub district Poo Ling and were all Karen. The Karen are an ethnic group out of Burma. Some villages have been in Thailand for many years but there are still people arriving from Burma because they flee the military regime. So some of these people have ID-cards and many don't what makes life really hard.
Poo Ling consist of 12 villages and they are all at least 20 minutes away from each other. To get to the area seems not far, only 46 km, but because the road is a mud road and it's soo steep it takes more then 3 hours! I was often very scared because the road was so small and straight next to it was most of the time a deadly cliff. In the rainy season the road is inaccessibly.
The villages are fantastic, clean and within the lush trees. The people hardly have money but that isn't needed because they live of the land. Unlike ethnic groups around Fang they have plenty of fertile ground to have fruit trees, vegetables gardens. Many cows are in neatly fenced patio's. The woman are weaving so they have clothing, blankets and bags. The houses are made of wood rather than bamboo so very comfortable. The man are good blacksmiths and use certain irons parts of cars to make knifes and other tools. This material is taken out of the city.
See here an online album to view photo's from this visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jildou.brouwer/MaeHongsonTrip
After trying to sort out our visa, what hasn't worked out yet, we went to inspect another site; Ban Lak Teang in Piang Luang in Wiang Heang district. We had a very curvy mountain road to get there but nothing in compare to the challenge in Mae Hongson. We took just met friends with us and we made it a nice trip. The first hour there are only Lisu (Hill tribe) villages in this remote area. After that there were mainly Shan people living there. Ban Lak Teang is right up the border with Burma. We visited a novice school with all boys from whom the parents either died or are stuck in Burma. The kids here have a relative safe place to live and to get some education. The monastery is in the village where only Shan people live. Some live there for a long time and have ID cards and some live in a camp nearby and are unlucky not to have any papers. They are stuck in the camp and work just like the Shan here in Fang for very little money in dirty and dangerous jobs. The teenagers try to find work in the city were they can earn a bit more but without papers they will only find dangerous construction work and the girls often end up in the sex trade. We heard some hearth breaking stories about girls being stuck in Bangkok in the sex industry with no way out. Being kept in dark rooms and when they try to escape the boss will send in a group men to do a groupsrape. The people who shared these stories about what happen to their relatives can't do anything because they are illegal themselves.
The camp looks very nice and the people have made it a actual real cosy place. In the first instance it has the look of a hill tribe village because of the bamboo huts but it's much cleaner and there are many little gardens with herbs and vegetables. They have no land to grow crops outside the camp. The children are going to school in the village sponsored by an international NGO.
There are not many organisations helping here because it's not an official refugee camp because the Shan are not recognised as refugees, so many organisation are not allowed to give aid and support. This is absurd and it leaves these Shan people as the most funerable people in Thailand. Karen, Karenni and hill tribes have the title refugee as where appropriate and so get help from international NGO's and very important; attention from the press. The Shan are really forgotten people.
Ben and I have had a lot to with the Shan this last year and our hearths are with them. We found this place because it was mentioned by TBBC (Thai Burma Border Consortium) as a settlement (not a camp) at the end of their list of refugee camps. Only a few organisations under which the Jesuits are giving support to these people.
The most exiting thing was that the reason I wanted to visit this site, was because I came across a Blog, while gathering information, from a young man called Noom. He seemed to me most inspiring because instead of going of to the city to work (he had some good education and papers so many options) he has decided to stay and help the boys at the monastery to provide them with education. He would get payed hardly anything, but there he is, together with another hero called La, working for his own people in order to help kids in need who are in the same situation as he was as a young boy. To now work as a teacher he provides that what has saved him as a young boy; shelter and education in order to get a future. THESE ARE THE HERO'S OF OUR WORLD!!!!
Visit Noom's blog:
http://noomhkurh.blogspot.com/
To read an article about the history of this interesting area:
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=342
To view photo's from this trip, see my online album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jildou.brouwer/BanLakTeangTripWiangHaengDistrict
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