However there are many more nomadic tribes living in obscurity. In April of 2012 I was traveling through Southeast Asia, and during my time in Laos and Thailand I began to take notice of their nomadic tribes. One in particular that struck me was the Kayan people, who are a subgroup of the Red Karen tribe. This name might mean nothing to you, but if I showed you a picture, you’d know exactly who I was talking about.
All familiarized now? Many of us have probably seen someone from this tribe on a National Geographic magazine cover, or on some exotic travel show. Treating these individuals more like animals in a zoo, than a culture.
The Kayan live predominately in Northern Thailand in a small village called Mae Hong Son and few in northern Myanmar; although many have fled from Myanmar due to political turmoil and have chosen to live in refugee camps along the Thai border. Due to their nomadic life style, many of these people do not have citizenship. Let me explain what that means. It means that Kayan people do not “belong” anywhere, thus preventing them from receiving a formalized education, health care, or being able to find a job that would allow them to provide for their families. As is the norm in many Asian countries, people tend to live in small villages and provide for themselves and are generally left alone. Unless there is money to be had by someone in power, which is exactly what is happening to local tribes in Thailand.
During my visit to Chiang Mai, I had the chance to talk with some Western individuals who were living and working in the area. They were bringing Christ to these nomadic tribes, and trying to provide some sense of security to them. Although I will not discuss or argue in this post my feelings on how they were doing this…let me just say I do not think they were focusing on the most important issues that should have been addressed. (If you would really like to know, write me a comment and I’ll shed some more light onto this issue).
The tourism industry of Thailand has basically decided to “pimp out” these local villages, by making them a human zoo. They have relocated certain members of the tribe to a more tourist-friendly location and require them to live in this make-shift village. For a price, you can walk through the village, take some pictures, and buy some of the hand-crafted items made by the local artisans. This is all well and good, HOWEVER, the Kayan people must agree to live in that area, keep their rings around their necks and stay as “tribal” as possible in order to make sure the tourists pump money into the economy, and in return the Thai authorities will not arrest these individuals for being undocumented in their land.
With times changing and even small villages becoming more progressive by the influx of tourism to Asia, and the increase of NGO’s working in the area, even the smallest villages are becoming aware of modern technology and the benefits they could receive by becoming a bit more modernized. If people in any village, town or country wish (on their own accord) to become more modernized and join the technological revolution, that is great; but if you are being prevented from doing so by being forced to remain in your former ways in order for a government to financially gain by exploiting your tribal rituals…. I think we need to take a look at what our tourism patterns are doing to the countries and villages we chose to visit.
For further reading on this issue check out this article by BBC: Thai Human Zoo In my next entry I'll tell you all about my village-exploitation trip to a Hmong Village in Luang Prabang, Laos.
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