Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 KS and DB, Hope I havent overstepped the bounds by mentioning the govt? If I have I will take the rebuke like a man. Cheers Jaga PS Like my new avatar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 last year i had a conversation with an karen hunter, he was fundamental christian. but after a few cups of salted tea he started talking about how much he missed the wild old days of being free. seems that at the moment the bangkok post starts running a series of the problems of the hilltribes. i only talked a bit with the hmong in laos, they had a lot of problems there with the forced relocations to the lowlands. the saddest aspect of asia are the hilltribes, no country seems to want them, they are in a state of war or seriously oppressed whereever you go, from pakisthan to south east asia, and around again to china. i don't know if i am right there, but i found that in china they seem to enjoy the most cultural freedom compared to other countries. somehow ironic... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted July 4, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 especially when he visited also the communist camps ----------------------------------------- Can you PM me details on this. when was this, was it non-publicized, no-mediatized visits, or done at the time amnesty was already the policy of the government and (former?)communists had laid their arms down and were not a threat to the state? very curious, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted July 4, 2002 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 I am just impressed at the depth of this forum. referring to members with knowledge of the workings of thai society who do not post a lot (too bad) but can really pop out of the woodwork and make significant contributions to a topic. How many of you out there? Think, if all of you posted more often, the forum would move up way up there, what with real knowledge and less feuding about semantics and Bg antics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 I work in the media industry here and I think that one reason why poor people are underepresented is the fact that they have less buying power. Advertisers prefer shows with characters that their customers can identify with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 One of the problems that the hill tribes face revolves around conceptions of political space, that is, now the state is defined. The hill tribes idea of ownership extends to certain forrest resources, ie trees, streams, but not the land itself. Being nomadic they transgress modern rules of state sovereignty, crossing borders at will which are merely abstractions in their worldview, and thus generate suspicion of authorities across the region. As far as I know, during the Lan na kingdom (based aroud Chiang mai from early 13th century) the tribes were held in high esteem by the royalty as guardians of the forrest. However, Lan Na fitted the mandala style of state in that boundaries were not fixed and power decreased the further one moved from the seat of power. Having good relations with those who lived on the fringes made sense. But with the rigid bounded state that is modern Thailand, unsecured or shifting populations in border areas are viewed in a different light. (pause for breath) If anyone would like to know more I have a few journal articles on my HD I can send via email. To Pattaya127 I must say I concur and enjoy this kind of debate and would dearly like to see more of it. This is exactly the reason I suggested to KS that the legal/visa forum include social issues, which I think this falls under. I would encourage people to introduce more of this kind of post in future in the L,V/S I section. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanchao Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 Two things.. Somehow the Americans we see in movies and TV series don't really look like the people I see on an average Saturday at Wallmart either. Then on hilltribe edication, Jaganath has a point that more attention could be paid to cultural heritage, but as for suggesting education in their own language...... where are the teachers going to come from? And in the end they will have to compete in the Thai job market, and learning central Thai pepares them best for that. Cheers, Chanchao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 Don, Whilst that may be true in some instances, I think it is worth comparing soap opera from the UK, Australia and the US. UK soaps are generally based on working class (ie poorer) character, take Eastenders and Corronation St for example. Australian soaps such as Neighbors and Home and Away depict more middle class folk whilst the US ones such as Bold and the Beautiful and Days of Our Lives are based on wealthier upper class characters. However, Thailand seems to follow the pattern of other developing nations like Brazil where soaps tend toward the US model. I think it says something for the national psyches of each country. Why is it that Brits like working class soapies; perhaps Australians prefer to see the middle class suburban ideal on their screens and maybe the yanks feel more comfortable watching the people portrayed as successful go getters. One thig is for sure, in a country like Brazil or Thailand, there isnt alot of glamour in being poor and these soapies act as a form of escapism as bollywood movies do for Indians. I suppose the crux of this is that there is more than just an economic motive to what is shown, culture and national identity plays a role too. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2002 Report Share Posted July 4, 2002 I admit that own-language tuition for HT kids would be difficult, but my own (lefty) views on education tell me that it is an expense for the Thai education dept. to bear. This is just a personal oppinion though, and I'm not sure its my job to be telling them what to do. One model that could be used and save money is the Australian "School of the Air" whereby lessons are taught over CB radio to remote areas. I'm not suggesting that this service could be provided immediately on a universal basis, but could be piloted to see if it had merit. I suppose in the end though the lack of educated HT people would preclude this anyhow and some investment would have to be made in training HT people to do this job in the first place. Cheers Jaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2002 Report Share Posted July 5, 2002 unfortunately the powers here don't seem to appreciate a diverse culture going further then the dresses shown to the tourists, so i don't think that you will find much support in that kind of schooling. hilltribes are seen as something which should be made thai (or burmese, or indian or...), or has no right to exist. their lifestyle, as you pointed out so well, is against any form of nationalism here in the area, and seems to be doomed. very fucking sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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