Who does that little island in the midst of the river belong to? Did Earth ever put herself up to be claimed and sold and bought in the first place?
In that picture, there is Myanmar to the left, Laos to the right and it was clicked from Thailand. The Mekong River calmly caresses the borders, blissfully unaware of the divide in the minds of people around it. Or perhaps, it makes a statement by flowing there. Perhaps, it laughs at the futility of the idea of borders and dares us to assign a name and claim to that little green patch in the centre. The backdrop of the hills seem to jeer at the notion of the porous border that is violated everyday by victims of parochial minds.
This patch of land and its consequences were the central theme of a recent field study trip to northern Thailand that I was part of (during my course on peace and conflict resolution at Chulalongkorn University). While the beauty and vibrancy of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai deserve a mention, the undercurrents of parochialism shake the very foundation of society here, and for that matter, question the nature of humanity all across the globalised world.
These hills all around the borders have lured settlers over the centuries. When nations formed, they gladly claimed the land and its resources allocated to them. However, they took no note of the people. These hill people had been without access to the lowlands and the ‘mainstream’ for ages due to lack of infrastructure. Consequently, they did not exist in the records. Today, even as one can acknowledge the existence of these colourful communities with all our sense organs, governments choose to overrule the proofs and maintain that they do not exist, since they do not have birth certificates, land papers, identity cards – apparently, pieces of paper validate existence in a way that a breathing human cannot.
And so we have statelessness. We have entire communities (we do not know the numbers – remember, they do not ‘exist’!) that are born and struggle to live and die without ever belonging to a nation. And the powers that run the nation are not bothered to embrace them into the folds of country because no one cares about one that does not exist. As a privileged citizen of a country with a citizenship rewarded to me for no apparent effort, I cannot even imagine what it feels like to be trapped in the hills with no nationality, no legal existence and therefore no access to education or healthcare, no freedom of movement beyond the hills (how can one be in a country where one does not exist?).
The ray of hope are the numerous organizations and individuals advocating citizenship for the stateless hill tribes on both the Thai and Burmese sides of the border. However, the process is painful and slow with no carrots dangling for the governments if they do their jobs, nor sticks to berate them, since the non-existent have no voice. But these stateless communities are shining examples of survival without that which most of us take for granted – citizenship. They fight for their rights, farm, produce goods, marry, produce children, educate them to whatever extent possible, dream of a better future. And I wonder, we who rant against our governments, we who complain about not getting our favourite food, we who are depressed about not earning enough money: what would we do if we were told we did not exist anymore even as we lived and breathed? Will shattering an identity free us from our excuses to not be happy and grateful?
Another consequence of those borders has been the openly visible and blatantly ignored phenomenon of human trafficking. People cross borders knowingly or unknowingly and willingly or unwillingly for greener pastures. Women end up in brothels or as tortured maid servants, men end up in factories and fishing vessels chained by their employers and children are consumed by paedophiles. Again, hope shines through the clouds in the form of agencies working against human trafficking. However, what sends a shudder down the spine is the reason why this exists and is perpetuated.
There are some that fall prey to trafficking lured by the guarantee of the next square meal. But there is an increasing number of those (some of whom are actively prodded by families), who get trafficked for that iPhone or the latest tab that the neighbour has. And to fuel this consumerist dream, it is shocking to discover all the actors that work in tandem – parents who are willing to sell their child, the middleman who looks for profit while disregarding the life that is at stake, the community leaders and even teachers who allow the middlemen to exist and even receive a share of profits, the monks that build temples with the donations from the profits of traffickers trying cover up their sins, the police that claims to protect society and yet guards the middlemen in return for their share of money, the tourism industry that stands on the pillars of trafficking and above all, us.
We – the consumers of human trafficking – do we care who made those heavily discounted clothes in the shops in Bangkok? Do we realise that they are cheap only because the slave labour is barely paid and is practically captive in the factories? When we are delighted about the low prices of that can of tuna, do we give a thought to that slave on the ship who has not been allowed to set foot on land for years? Do we know that he has perhaps become so ill that his employer intends to replace him after simply throwing him into the ocean? All those who come to Bangkok ‘to have a good time’ – do they think about why is that woman, or often, a child, willing to be used an object over and over again without any regard for their health, let alone their dignity?
Throughout the duration of the field study and beyond, these questions loom large. At one time, we visited a non-profit school run for stateless children, who were loving and smiling, in spite of their fate. And in the next hour, we had dinner at the private zoo of a rich individual (one of the donors to the school), complete with exotic animals imported from other continents. I try hard to resist judgment here, but it takes supreme and continual effort. One has every right to enjoy the fruits of one’s efforts in a manner one chooses. But is a private zoo, with the huge expanse of land, cost of animals and their maintenance, justified when that money could have provided several hundreds of families a roof over their heads or empowered an entire generation with education? This is not about that individual who owns the zoo, but about the choices that all of us make.
Consumerism seems to be a Frankenstein. I wonder how much of what I own do I really need. How much have I deprived an unknown, unacknowledged human being in another end of the world of? The point is not to feel guilty – that is a useless emotion. But the times do call for mindfulness in what we do. That is one of the lessons I take back from the trip.
The other lesson is to act in whatever sphere of influence one has, regardless of how big the sphere is. Most of the organizations and people we interacted with in the region would have never started had they questioned their ability to make an impact on a large scale. They started by standing up for themselves, or by trying to make a difference to a handful. The sphere of influence widens as one sustains one’s intent.
I am concerned, yet, I am hopeful. What we saw and learnt in northern Thailand was not humane. But the unsung heroes in the form of individuals and organizations working to infuse humanity into the system deserve to be celebrated. I hope I can begin that by initiating and continuing this conversation…
(Note: In the picture, the red rooftops on the left in Myanmar and the blue ones on the right in Laos happen to be casinos – tourists can gamble here legally without needing a visa to enter these countries, since the immigration check-posts are further inland. Capitalism rules the roost!)
In that picture, there is Myanmar to the left, Laos to the right and it was clicked from Thailand. The Mekong River calmly caresses the borders, blissfully unaware of the divide in the minds of people around it. Or perhaps, it makes a statement by flowing there. Perhaps, it laughs at the futility of the idea of borders and dares us to assign a name and claim to that little green patch in the centre. The backdrop of the hills seem to jeer at the notion of the porous border that is violated everyday by victims of parochial minds.
This patch of land and its consequences were the central theme of a recent field study trip to northern Thailand that I was part of (during my course on peace and conflict resolution at Chulalongkorn University). While the beauty and vibrancy of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai deserve a mention, the undercurrents of parochialism shake the very foundation of society here, and for that matter, question the nature of humanity all across the globalised world.
These hills all around the borders have lured settlers over the centuries. When nations formed, they gladly claimed the land and its resources allocated to them. However, they took no note of the people. These hill people had been without access to the lowlands and the ‘mainstream’ for ages due to lack of infrastructure. Consequently, they did not exist in the records. Today, even as one can acknowledge the existence of these colourful communities with all our sense organs, governments choose to overrule the proofs and maintain that they do not exist, since they do not have birth certificates, land papers, identity cards – apparently, pieces of paper validate existence in a way that a breathing human cannot.
And so we have statelessness. We have entire communities (we do not know the numbers – remember, they do not ‘exist’!) that are born and struggle to live and die without ever belonging to a nation. And the powers that run the nation are not bothered to embrace them into the folds of country because no one cares about one that does not exist. As a privileged citizen of a country with a citizenship rewarded to me for no apparent effort, I cannot even imagine what it feels like to be trapped in the hills with no nationality, no legal existence and therefore no access to education or healthcare, no freedom of movement beyond the hills (how can one be in a country where one does not exist?).
The ray of hope are the numerous organizations and individuals advocating citizenship for the stateless hill tribes on both the Thai and Burmese sides of the border. However, the process is painful and slow with no carrots dangling for the governments if they do their jobs, nor sticks to berate them, since the non-existent have no voice. But these stateless communities are shining examples of survival without that which most of us take for granted – citizenship. They fight for their rights, farm, produce goods, marry, produce children, educate them to whatever extent possible, dream of a better future. And I wonder, we who rant against our governments, we who complain about not getting our favourite food, we who are depressed about not earning enough money: what would we do if we were told we did not exist anymore even as we lived and breathed? Will shattering an identity free us from our excuses to not be happy and grateful?
Another consequence of those borders has been the openly visible and blatantly ignored phenomenon of human trafficking. People cross borders knowingly or unknowingly and willingly or unwillingly for greener pastures. Women end up in brothels or as tortured maid servants, men end up in factories and fishing vessels chained by their employers and children are consumed by paedophiles. Again, hope shines through the clouds in the form of agencies working against human trafficking. However, what sends a shudder down the spine is the reason why this exists and is perpetuated.
There are some that fall prey to trafficking lured by the guarantee of the next square meal. But there is an increasing number of those (some of whom are actively prodded by families), who get trafficked for that iPhone or the latest tab that the neighbour has. And to fuel this consumerist dream, it is shocking to discover all the actors that work in tandem – parents who are willing to sell their child, the middleman who looks for profit while disregarding the life that is at stake, the community leaders and even teachers who allow the middlemen to exist and even receive a share of profits, the monks that build temples with the donations from the profits of traffickers trying cover up their sins, the police that claims to protect society and yet guards the middlemen in return for their share of money, the tourism industry that stands on the pillars of trafficking and above all, us.
We – the consumers of human trafficking – do we care who made those heavily discounted clothes in the shops in Bangkok? Do we realise that they are cheap only because the slave labour is barely paid and is practically captive in the factories? When we are delighted about the low prices of that can of tuna, do we give a thought to that slave on the ship who has not been allowed to set foot on land for years? Do we know that he has perhaps become so ill that his employer intends to replace him after simply throwing him into the ocean? All those who come to Bangkok ‘to have a good time’ – do they think about why is that woman, or often, a child, willing to be used an object over and over again without any regard for their health, let alone their dignity?
Throughout the duration of the field study and beyond, these questions loom large. At one time, we visited a non-profit school run for stateless children, who were loving and smiling, in spite of their fate. And in the next hour, we had dinner at the private zoo of a rich individual (one of the donors to the school), complete with exotic animals imported from other continents. I try hard to resist judgment here, but it takes supreme and continual effort. One has every right to enjoy the fruits of one’s efforts in a manner one chooses. But is a private zoo, with the huge expanse of land, cost of animals and their maintenance, justified when that money could have provided several hundreds of families a roof over their heads or empowered an entire generation with education? This is not about that individual who owns the zoo, but about the choices that all of us make.
Consumerism seems to be a Frankenstein. I wonder how much of what I own do I really need. How much have I deprived an unknown, unacknowledged human being in another end of the world of? The point is not to feel guilty – that is a useless emotion. But the times do call for mindfulness in what we do. That is one of the lessons I take back from the trip.
The other lesson is to act in whatever sphere of influence one has, regardless of how big the sphere is. Most of the organizations and people we interacted with in the region would have never started had they questioned their ability to make an impact on a large scale. They started by standing up for themselves, or by trying to make a difference to a handful. The sphere of influence widens as one sustains one’s intent.
I am concerned, yet, I am hopeful. What we saw and learnt in northern Thailand was not humane. But the unsung heroes in the form of individuals and organizations working to infuse humanity into the system deserve to be celebrated. I hope I can begin that by initiating and continuing this conversation…
(Note: In the picture, the red rooftops on the left in Myanmar and the blue ones on the right in Laos happen to be casinos – tourists can gamble here legally without needing a visa to enter these countries, since the immigration check-posts are further inland. Capitalism rules the roost!)
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