Local Thai Authorities Deny "long Necks" Their Rights ....

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'Long necks' in Thailand

Mon, May 14 2007

asian pacific post.

Local Thai authorities routinely deny the Padaung or ‘long-necks’ who live in three villages in Mae Hong Son province in northern Thailand the right to resettle to third countries, according to a US-based activist group.

The Washington-based US Campaign for Burma released a statement that claimed some Padaung who had already been accepted for resettlement by Canada, New Zealand and Finland were denied the opportunity to resettle by the local authorities.

The local Thai authorities say the Padaung do not have the right to apply for resettlement, because they are not classified as refugees, according to Targay Child, a Karenni journalist based in Mae Hong Song.

The USCB claimed that some Thai authorities may see the Padaung, or so-called “long-necks” people who are originally from Burma, as a popular tourist attraction who are frequently exploited by the Thai tourism industry, both locally and nationally.

“Local Thai authorities have upped the ante of callousness and disregard for human dignity by prohibiting the Kayan from seeking new lives through resettlement in third countries, even when these countries have already agreed to welcome the Kayan,” the campaign group said in a statement.

Dino, the headman of Padaung Nai Soi village northwest of Mae Hong Song, said that many villagers want to resettle to third countries but face problems from Thai officials.

The USCB said villagers in Nai Soi, Huay Pu Keng and Huay Sua Tao say they are not allowed to work outside the villages, and their children are not allowed to attend Thai school. Many children attend unofficial schools in Karenni refugee camps near their village.

Targay Child said that at least 30 Padaung girls attend the school in Karenni refugee camps. Some of his Padaung friends have taken off their traditional neck rings, he said, because they want to blend in with other people and apply for resettlement.

About 100 “long-neck” women and girls live in the three Padaung villages. More Padaung people are located in a community called the “Union of Hill Tribe Villages” in Chiang Rai Province.

According to the USCB, “Every day, anywhere from 50 to 500 tourists spend between 250-500 Thai baht (US $7.72-15.45) for the opportunity to see Kayan “long-neck” women.”

Tourism in the Padaung villages may reach into the millions of dollars, including the money spent at local hotels, restaurants, bus companies and tourist agencies, the group said.

The Padaung women who wear rings around their neck earn about 1,500 baht ($35) a month. The salary is administered by Thais, the USCB said.

In earlier February, Thai authorities held a meeting in Bangkok and decided to combine two Padaung villages Huay Sua Tao and Nai Soi and to relocate them near to Hyay Pu Keng.

But Dino said, “Many villagers do not want to move because they’ve lived here for many years, and their children can go to school in the refugee camp.”