Life in a brothel

I’m sorry that I’ve been absent for so long! I’ve been working on my final project, which is a human rights report, for roughly 14 hours every day. On November 25, I got into a wan with the dream team: Kati, Josh, Tommy, Brodie, Ajaan Ooh, P’Joy, and myself. We went to Roi-Et province, where we stayed in a nice hotel. The room that I shared with Kati had a bathtub, a western-style toilet, and a t.v: it was one of the nicest places I’ve stayed at during my time in Thailand. However, it was also a brothel. An entire wing of the hotel was full of prostitutes, and at night they all flocked to the lobby of the hotel. It was so strange to stay in a hotel that was also part brothel because the hotels in Bangkok won’t even allow Thai people to stay in them in fear that Thai people are prostitutes. It was quite an experience.

The next day, we spoke to the Sangsawat family whose house was destroyed by the transmission line that carries a reserve of electricity from the Nam Theun 2 project in Laos to Thailand. The Electricity Generating authority of Thailand (EGAT) threatened the family multiple times because they were unwilling to give up their land. EGAT took Paiboon, the father to jail and threatened him, it forged the mother’s signature on the compensation document, and it brought local police to the family’s home to force them off of their land.

The family lost their house, their land, and their livelihood. They used to sell ducks, chickens, fruit, and fish, but can no longer do so because they do not have the appropriate land. Currently, the family has Bt 2, 000,000 in debt, which is an amount that they will never be able to pay off. Their lives were ruined because of this development project, and it was absolutely heart wrenching as the father began to cry while telling us that he couldn’t sleep because the pain in his heart was too much to bear. At one point, the entire family started crying because their lives and happiness have been stolen.

Interestingly enough, their home was the only one affected by the 500 kV transmission line. We all started to ask if it’s o.k. if one family is destroyed so that thousands can lead more developed lives. I came to the conclusion that it’s never acceptable for anyone to suffer for anyone else’s’ happiness and comfort. Furthermore, we had an exchange with EGAT, where they told us that they could not do anything to help the family since the project is completed. When we asked why they were able to avoid a dinosaur park (dinosaurs are a big deal in Thailand; there was a dinosaur craze in the 90’s. I wish I were joking.) but not the family’s home, EGAT responded that villagers wanted the park to be preserved. EGAT then said that it spent Bt 20,000,000 to buy the villagers’ off. Thus, the Sangsawats were not important enough to adequately buy-off. I just can’t understand how EGAT could do this. How is it that so many governments and companies around the world care more about natural resources, money, and development than human beings?

I started to get really sad that during my time in Thailand I have witnessed so much unnecessary suffering. People who have had their lives, communities, and families torn apart in the name of development. Yet at the same time, I have met some of the most extraordinary people that I’ve ever met in my life while in Thailand. People who are fighting for their lives and rights with the most passion and enthusiasm I have ever seen in my life. People who are kind, intelligent, and generous. People who have faced enormous adversity in life, but who still view life as a beautiful thing worth fighting for. There are so many people in this world who have the capacity to change the world for the better, and I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of them.

For the next couple of days, until the 29, we piled into the wan everyday and searched for other households negatively affected by the transmission line. We went to all 19 sub-districts in Roi-Et province, but we did not meet anyone else. We then returned to Khon Kaen, and Kati and I immediately began work on a human rights report for the Sangsawat family. I’ve been working tirelessly on this report, and it is coming to an end. The plan was to send it to International Rivers, an NGO that investigates communities affected by hydropower projects in Southeast Asia. We sent them a draft of the report, and tonight I found out that they are planning on sending our report directly to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ADB is responsible for the planning and implementation of the Nam Theun 2 project. I’m beyond ecstatic knowing that all of my hard work is paying off. I really hope that this makes the ADB re-evaluate the case of the Sangsawat family because they need to be adequately compensated for all that they have lost.

The other night, I went to Central Plaza, which is a brand new mall in Khon Kaen. A bunch of us went for the grand opening, and I was so scared as soon as we entered the mall. It was the largest mall I’ve ever been to in my life, and it was all so fancy. It was the first time I’ve really experienced culture shock. It was funny to be confronted with what awaits me when I return to home. The bright lights, fancy shops, and polished floors were all a bit much for me to handle without becoming overwhelmed. I have less than a week left in Thailand, and a packed schedule awaits me. There are things planned every day, but I’m prepared to spend as much time with my friends as possible, and I want to soak in everything about this country so that I can bring it back with me to the U.S.

I'm so full, I can't laugh

Since returning from Na Nong Bong, my days have been filled with dancing until 4 AM, returning to Yasothorn, and celebrating Thanksgiving. On the 14^th, a bunch of my friends and I decided to go to Sunset Bar, which is in the middle of a huge field outside of Khon Kaen city. We set off in two tuk tuks, and unfortunately, one broke down, so we waited by the side of the road for ½ an hour and then made our way to the bar by 12 AM. We sat underneath a sky full of stars and just talked while looking out into the fields. We also danced like fools to American music until 4AM, and took someone’s birthday cake and completely devoured it (he gave us permission to, but seemed stunned when he no longer had a cake).

On the 21^st, Ana and I returned to Yasothorn, where I had my first unit, and we were able to stay with our homestay family, which was amazing! As soon as we arrived, we were put to work by our paw, who had us harvest dead rice for the cows. Our family has 20 rai of land, but we think that he did not trust enough to harvest the rice that is used to feed people, which was probably a good choice. Although I don’t think that I was particularly good at harvesting rice, I simply hacked it off with my sickle, I found it to be extremely relaxing and peaceful. We then had lunch, went back to work in the field, and then went on a wonderful walk throughout the village. On our walk, we even made a friend named Gus, who was a stocky little dog that trailed us wherever we went. After we returned from our walk, we read and relaxed while looking out over the pond, and then had dinner. Soon after, Ana and I prepared to go to bed, but we were unable to sleep for more than an hour the entire night because it was absolutely freezing. The house is constructed out of wood and provides very little protection from the howling wind. As a result, we were left shivering the entire night, and barely got any sleep.

We woke up at 5 AM, which wasn’t so bad since we were eager to warm up, to go to the Green Market, which is the market where the farmers sell their organically grown produce. We stayed at the market until 9 AM, and then went to Meh Pid’s house, which is where our friends, Maina, Jordan, Liz, and Shayne stayed. Their house had a wonderful raised, wooden plank that we all slept on, covered by a mountain of blankets. I slept for 2.5 hours, and it was wonderful to sleep in the fresh air, especially after having gotten such poor rest the night before. I then read…We’ve all been reading a lot, and many times, there are 10 or more of us in a row with our heads bent low over our respective books. We then went to farmer’s camp, which is where people learn how to farm and kill their own animals, and we were able to spend some time on the farm of 40 rai. While taking a tour of the land, Liz was almost stabbed by a running cow, and I was head-butted by a goat! Then we were on our way back to Khon Kaen. Although my trip to Yasothorn lasted less than 48 hours, I had a wonderful time.

However, last night, the 22^nd, topped dancing underneath the stars and harvesting rice…We celebrated Thanksgiving, and surprisingly, it was delicious! CIEE was very kind and brought us to the nicest hotel in Khon Kaen, The Pullman. There was a Thanksgiving buffet being held there, complete with a turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, sushi, bread and cheese, salad, etc. It was a startling sight for us, and we attacked the buffet as soon as we laid eyes on it. I ate 5 plates of food, and had a food monster growing inside of me by the end of the night. I was so stuffed that it actually hurt to laugh, and I had a great deal of difficulty in standing up. I ate myself into a state where I gagged many times because my body was having a hard time trying to process such an unhealthy amount of western food. It was just possibly one of the best nights of my life. Although I know that I’m going to miss Thanksgiving in America, my early Thanksgiving celebration in Thailand was more than enough to make me feel thankful for all that I have in my life, and I was surrounded by plenty of people who I have grown to love in the span of 3 months. I couldn’t have asked for anything else.

Not surprisingly, I am leaving tomorrow to begin my final project. I am working with Kati, Tommy, and Brodie to investigate the effect that the electrical transmission line has on households in Thailand. We are going to make and compile case studies and then make human rights reports through an ESCR lens. Our project is going to be slightly insane because we have never studied this specific issue before, and we don’t even know where the households that have been affected by the transmission line are located. We only know the whereabouts of one family that was physically threatened, had their house destroyed, and their signatures faked on a legal agreement by EGAT, the company that constructed the transmission line. Therefore, we will be going in a van simply following the transmission line looking for households near the line that we can hopefully interview. It is going to an adventure, and I can’t wait to begin the search!

The price of gold

A week ago, I went to Na Nong Bong, which is a village in Loei Province (where I had my orientation!). Loei Province is known for its beautiful mountains that cover the entire landscape, and Na Nong Bong is no exception. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my life (I’m so sorry, I forgot to bring my camera, but I promise to steal some from my friends) with all of its green, rolling mountains that reflect the sun’s brilliant colors throughout the day. Sadly, the landscape of the village is tainted by a mountain that has been deforested, and all that is there is a mine, which looks like a massive dirt hole. Not only is it aesthetically unpleasing to the eye, but it also has deadly affects on the village and the surrounding environment.

Na Nong Bong is full of some of the most wonderful people that I have ever met in Thailand. They are spirited, willing to fight for their rights until the very end, generous, kind, funny, and compassionate beings. This is why it is so devastating to hear that people continue to use the water to bathe in and to wash their dishes even though the Office of Public Health told them that their water is contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals (they can’t afford clean water), that 54 individuals in the village have been diagnosed with cyanide poisoning, that their rice yields have decreased, that they are afraid to eat the produce they grow, and that their way of life has been destroyed by the mine. To oppose the mine and all that it has done to them, the villagers have formed the group, People Who Conserve Their Hometown, which tries to spread awareness, writes letters to government officials asking for help, and protests the mine.

One day, we had an exchange with the Office of Public Health, where the representative told us that the villagers weren’t concerned about problems relating to cyanide since the kind of cyanide poisoning they have, which is supposedly contact cyanide, can be urinated out of the body in 7 days. She also told us that the government needs to go into the village and educate the villagers on the issues posed by the gold mine because most of them only have 4^th grade educations, and that the Office is scared of releasing the results of the vegetable and plant contamination test because of all the backlash they received after making it public that the water’s contaminated.

It was the most disheartening exchange that I’ve ever had because this was the one Office that should’ve at least pretended to be on the side of the villagers. It should be protecting the villagers’ health, but it’s so clear that the mine has bought the Office off, which it has done to many other branches of the government. I don’ think that I’ve ever been that enraged before, but I just couldn’t believe that these villagers are literally fighting for their lives, and that no one is willing to offer them any help. It’s disgusting to know that people and organizations can act with absolutely no compassion.

Yet the majority of my stay at Na Nong Bong was anything but disheartening. It was one of the best times that I’ve ever had: it was filled with laughter, love, happiness, and a sense of community. 2 mornings, I woke up at 4 am with my meh and paw and went to the market with them (we bought really large rats that still had their intestines intact) since they own the village store. It was really fun to go with them and see all of the food being sold since it is so different from anything that can be found in the U.S.: pig heads, rats, fried, green jelly, etc. Also, one night Liz, my roommate, and I went to work with our parents in the rubber fields. They systematically cut the bark on the rubber trees in a downward spiral, but only on one side of the tree, so that the rubber runs down into a dish. I was terrible at it, and basically hacked away at the poor tree until I saw some rubber meekly dribble out, but Liz was a pro at it. I only attempted to help twice, but then stopped because I was afraid that they would lose money if I continued to maul their trees.

I was also able to go on a hike up to a cave on the top of a mountain! The trek was quite impressive, and I was proud of myself for making it! It started out with A LOT of concrete steps, and then it transitioned into nothing at all…Just hiking up a mountain. As it became steeper, wooden ladders were placed on the ground, but it was so steep that the ladders just sat on the ground. At the end, we essentially crawled to the top. However, it was all worth it because the cave was the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life. We walked around in the dark until we came to a huge opening where a stream of brilliant white light shone through a hole at the very top of the mountain. Inside of this opening was also a huge statue of Buddha. It was probably the most surreal experience I’ve ever had.

After a 5 night stay at Na Nong Bong, we went to a village that is facing the possibility of having the first copper mine in all of Thailand be constructed right near their community. They were warned about this potential project by Na Nong Bong villagers, and have formed a group to oppose the mine. It amazes me that the people of Na Nong Bong are not simply fighting for their own cause, their also fighting for all other people who are, have been, or will be oppressed by the construction of mines. Although the gold mine that pertains to their village is their main priority, they are just as serious, dedicated, and passionate about helping others in similar situations. Thailand is a much more collectivist society than the U.S., and I thought that I would find myself feeling constrained and forced to conform to “fit in,” but instead I find Thai society to be refreshing because people are not so focused on just themselves.

I only have one more month in Thailand, and with the end so near, I am simultaneously giddy to return home and terrified to go back. I am afraid to leave a country that I have fallen deeply in love with, and I can’t imagine being without the 26 other students who are currently here with me. It’s so funny to think of how apprehensive I was to come to Thailand, and now how those same feelings are resurfacing when thinking about returning to the U.S. So many of my loved ones are in the U.S., and the thought of seeing them puts a smile on my face and makes me overwhelmingly happy. All I know is that I need to treasure every moment that I have left in Thailand because I will soon leave this country that has given me infinitely more than I ever could have imagined.

4 day break: forming a human rights youth network

Yet again, I’m up and running….I returned from Bangkok yesterday at 5 Am, and leave for Loei Province (where I had orientation) tomorrow afternoon. However, my 4 day break was amazing! I left for Bangkok on an overnight bus at 12 AM on November 1^st. The buses here are really plush because they are modeled after the business class sections of airplanes, so the seats are really large and recline almost all the way back, and there are even stewardesses on every bus ride. They dress in these really cute uniforms and pass out drinks and snacks, and make sure that everyone is comfortable…It’s really comical, but also quite nice!

We arrived in Bangkok at 6 in the morning and Kate and I walked all around until we were able to find a reasonable hotel that wasn’t a jail cell. After a couple of hours of searching we were able to finally found the perfect place! Then we took showers and we met up with our friend Hilary and Louisa, a friend of Hilary’s. We all went to Indian food, which was delicious, and then went out to talk and have coffee. Then we went shopping on Khaw Sahn Road, which is the most touristy place in all of Bangkok. It is filled with hundreds of farang (foreigners) who, for the most part, are incredibly rude to the Thai people who work there. However, it has really nice, cheap things that are unavailable in Khon Kaen, so I fell for the tourist trap as well.

However, the night did not end there! November 2^nd is Loi Kratong, which is a big holiday in Thailand. It’s when you buy floats made out of banana leaves, filled with flowers and bananas that you put all of your negative feelings onto and then place into a body of water so that all of your worries and aggravations float away. In some places, huge lanterns are places into the air, like my experience at Tamui, but that didn’t occur in Bangkok. To celebrate, we went to the river and watched as everybody placed their floats into the water. We then met a nice professor who worked at Thammasat (the major university in Bangkok) who asked Hilary for a lighter to light the candles on his float. We talked with him for a little bit, and then he let us place all of our ill feelings onto his float, which was very generous of him…His poor float must have been feeling pretty heavy. We then went to a bakery where they had actual desserts!

The next day, was full of planning for the impending meeting on November 4^th. We met at 9:30 am, and planned until 6 pm at night to decide the agenda of the meeting. Luckily, I don’t really mind meetings since I’m so used to them after being on this program, and we even got falafels, warm pita bread, and hummus for lunch: it was fabulous! At 6:30 pm, Hilary and I met with Metha, a well-known NGO who has lots of connections in Bangkok, for dinner to network and further discuss the meeting with him. He was a really nice guy, and it was cool to meet with someone who has such a stronghold on the youth movement in Bangkok albeit his need to constantly be the center of attention. After dinner, he took us to a great jazz bar that was full of locals, and I got a decent cup of tea (my first once since coming to Thailand)!

On November 4^th, we woke up at 6 am and hopped in a taxi to go to the office of TVS (the Thai Volunteer Service) where we met with and debriefed the students who had come to Bangkok for the meeting from Isaan. Then we had lunch and made our way over to the meeting, which started late because of the terrible traffic in the city. The meeting had 25 people, and it was a great success! The people there came up with the main goals of the network, the name of the network: Youth Partnership for Human Rights, and the steering committee members to plan the big network meeting on December 10^th. We were able to accomplish a lot, and it was really empowering to be there. In the U.S., I constantly find myself questioning what my real passion in life is, and whether or not peace studies is something that I’m really willing to commit to. Seeing 25, young members of Thai society come together to try and form a national human rights youth network was amazing, and it showed me that I should do what I want to do and pursue what I’m interested in, regardless of what others think.

My entire experience in Thailand has made me realize that human rights and grassroots movements are what make me happy. Fighting for people whose voices aren’t heard by their own governments or the international community is something that I find overwhelmingly rewarding. It’s interesting in this context because the concept of human rights in Thailand is brand new. Class action suits were introduced just a year ago. Furthermore, there is hi so (high society) and lo so (low society). Lo so, the people of Isaan, have this notion that they don’t possess any rights. If the government takes the villagers’ land, kills their relatives, and ruins their livelihoods, the villagers don’t think that they have any right to fight for what they have lost because the government is hi so. Therefore, it’s truly inspiring to see villagers and the youth fight against this idea that only those who are wealthy have human rights in Thailand. It also makes me feel so fortunate to live in a county, America, where everyone knows that they have rights and that the court system in the U.S. is much less corrupt and much more effective than in Thailand.

Sa wa dee ka (both “hello” and “goodbye” in Thai). I am now off to my 4^th and final unit: mining. I am really excited, and can’t wait to write a ridiculously long blog post about my adventures!

"Get in the wan"

I returned from my third unit, which was centered around dams, three days ago, and I am now off to Bangkok tonight for a Human Rights Youth Network Conference for Thailand and Burma. I will be in Bangkok until November 5^th, and I couldn’t be more excited for it. I have been presented with so many amazing opportunities since I’ve come to Thailand, and I couldn’t have dreamed of a better experience than for me to attend a conference about human rights and social injustices occurring in Southeast Asia.

Well, back to my past unit. On October 22, I left for Rasi Salai Dam. The Rasi Salai Dam is different from the Pak Mun Dam in that it was commissioned by the Royal Irrigation Department of Thailand (RID) in 1989, and it has no connections with the World Bank. However, it has caused just as much destruction to the lives of the villagers in the surrounding area as the Pak Mun Dam. It was built without an Environmental or Social Impact Assesment, which has caused it to be completely ineffective in providing irrigation to the surrounding areas because it was built on a salt dome, which means that the water kills all of the crops because the salt is too concentrated within the water. Hence, there is now a huge, concrete Dam that continues to close, and yet it serves no purpose. However, unlike Pak Mun Dam, 80% of those who have been negatively affected by the Dam have been compensated, in part because those who protest the Dam are much more organized than those at Pak Mun.

The first day, we were given a tour of the Dam and the surrounding area, which was quite depressing because the environmental impacts of the Dam were so evident. Many of the rice fields were flooded, and therefore unusable (wetland rice farming has dropped by 77% since the construction of the Dam). Sadly, many villagers were unable to harvest their rice before their fields were destroyed by flooding, so they not only lost a large amount of their food source, but they also lost a lot of income. In comparison to this solemn sight, we all loved being on the Hua NaDam, which we visited next…I know, vey strange. The Dam had these huge slabs of concrete jutting out into the river, and it was so peaceful. We all sat out on these, soaked up the sun, and just took time to think

However, it’s not as bad as you may think because the Hua Na Dam has not affected anyone’s life. The Dam was constructed, but it was successfully protested against by the villagers, and has never closed its gates. It is one of the few success stories of villagers successfully confronting the government on a social and environmental issue.

Ana, Haley, and I all roomed together, and we stayed in an absolutely beautiful house. We had a paw, meh, and 2 seouws (sisters)! Our paw loved to shape shrubs (I have an odd obsession with shrubbery!), so we had a giraffe, elephant, and deer in our yard! Our family was outrageously kind, and I had such a wonderful time with them. Plus, the food was alloy (Thai, or sep in Issan/Laos)!

The next day, we ate breakfast and then went with our meh to feed their 10 water buffalos grass. Afterwards, Haley and I went to our family’s rice fields, which luckily, weren’t submerged under water. We helped our meh and paw gather grass that grew by their rice fields to feed the water buffalo tomorrow. I love going to the rice fields or even just seeing them because they’re always a vibrant shade of green that I’ve never seen in the U.S., and it’s just the most beautiful sight. After 2 hours spent in the fields, we met up with Ana and fished in a little pond! Everyone else was having such success, but I wasn’t able to catch anything…I think it may be because P’Joy (the main driver for CIEE and everyone’s friend) gave me a piece of banana at the end of my hook instead of fish food! Then we had lunch, and as soon as we finished, our paw and little sister (nang seouw) took us to a really, really flooded area. If our paw hadn’t told us it was flooded, we all would have assumed that it was simply a river! Ana and Haley swam around, and then we returned home. To end the day, Ana and I decided to take a really long bike ride, and it was so much fun! One of us peddled while the other one sat on the back seat. It was tough going for a little while (quite wobbly, and lots of times where we careened off the road and into someone’s fields), but then we got the hang of it and were able to keep ourselves on the road!

On October 24, we got into the vans and drove to the protest village in Rasi Salai, which began in July 4, 2009. It was created to protest the Dam from closing its gates, and it is also in solidarity to make sure that the 20% of villagers who have not yet received compensation. The protest village is basically tent city with only two squatty potties, and it seemed to be in a more primitive stage than the Kon San Protest Village. However, the people that we met there were beautiful, courageous individuals fighting for to get their lives back.

That day, there was a wedding going on for 2 older people who had met while protesting the Dam, and it was the most beautiful ceremony. All of their friends, family, and CIEE students crowded around them, and at the end there was a huge bi see ceremony! After the wedding, we had an exchange with the villagers, during which we were told that RID had first told the villagers that the Dam was actually going to be a rubber weir, but it then turned into a huge concrete Dam. Furthermore, villagers from the Hua Na Dam joined us, and it was wonderful to hear them say that they continued to fight for others because they don’t want anyone to have to suffer as a result of a Dam. Even though they were able to stop the Hua Na Dam from closing, they still fight alongside others to make sure that there is justice.

Afterwards, we had an exchange with an NGO working with the Rasi Salai Dam, but she basically told us everything that we had already known from the readings we had done in preparation, which was disappointing. However, I felt much better when my meh and nang seouw showed me the baby buffalo that had just been born earlier that day! It was so cute, and I named it: Wictor!

The next day, we left to go to Pak Mun. While I was sad to say goodbye to my family, I was excited to return to Pak Mun Dam. We started off by having a boat tour of the Mekong River, which was beautiful! Soon after we boarded, the boat began filling up with water, so we got out on what looked and felt like a mud pit while we waited for another boat to come get us. We were sliding around, having races, and all enjoying ourselves until we realized that at a certain point the mud turned into someone’s bean garden. Luckily, we didn’t ruin any of the beans! During the boat tour, we got off at Laos, which is on the other side of the Mekong River. I was so excited to get a peek at Laos, but sadly, it was just like Tijuana in Mexico, and was a touristy area for Thai people to get knock-offs. Yet it was still cool to go to a different country, if only for an hour or so.

Hilary and I roomed together this time, and I was really lucky because Hilary speaks Isaan (she spent her senior year of highschool in Thailand), so she was able to communicate with our family! I liked my family, but they laughed at me a lot because my Thai is pretty bad, and so I felt kind of bad about myself, but Hilary reassured me that they weren’t doing it in a malicious way, so I felt better about it.

The next morning, we went for a walk around our village, Wang Sa Bang, and we saw the dry irrigation pump and canal. It was burning outside, so we used banana leaves to shade ourselves from the sun. When we got back, we had lunch and then went to see the Pak Mun Dam, and it was perfect timing because the gates were closing that day, so we were able to see and document it. That night, we had an exchange with an NGO who worked at Pak Mun, and it was interesting because he originally worked with Rasi and then came to work at Pak Mun after 2 of the leaders at Pak Mun unexpectedly died last year.

Later that night, we had an exchange with the villagers, and it was so clear that EGAT and the Pak Mun Dam had devastated their lives. They had so much anger towards EGAT, and it was sad to see how human beings come to hate each other to a point where it consumes their lives. Yet at the same time, these people have been fighting for 30 years with very little progress made. A loss of livelihood and culture is a loss of life for these people, and it enraged me to see that they had been deprived of everything that had once been their lives.

On October 27, Hilary and I said goodbye to our family, and we then made our way to EGAT, where we had a great exchange! We asked them all about the struggles that the villagers faced and why they hadn’t been doing more, and they were very candid in saying that they had given millions of Baht as compensation to some villagers, but that all the compensation in the world might never give them back what they’ve lost. However, during other times, they outright denied that EGAT hires people to support the Dam during protests. We then drove to RID, which was a hilarious exchange because they hired a radio host and 2 farmers to tell us why RID is such a good company, and they then tried to explain what irrigation is to us, but we were able to get a lot of questions relating to the Rasi Salai Dam by not allowing them to ever speak except for answering our questions. Their answers were really evasive, but I’m glad that we met both EGAT and RID because I realize that these companies are getting orders from the government and royal family, and they have to comply with those commands. There’s a lot more to it than simply blaming EGAT and RID; there’s a whole chain of corruption and power that one must climb to find all of the sources of the problem.

Back in the past

I’m sorry that I haven’t written a blog entry for quite some time now, but my schedule has been pretty hectic. I know that this is going back more than a week from today, but I really want to tell all of you about my experience on October 19^th. I, along with many other CIEE students left the office at 7 AM to go to a trial in support of the Kon San villagers. Kon San is a protest village that was created a little more than 3 months ago, and it is to keep logging companies from planting eucalyptus trees, which suck up all of the water from the surrounding area and kill nearly all other vegetation around them. The logging companies invaded the villagers’ agricultural land nearly 30 years ago because the villagers’ land is optimal for planting and then cutting down eucalyptus trees in order to make paper.

The villagers of Kon San used to have land titles, but a couple of years ago, the logging company paid a neighbor chief to tell Kon San that he was willing to help the villagers in their fight to oppose the logging company, but that in doing so he needed to have copies of their land titles. So, the villagers gave this chief their land titles, and as was directed by the logging company, he then threw all of the titles into a fire so as to destroy all proof that that land truly belongs to the villagers.

Furthermore, the logging company hires men dressed in black shirts to monitor the villagers at all time. They have stations set up at every entry point, and normally take photos of the villagers in a menacing way. The black shirts, as they’re referred to, also use violent and scare tactics to try and get the villagers to disband the protest village. In order to deal with the black shirts, the villagers have created wooden platforms on trees that are used to monitor the movements of the black shirts, and if one comes too close to entering the village, an alert goes out to every single villager.

After 30 years, the villagers decided to sue the logging company (law suits are a pretty new thing in Thailand) for trespassing, loss of land/sustenance/and livelihood. Yet as a result, the logging company chose 36 people, at random, who are being tried for supposedly trespassing on the logging companies’ land, and if it is brought to a criminal court, those 36 people have the possibility of being sent to jail. Hopefully that won’t happen, and the case will simply stop at the civil court. Yet to further prove our solidarity with the villagers, all of the CIEE students had shirts made that had a quote from the leader of Kon San, which read (in Thai): “The logging companies must leave. We want our land back now.” I’m so glad that we were wearing them because the villagers really seemed to like and appreciate them.

Two of my friends were gracious enough to let me go into the courthouse even though we all wanted to attend, but unfortunately, no one but those being tried (the villagers and logging company officials) were able to enter the courtroom. I waited outside with everyone else for the villagers to emerge from the courthouse, and while it may not seem like we did much of anything rather than simply show up, it still made a huge difference. Not only did we show the villagers that we care for and support them, but the legal team defending the logging company backed out because the 2 lawyers didn’t want to be attached to a case that was being given so much attention from international students. I think that was a huge success!

Afterwards, the villagers invited us to their protest village, which was like nothing I had ever seen before. Their shelters reminded me of the pictures I had seen that showed the “housing” in refugee camps. They were made with wood and tarps, and were extremely minimalistic. We were given a tour of the village, and although small, it was obvious that the people who live there are dedicate, passionate individuals. It was actually stunning to see how many eucalyptus trees surrounded the village because they were literally everywhere! They still had a really small amount of land where they plant rice, but it’s sad because the logging company has destroyed most of their land. However, the people there seemed to be in good moods, and it was truly awe-inspiring to see people dedicating their lives and leaving their homes to fight for a cause.

1 Day, 1 Night= A Changed Person

On October 9, a group of 6, myself included, arrived in Bamraung 2.2, which is a railroad slum, meaning that it is right by the tracks of a railroad, in Khon Kaen. All railroad slums in Thailand reside on land owned by the SRT, The State Railways of Thailand, and Bamraung 2.2 just recently received a 3-year lease from the SRT, which is nothing in comparison to the 30-year lease that many slums have. The SRT stipulates that all houses within 20 meters of the track must be relocated before the community is given a lease. However, the community I was in has houses, one of which I stayed in, that are literally 5 meters away from the track, and yet the entire slum was able to receive a lease without any of those households having to relocate.

Furthermore, the residents have to buy all of their own water and electricity until they tell the water and electricity companies that they were given the lease because they are technically trespassers on the land on which they live, and therefore the government does not provide them with any basic utilities. As a result, people in Bamraung 2.2 are forced to buy water and electricity from their neighbors at highly inflated rates, sometimes by as much as 60%.

When we arrived at the slum we were given a tour, and it looked like any other village to me. Yes, the structural construction of the houses was very primitive, but it all looked very similar to the houses that I’ve stayed in during past units. I had been expecting to stay in a megacity, but we ended up staying in a village slum that was very rural in the midst of Khon Kaen, and which did not match my preconceptions of a slum. I was slightly disappointed, but the slum dwellers and our meh and paw, who is the slum leader, made up for everything. They were all incredibly generous, intelligent, and proud. I felt honored to be able to stay with them because they were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in Thailand, which is saying a lot since everyone here is overly kind.

After the tour, we all went to the market together to get dinner materials, and while there we saw intact pig heads (don’t worry, we didn’t purchase any)! Dinner consisted of vegetables and rice and eggs (the usual), and we then went to bed at around 8 PM. Our meh came in to tell us that she was going to the house next door and then repeatedly formed her fingers into the shape of a gun and pretended to shoot one of us while vigorously shaking her head and speaking in Thai. We were terrified, and thought that she was warning us not to leave the house because people would shoot us, but we finally realized that she was telling us that was no violence allowed in the slum and that we had no need to worry about guns.

After a fitful night of sleeping due to the trains that passed every couple of hours and made it sound as though a helicopter was going to tear through the house at any minute, we woke up and had breakfast. Afterwards, we went on a tour of 2 temples. The first temple wasn’t that far away, and we had a monk as a tour guide who took us to every statue of Buddha, at which time we did the customary wai three times (sitting on both legs, press both palms together and bring your thumbs to your forehead and then lean forward and press your forehead and both hands to the ground- repeat 2 more times. Paw then took us to a wat that had 9 different stories as well as relics from Thailand’s history. We went through every level until we got to the top, and the view was pretty impressive.

From there, we visited 6 other CIEE students who were staying at a neighboring slum called Pornsawan, It’s located right next to a golf course, and the community is beautiful. The houses there were the nicest houses that any of us have seen since coming to Thailand, which granted would most likely look like shanties to most people in America. They all had concrete walls, western-style toilets, showerheads, and ceiling fans! Going to Pornsawan opened my eyes and made me realize that I had no right to be upset about the condition of Bamraung 2.2. I had entered this unit thinking that I knew exactly what slums looked like and how the people who lived there should act, even though I had never been to a slum before, and it made me realize that slums are slums. Slums all look different from each other, and the term just means a community full of people who live on land that is not their own. I was really glad I was able to see the other village because it gave me a much needed wake-up call.

That night, we had an exchange with paw and some of the other community members, and it was so much fun. They had never had an exchange before and they were all so excited that people, especially foreigners, had an interest in their lives. At the beginning, they would yell and hoot to show support, and it was hilarious. By the end of introductions, everyone had settled down, and we were able to find out that Bamraung 2.2 had been given money by CODI, the Community Organizations Development Institute—a Thai organization that gives Bt20,000 to each household in a slum to make improvements, and that community upgrading would begin in a month. Paw said that Bt20,000 isn’t enough to put both a new tin roof on one’s house and concrete walls, but that the money was better than nothing. Plus, CODI doesn’t ask for any of the money to be repaid, and all responsibility and power of the improvements are given to the residents of the slums.

On October 11, Paw took us on a joyride around Khon Kaen, and it was the best way to start the day. We all stood up in the back of Paw’s truck, and it was so nice to feel the wind on my skin while looking at a part of the city that I had never seen before. We stopped at a field where we looked at a river, and we also looked at an irrigation system that community members had to pay for, but then the Thai government never supplied them with any water. Currently, it just looks like a concrete passageway through the fields.

When we returned to the slum, it was time for the group to head to the landfill. It was sad to say goodbye to the slum and to the community members because I loved being there. There was always an abundance of laughter, and the people were just so good-spirited.

The landfill provided a drastic change in setting. The first thing that could be seen was a mountain at the end of the small road that the houses line (the houses are situated on the landfill), and the stench was overwhelming. We met our homestay families, and Haley and I lucked out because we had the sweetest mom, dad, and 2 younger sisters. They were all really hard-working, had the kindest smiles, and tried their best to communicate with the farang (foreigners). We went for a tour of the landfill, which was when I realized the mountain I had seen was made out of trash, piles and piles of rotting trash. It was incredible and sickening to see how much waste humans produce. We explored the landfill, where little kids ran in flip-flops and waded through the toxic, liquefied, rotting trash to find treasures amongst the garbage that had not yet putrefied.

We were shown the incinerator, which the community is afraid of because of all of the toxic fumes that it releases into the air, as well as the pond of trash that was created by a Japanese company who wanted to make oil by somehow combining chemicals, water, and trash, but that project has been postponed, so now there is a pond filled with trash in the middle of the landfill. It was really eye opening, and it was hard for me to process what I was seeing because it was all so new, exciting (I hate to say it), and unfamiliar to me.

The next morning, October 12, Haley and I woke up at 6:20 AM, had breakfast, put on our gloves and boots, and headed to the landfill with our parents. My first instinct was to keep from vomiting because the smell was so overwhelming, but I pushed that reaction to the back of my mind and concentrated on finding somewhat steady footing while trekking up the great mounds of trash. We were given hoes and used them to rake through the trash in hopes of finding plastic and aluminum bottles. It seemed kind of easy at first, but then it began to get hotter, my arms ached from raking through trash, my legs were weak with fatigue from wading through trash, and it was getting harder and harder to find valuable materials since the garbage had all been scavenged by someone else just hours before.

I became quite freaked out when Haley happened to find a dog in a bag, which is a common finding. Many Thai people put their small dogs into bags, and then the dogs either suffocate to death or are killed by being squashed by trash. This amazes me because there are homeless dogs wandering all throughout the streets of Thailand, so why not just let your dog loose on the street if you know longer want it?

Haley and I only spent 2.5 hours working at the landfill, but it was enough for me. I hate to say it, but all I wanted to do while I was there was to leave. I’m sure that the scavengers who work their everyday of the week for an average of 15 hours per day must get used to it, but it was really hard for me to be there and to see such wonderfully nice and giving people in such a hard, unhealthy setting. It’s one thing to learn about these things in environmental or social justice classes, but it’s another thing to see and participate in these peoples’ lives.

I hate to admit it, but I’m still not comfortable with people working in the landfill, and I didn’t enjoy my time working there. The people were really great, and I had a blast while not at the actual landfill, but I wish that I could appreciate the fact that these people like scavenging because it provides them with a steady income, they don’t have any supervisors, and they are able to decide their own hours. It’s something that I definitely need to work on within myself, but I walked away from the experience knowing that my time at the landfill changed my life. It’s absolutely amazing how less than 48 hours in a completely new surrounding can have such immediate and strong impacts on a person’s psyche. I have a new outlook on consumption, waste, and careers. I will never look at trash in the same way again, and I will never lose my respect for scavengers around the world for doing a social service that goes unnoticed by most of the world’s population.

Did anyone bring trail mix or a respirator?

On October 3, I began my day with an 8 hour drive to Tamui Village, where a celebration is held every year to commemorate the end of Buddhist lent. Kati, Jenny, and I roomed together in a wooden house on stilts, which was very nice. Both our meh and paw were also very gracious and they fed us very well. Other than having dinner, which consisted of sticky rice, mushroom soup, and an omelet, nothing too exciting happened, which was good because we were all pretty exhausted and collapsed onto our mat underneath a pink mosquito net.

The next day marked the day of the celebration! We woke up, ab naamed (showered- something that is done at least twice a day to appease our homestay families who insist that we shower every time we sweat: a.k.a. ALL THE TIME), and then met up with everyone else to go to the Pha Taem National Park. We were given 2 hours to explore the park, and many of us wanted to see the closest water fall, a mere 4 miles away (each way). I, along with some friends decided to keep up a fast-paced walk to get to our destination, which was a hilarious adventure. It was an outrageously hot day, and after 10 minutes we were all having trouble getting air into our lungs, keeping our legs moving forward, and seeing through the sweat pouring into our eyes…Naturally, I was the one having the most difficulty, but I trekked on in order to see the waterfall.

Sadly, after hiking for a mile, we realized that we had gone in the opposite direction and were forced to walk another mile back to the parking lot where we waited for everyone else to join us. However, we were able to take in stunning views of the Mekong River and of Laos, which is on the other side of the river. A couple of times, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it back to the parking lot, but we rested many times, and my friends always made sure to make fun of my inability to partake in any kind of physical exertion to keep me motivated. Although I didn’t see the waterfall, I still had a wonderful time, and it made me appreciate the people who are on this trip even more because it was so much fun!

Afterwards, we returned to the village, and Kati and I took a nap, and then woke up 2 hours later and talked to some friends who were living next door. It then reached 5 PM, and we were on our way to the edge of the river where we sat on a porch made of bamboo that sat on the side of a hill. We had a stunning view of the river, which was good because we were on the lookout for the Naga, the protector of Buddha who is a snake with 7 heads, since it’s supposed to shoot fireballs out of the water to mark the end of Buddhist lent. After spending some time there, Kati, Jenny, and I made our way back to our house and had dinner with our meh. We were all pretty stuffed, but didn’t want to be rude, so we ate an entire omelet. Our meh must have thought we were ravenous since we ate an entire omelet, so she made us another one, which we had to power through…Quite funny to see 3 girls cramming food into their mouths while smiling and yet complaining of overeating in a different language.

Out meh then took us down the road where we saw glowing orbs of orange light scattered throughout the sky in a whimsical path toward the moon. We then saw that the orbs were huge paper lanterns that were lit inside and then pushed into the sky where they slowly made their way through the night sky. We then went back to the porch on the hill, where we saw long boats filled with hundreds of candles floating down the river. It was the most surreal moment that I’ve ever experienced in my life because it was so beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life. I actually felt that I was part of anime movie where floating lights hang in the sky, boats on fire pass through the night, and mystical serpents slither just beneath the surface of the water. The night was made perfect by locals who sang and played local instruments for all of us to enjoy traditional music. We never saw the Naga, but I still believe that it exists…Maybe I’ll see it the next time I’m in Thailand!

At 11 PM some of us got into the vans and made our way to Bangkok, a 10 hour drive (our drivers are absolutely amazing!), to march during World Habitat Day, October 5, to demand the rights of Thai slum dwellers. We held paper mini-banners that said, “Everyone, everywhere deserves the right to housing. Don’t hurt people just because they’re poor.” We marched to parliament and a loudspeaker conveyed what the slum dwellers wanted from the Thai government, and representatives for the Prime Minister came out and spoke to us. Sadly, yet unsurprisingly, they said that they would do all they could for the 1 million people in Thailand who live in slums, but that the real problem in getting any improvements made lay in the Department of Development, which was simply a way to pass the blame on someone else.

We then marched to the U.N. Embassy, got lunch, and made our way back to Khon Kaen. It was a crazy day, but one that I feel so fortunate to have had. The slum dwellers were passionate, peaceful, and dedicated. They have nowhere else to go because they are too poor to afford to live anywhere else, and they are prepared to confront the Thai government until change is seen. It was great to stand in the middle of a crowd wearing all different ribbons to signify the different slums they came from, and holding brightly colored signs that declared their needs.

I love this program so far, and it has exceeded all of my expectations. For the past month and a half I’ve been able to walk in the shoes of people whose lives are drastically different from my own, and in doing so, I have learned more about myself, how the world works, and human nature than I have in the past 20 years.

Pak Mun Dam

Located in Ubon, roughly 5 hours outside of Khon Kaen, the Pak Mun Dam is known as one of the World Bank’s worst failures because of the thousands of lives that it has ruined. The Dam was erected in 1994 after the Thai government asked the World Bank for a loan in order to construct a dam that would generate power for Ubon City. In theory, it was a good idea, but the Thai government and EGAT, the electricity company that constructed and now runs the Dam, never consulted the villagers before and while the Dam was being erected, which has led to the violation of community rights.

The Dam was supposed to produce 136 megawatts, but during the rainy season, it is only able to generate 20 megawatts. Yet to make people in Ubon City believe that the Dam is their sole source of energy, EGAT created a blackout in the city for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, it is a strategy that worked since many city dwellers continue to believe that the Dam is the main source for their electricity.

However, the worst consequence of the Dam, in the eyes of the villagers, has been the loss of fish in the Mun River. Research shows that only 45 of the 265 fish species in the Pak Mun area still remain. As a result, fishermen’s catches have decreased by 60- 80%. Furthermore, constant flooding means that vegetable and rice fields are no longer viable options. As a result, many families have a hard time feeding themselves, and many people have lost their livelihoods since it was common for men to fish to feed their families and to also bring to the market. As a last resort, 31.2% of all fishermen upstream of the Dam have switched professions. Such a steep decline in the number of fish that remain in the Mun River has led to the ruination of a culture centered on water, fish, and the rapids.

To “help” solve the fish crisis, the government introduced fish and prawn to the Mun River, but they did not survive since they were not used to the environment. After that failed, EGAT built a fish ladder to help fish migrate (the destruction of the rapids meant that many fish were unable to migrate upstream), but they used the exact fish ladder used to help salmon migrate in the northwest of America. Clearly, a fish ladder used in America for salmon is not the same fish ladder that should ever be used for indigenous fish in Thailand.

Some people have been compensated, but thousands of families have not. The dam is currently open for 4 months out of the year, but this does little to help the situation since those months are not when fish migrate upstream. The only real solution to the problem is to have the gates open year round, but EGAT won’t allow that because it would tarnish its reputation and all of its dams would then be looked at with a more critical eye.

The 9 of us who decided to go to the Pak Mun Dam were able to meet the main lawyer, some NGOs (that’s what they call human rights activists), and the village leaders. It was an interesting exchange, but it was also frustrating because the villagers just recently decided to tackle the problem through a legal strategy, something that is rarely done in Thailand, and expected us to have legal advice for them, which we didn’t. It was also really sad to see these people fight for 20 years and to have had very little to show for their efforts. They were very unorganized in that the Assembly of the Poor, the main organization that all of the villagers negatively affected are part of, has many different views on what should be done next: some want the dam open, some want it closed, some just want money. Plus, it doesn’t help that the 2 NGOs who had been helping the villagers for the past 20 years both passed away last year.

After the exchange, we went to see the Dam, which was quite impressive looking. It was an odd sensation to walk on something that has caused so much pain and suffering to thousands of people. It looks like any other dam, and yet it has wreaked havoc on the ecological system in the region, the people, and the culture.

Then, we met with a local farmer who said that EGAT installed irrigation systems throughout the region as a ploy to try and make people believe that the Dam is necessary for agricultural purposes. This too is a fallacy, at least according to the farmer we spoke with, who said that he was charged Bt75 per hour for the irrigation system, which no one can afford, and that it is completely unnecessary during the rainy season since the crops are watered naturally every single day.

Then, we went on our way back to Khon Kaen, and I walked into my room at 1:30 AM after it was decided that there wasn’t much else for us to do there. While I had a wonderful time and feel that I know a lot more than I ever did before, I hadn’t even heard of the Pak Mun Dam before this past week, I wish there was more that we could’ve done to help the people, and I also wish that we could’ve stayed for longer since the original plan was to stay the night. I would’ve liked to have had the opportunity to speak more with the villagers. We will be going back for Unit 3, which is later this month, but I just with that there was something that we could do for them in the immediate sense.

The best part of the trip was meeting people who have never lost faith in their cause. Despite all of the setbacks that they’ve faced in the past 20 years, they continue to come up with new ways to take back what they have lost: their way of life. The people who are fighting will continue to fight until they die because they have come this far, and there is no turning back at this point. Throughout this entire program, I have been amazed by the capacity of the human mind and heart, and the villagers of Pak Mun Dam have only added to my newfound realization that people are capable of overcoming amazing, seemingly impossible challenges.

 

Unit 1: Agriculture

On September 17^th, we departed for Yasothorn, which is approximately 2 hours outside of Khon Kaen. The drive there was speckled with a gorgeous sunset, lots of rice fields that were the prettiest shade of jade green I have ever seen in my life, and cow herders walking beside the street with a trail of cows following behind. My friend Ana and I were roommates, and we decided to jump out at the first house that was available for 2 girls, and we made the best choice! Our yayee (grandmother) and paw (grandfather- the correct term is da) didn’t speak any Thai, which made it hard to communicate with them, but they had hearts of gold and always made sure that we were comfortable and happy. We slept at their house, but had all of our meals at their daughter’s house, P’Choo, because she and her family had a kitchen. That first night, I helped her to cook dinner, which consisted of fish, eggs, vegetables, and rice. It was great to be able to see how Isaan people make their dishes: lots of fish sauce, soy sauce, canola oil, fresh ingredients, and always made in a wok. After scarfing down dinner, yayee, Ana, and I walked back to our house under a night sky freckled with literally hundreds of luminescent stars and a clear view of the milky way. It was probably the most magnificent view I’ve ever seen in my life. When we arrived at the house, Ana and I were setting up our mosquito net, and discovered a 3 inch cockroach on it. We desperately tried to fling it off, but to no avail. As a last resort, we called yayee in to save us, and she responded by laughing, then grunting, taking her show off, and squashing the cockroach into a pile of nothingness with her bare foot. At that moment, Ana and I looked at each other and knew that we were in good hands.

The next day, Ana and I woke up at 6 AM to roosters calling, after spending a night listening to the dogs next door howling at all hours and with seemingly no intention. I groggily took a shower, but was son wide-awake after splashing cold water all over my body. We then helped our yayee pick mini lettuce heads out of her garden, and then washed them to bring to P’Choo’s house. We had a hearty breakfast, and then went to the rice mill, where P’Choo and her father work, to help prepare food for the school children as a way to educate them about organic farming. After eating lunch at school with the children, Ana and I returned to P’Choo’s house and rested on hammocks for roughly two hours since it was too hot to go into the fields. We just talked and looked out at the pond that surrounds the house. It was extremely relaxing, and much needed, after days of running on empty. At 4 PM, we went with yayee to the family’s vegetable field and helped her collect peppers, greens, and banana leaves.

After many attempts to communicate by way of speaking Thai, listening to her speak Isaan, hand movements, and smiles, Ana and I walked to yayee’s house to begin our profiles, which are interviews of someone of your choosing. I chose to interview P’Choo, so we met her and Ajaan John (our translator), and I was able to gain the most insight on her life and the village in a matter of minutes! I learned that she and her entire family farm organically after her father was diagnosed with stomach cancer as a direct result of farming with toxic chemicals 15 years ago. She also told me that it is impossible to make a living solely off of farming, and that one must have another job, such as working in a rice mill, to make ends meet. P’Choo is extremely active in promoting organic farming. She is the main teacher for integrating organic farming into the elementary school’s curriculum, and she has tried to prevent chemicals from being imported to her village, but has not heard back from the government. My interview with P’Choo revealed so much of who she is to me. Not only is she a mother, a daughter, a wife, and an amazing cook, she is also an activist, a teacher, and an amazing human being fighting for the health and livelihood of her entire village.

Later on, Ana interviewed our paw, and it was interesting to hear another point of view. Our paw explained that he found out he had gotten stomach cancer after his doctor at the regional hospital told him 10x that nothing was wrong, but when he went to the Khon Kaen hospital they correctly diagnosed his illness. He said all of this without a trace of bitterness, and when asked about his upbeat disposition while discussing such an upsetting situation, he seemed unfazed. Instead of wallowing in literal sickness, he decided to tell his fellow farmers the truth that their own government hid from them: pesticides and herbicides can have terrible side effects, not only to the environment but also to the farmer and consumers. The entire family now stands as a symbol of perseverance and dedication to such a worthy cause.

Yet again, we walked home underneath a sky full of brightly lit globes that illuminated the Milky Way weaving its way through a black backdrop. It reminded me just how beautiful the world and its inhabitants are, and to never underestimate the power of human beings.

The next morning, Ana and I woke up at 4 AM and were picked up 45 minutes later to go to the Green Market. The Green Market is an organic market that was created by Yasothorn farmers a year ago. It is a huge feat for them because it allows them to sell their produce as well as spread awareness about the benefits of organic, integrated farming. The market is tiny, most of the stalls sell the same things since they don’t have chemicals that allow them to plants certain plants out of season, and its busiest time of day seems to be from 5-6 AM. The farmers there see all of those aspects as problems, so they consider the market to be a work in progress, but they have much to be proud of. I helped my friend’s parents since mine weren’t there, and it was really fun. Sagar, my friend, and I were able to sell a bag of passion fruit to my friend, Morgan, for 10 Baht, which I thought was a raging success! I was so impressed that a relatively small amount of farmers were able to put together an entire market by themselves to not only help themselves, but to also help those who eat/produce chemically grown food.

At 9 AM, we had an exchange with some of the farmers at the Green Market, and it was so great to hear from them after actively participating in what they had created. I learned that there are only a few organic farms in all of Thailand, that they campaign on behalf of organic agriculture in hospitals, schools, and department schools, that they hope to have 30 stalls in a year, and that much of the next generation is not interested in farming. The points that piqued my interest the most was that organic farmers and non-organic farmers get along really well and that organic food is sold for either the same price or lower price than chemically grown food. Kara, a friend of mine, pointed out that in America, organic food is a status symbol, whereas in Thailand it is simply about helping yourself and others lead a healthier life. In America, organic food is only accessible to those who can afford to buy it, and people get in huge debates about organic vs. non-organic. In Thailand, there is no price distinction between organic and non-organic food, and it is not a posh lifestyle choice, it is a matter that is solely about health and protecting those one loves…That is why neighbors do not fight against each other. When those neighbors are ready, the organic farmers will provide them with everything they need to help them through the difficult process (in the 1^st year, one’s yield will decrease by 50% when transitioning to organic farming).

Afterwards, we travelled to a different part of Yasothorn and met with the Alternative Agricultural Network (AAN). The AAN is composed of 3,000 farmers (out of 65 million in all of Thailand) who all farm organically. The AAN aims to promote self-reliance and to create relationships between the producer and consumer. The exchange with the farmers was extremely informative because I came into this program knowing very little about agriculture (whether in Thailand or the U.S.). Sadly, I was informed that China imports many fruits into Thailand, and that China’s produce is more affordable for Thais than the fruit that is locally grown. As a result, Thai farmers can’t compete, and are slowly going bankrupt or being forced to export their food to Europe. The AAN has a lot of pressure because as one of the leaders said, if it fails then only 2% of farmers in Thailand will be small-scale, as has happened in the U.S. To end the exchange, the group was told to bring awareness of these issue and free trade back to the U.S., which I plan on doing. I see these people work so hard, and I know that I can’t go home and simply forget about them and their courageous struggle.

When Ana and I got back to our village, we took a really nice walk through the street as the sun was setting on the rice fields. At that moment I truly realized how lucky I am to be in Thailand. Then, we had dinner at P’Choo’s, and from the start, it was obvious that her son disliked both Ana and me. Yet that night, he came from behind me and clutched my arm. I was so excited at the thought of having finally won him over, but when I turned around and he saw my face, his face contorted into a look of complete terror. He then looked around, spotted his mom, ran to her, and then burst into tears when Ana said that I was truly part of the family. He only grabbed me because I look like P’Choo from behind…Just another day in the life of Katie Steinhardt, haha!

The next day, Ana and I woke up at 6 AM, and helped P’Choo make the most delicious breakfast. We had fried rice because I had told her that that was one of my favorite dishes, fried eggs, and fresh vegetables picked from their garden just that morning. Then, we went to an exchange with the local herbal medicine doctor. We all made herbal compresses, and we were allowed to keep them! He said something that really struck me, which is “short-life food causes you to have a longer life, while long-life food causes you to have a shorter life.” It was simply put, but it’s so true, and I never even thought of it like that before he mentioned it.

Afterwards, we had an exchange with the villagers of Yasothorn, which went really well! I learned that switching to organic farming actually decreases farmers’ debt because they do not have to pay for chemicals, and they don’t need to buy food to feed their families. Yet, many farmers refuse to switch to organic farming because they only see the short-term, consequences, which means that they only see that their yield after the first year will decrease, and that their fields will have to be restored with nutrients, which takes roughly 3 years. However, those who did switch to organic farming saw more animals come back to their fields, and the soil and their health improved. The main thing that I took out of the exchange was that you had to love organic farming to pursue it because it took a lot of hard work in a nation that frowns upon those who don’t use chemical fertilizers. Lately, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that I need to decide a career path, and this talk made me realize that I need to choose something that I love because I want to have as much passion and fight for what I do for a living as they do about their livelihoods.

When we returned back to our village, Ana, Tommy, Dan, and I went for a walk, and ended up playing volleyball with a bunch of local kids. It was so much fun to interact with them, and of course, we all became extremely competitive about it, which made it rather silly. After dinner, Ajaan Pote and P’joy (our driver and mentor) came to our house to translate a conversation between Ana, myself, and our family. Ana and I thanked them for having us and told them how delicious (sep in Isaan and aroy in Thai) the food was, and how wonderful the overall experience was of being able to live and farm with them. It’s great because the entire family then told us that they were interested in us coming back to visit them, and Ana and I are planning on going back in November, during one of our 2-day breaks, to help them harvest the rice during rice season!

The next day began with chaos and confusion. Ana and I woke up and then walked to P’Choo’s house because we couldn’t find anyone at our house. We helped P’Choo make breakfast, but then had to leave without eating because we were leaving at 7:45 AM to leave Yasothorn and go to Roi-Et. Yet trying to tell the entire family goodbye and that we couldn’t eat with them because we had a deadline and were afraid that we were holding all of CIEE back was very difficult to exchange. We finally left the house, albeit 10 minutes after our pick-up time, with yayee in tow. When we got to her house, she and paw gave us departing presents, which are beautiful block-shaped pillows that are all the rage in Isaan. It was the sweetest gesture, and just another example of how generous the people are.

At Roi-Et we had an exchange with some NGOs and AAN farmers who were in the process of switching their cassava and sugarcane farm from chemically treated to organic. They began the switch 2 years ago, but they have a lot of land, so they are doing it little by little. Plus, the farm is indebted to both the sugarcane and cassava companies already, which means that the farm needs to ensure that it meets the quota of how much crop it produces so as not to become more indebted. It was amazing to see how hard these farmers work, and how terribly they’re treated by these huge companies, and yet they still have the energy and morale to fight back. They turn the soil instead of setting the fields on fire once the crops are out of season to help reduce global warming, and they have begun to grow fruit trees, beans, corns, and pumpkins to practice integrated agriculture.

We then took a tour of their land, which is huge, and we were able to see all of the plants. It was amazing for me to learn that 10 sugarcanes only earn the farmers 10 baht (30 cents), which does not come close to covering the costs of producing sugarcane. Plus, the farmers directly asked if any of us were from Korea, and I raised my hand and told them that I was. That made all the difference because in the next minute, I was standing next to a farmer having my picture taken with him. I was ecstatic because most of the white kids on the program are always asked to have their picture taken, so I finally felt that my time to shine had come.

Next, we were on our way to Kalasin, where we had dinner and then set up shop at a new home stay. I stayed with Haley, Jenny, Rani, Maina, and Kati, and our house was the most picturesque, glorifies tree house. We weren’t actually living in a tree house, but it seemed like that because it was nestled in between the trees, was very open, and was made out of wood. It was wonderful! We had a paw, meh, p-seouw, and our p-seouw’s husband, all were very nice and great cooks!

Our last day of the entire agricultural unit began with a great start! We had an amazing breakfast of red, indigenous rice, eggs, pork, and som tom (spicy papaya salad). We then hopped into our paw’s truck and rode to his farm, which reminded me of a petting zoo. There were cows, chickens, ducks, and pigs! We were also able to take a tour of his farm, which is stunning. His fields are completely organic, and he even has a fishpond! He said that it only took him 1 year to transfer to organic farming, which is a rare occurrence since it is such a hard transition, both financially and physically. Sadly, he mentioned, as did many people during our exchanges, that his daughter wasn’t interested in taking over his farm when he’s no longer able to do it. I found this to be the saddest thing because he worked so hard to get his farm to be what it is today, he stands as an example for the rest of the community as a success story for organic farming, and he’s done all of this because he believes in chemical-free agriculture. It would break my heart if no one took over, and his farm ceased to exist after everything he’s been thorough and all that it stands for.

After the tour of paw’s farm, we had our final exchange with P’Bamrung and P’Yoowah. P’Bamrung is the advisor to the Assembly of the Poor, and he’s the leader of the regional Tambon Administrative Organization, which works to eliminate governmental corruption and promotes self-sufficiency. P’Yoowah is the regional coordinator of the AAN, and he even came to the U.S. in 2006 to hear about small-scale farming in the U.S. The exchange with them was great because it focused more on international trade policy and globalization. They thought that while globalization had good consequence, it also had bad ones for many of the rural poor in many undeveloped and developing nations. They also stressed the importance of getting all of the facts. For instance, Starbucks sells free trade coffee, but Starbucks was the corporation that got the free trade label to only mean that 2% of the product is free trade as opposed to the original 5% that was required. It was an eye-opening discussion between the farmers and NGOs and the students where all sides voiced opinions, ideas, and information.

We then left to return to Khon Kaen, and it was a bittersweet goodbye. I was both sad to leave because I had had one of the most amazing times, but I was also happy to return to a place where I have a room to always go back to and just relax in. This unit of the program has taught me so much about human nature. While there are many people who are power hungry and greedy, there are also those who will fight until the end to make sure that their marginalized voices are heard. The people I met changed my life forever because they were able to show me the heart’s capacity to love and care for others even when faced with some of the most challenging situations. I will never forget my paw, the farmers, or the NGOs, who taught me that there is true beauty in fighting against injustice. 

P.S.- I just uploaded a lot of new pictures to flickr!

Learning how to navigate through a new world

Although it’s not raining cats and dogs outside, it is raining quite hard out, and if you were to step into the streets of Khon Kaen, you might think that cats and dogs had literally just fallen from the sky. They litter the streets here, so I constantly have to watch out for cars, other pedestrians, and animals while walking around. The cats are more domesticated than the dogs, but both wander in and out of stores and restaurants, and they are accustomed to the crazy traffic that pollutes the city. Like the dogs and cats, I find myself roaming the streets in a slightly lost manner, but I’m never truly lost. Like the residents of Khon Kaen who feed and pet the dogs and cats, the people of Khon Kaen are all willing to lend helping hands to the American trying her best to communicate with the locals and gather some sort of directional sense of the city.

On September 13, I went for a run in the morning. The most exercise that I receive during the day is walking the 2 minutes that it takes to get to the 7-Eleven everyday, which is pathetic. I haven’t been feeling the best the last couple of days and I think that it may in part be due to the fact that I haven’t had any physical activity in the last 3 weeks. To remedy this problem, I went running at 7 AM in the fields right behind our apartment, and it was the most beautiful place that I have ever been. There were orchards, rice fields, trees lining the path…It was surreal! Afterwards, I had my Thai midterm, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was 20 minutes of me having a conversation with Ajaan Pote, and I feel that I am at least somewhat conversational in Thai. Then, we had another lecture, and this one was quite boring…it was on the societal structures in Thailand, and was presented in a dull manner. Afterwards, I played badminton with some friends and went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Peace Time Café, which was really fun!

Then, I ran to my process facilitator meeting. I am excited to be a process facilitator, but I am also pretty nervous because it involves a lot of work, and I feel as though there aren’t enough hours in a day as it is already. I’m sure it will be fine and that I’ll make time, but it’s slightly nerve wracking. I learned that being a process facilitator means planning “where we’re at” sessions as well as monitoring the group’s progress and interpersonal relations. It seems like an interesting job, but I think that I’ll learn a lot from the experience.

On September 14, we went to the jungle wat again. It was our last day of orientation, and I was relieved because I’m ready to tackle the actual program! We were all absolutely exhausted because we’ve been going non-stop with lectures, Thai tutors, and preparing for our midterm, but we were all really excited to move onto the actual units (agriculture, slums/landfills, water, and mining). That night, we had a party at the interns’ house, which is in a village that’s 15 minutes away from where the students live. It was nice to hang out, dance, and eat the night away!

Yesterday, September 15, was a personal day. However, it wasn’t that personal since we all had a paper due the next day. I went to the library with Jenny, which made me miss the library at Goucher. The KKU library is nice, but the shades are drawn in every single room, so the only lighting is fluorescent, and it all felt so sterile (very orderly and impersonal). Oddly enough, I found it slightly refreshing to spend an entire day doing homework since that is what many weekends are spent doing in America. I was able to get a lot of work done, and afterwards, I went to the night market with some friends. It’s so lively there, and I was even able to hold a puppy that was for sale! It reminded me of when I went to a pet store with Sam, Jordan, and Steve, and it just so happened to be puppy night! Then, I met up with my roommate, some of her friends, and some of mine, and we went to the most amazing pad thai restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, I have lost a lot of my appetite and have pretty bad stomach cramps. I think that it’s because I’m just trying to get used to the food here (everything is either noodles or rice, and it is all fried), but no one seems to have as much trouble adjusting as I am. Oh well, I’m sure that by the end of this trip my stomach will be invincible!

Today, September 16, I had Thai class for 3 hours, and then had a lecture on organic farming. Tomorrow I depart for Yasothorn Village (Thai people pronounce it “willage,” which I find to be incredibly endearing), which is an agriculturally based community. Apparently, 95% of Isaan farmers use fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to increase their annual crop yields. A method that is heavily endorsed by the Thai government since the international market never seems to be satiated by the large amounts of Jasmine rice produced by Thailand. I’m so excited to go to Yasothorn because organic farming is an issue that I support, but one which I don’t know much about either.

I will be in Yasothorn for a week, so I will be out of touch for that period of time, but I eagerly await sharing my adventures with you when I return! I’m sending happiness and love your way!

Sa wa dee ka (both “hello” and “goodbye” in Thai…for a male, instead of “ka” you would substitute “crop”), Katie and Pee Bear

Professors Galore

On September 8th, Nic Dunlop, a photographer, spoke to us about photography since one of our big projects is to tell a story about a villager’s life through pictures. I learned a lot of things from him that I had never though of before, such as how to set up a frame and where to place a person in a picture (it’s not always best to place someone dead center). Yet more than simply learning new techniques, it was amazing to be able to hear his stories. He’s most famous because he tracked down Commander Duch, who is responsible for 26,000 deaths under the Khmer Rouge’s rule in Cambodia. Nic didn’t go into too much detail, but he showed us a video and explained that he had become obsessed with Cambodia at the age of 19, and became determined to track down Duch who was never found after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. Nic said that he carried of picture of Commander Duch all over Cambodia, until he finally found him working as a born again Christian at a religious charity (ironic).

Duch is currently on trial in Cambodia for crimes against humanity, and the trial should end sometime in November. It was also interesting to hear his stories about Burma, a project that he is currently working on. He has been exiled from the country because the government realized that he was taking pictures that were not very flattering of the Burmese government. Nic’s pictures are beautiful, and they depict people dying of Aids (ARVs are not accessible in Burma), soldiers, prisoners, political activists, prostitutes, etc. It was a great honor to meet him, and he inspired me so much. There are so many ways to shed light on the atrocities that take place all around the world, and he has done an amazing job of spreading awareness about social and political injustices.

On September 9th, Ajaan Sulak, a famous political activist, spoke to our class about the history and politics of Thailand. I was in awe of him because he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, he won the Gandhi Millennium Award, and the Right Livelihood Award. He was a monk for 2 years and then worked with NGOs, and he now travels around the world to inform governments on peaceful resolution. After the lecture, we had an orientation activity at the jungle temple! Our task was to guide our partners, who were blindfolded, across a floor riddled with stones, plates, and candles without either of us stepping on any of those things. It was a hard challenge, and it took the entire group 5 hours! Being my clumsy self, I fell backwards and dragged my poor friend, Kara, down with me. Luckily, I walked it off with only a minor scratch, and my hair didn’t catch on fire, which it was supposedly close to doing!

That night, I got back to the room and immediately went out to dinner with Boe and 3 of her friends. We went to the cafeteria behind our apartments, and then went to a really cute dessert place. It is a milk bar as well as a bakery! Boe ordered roti with bananas, chocolate, and condensed milk (they love condensed milk here- it is on many desserts and added to many drinks)! I discovered roti the other night while walking home from a restaurant, and have been obsessed with it ever since. It is a deep fried crepe that can then be topped with many different things…It always includes condensed milk, but you can have honey, chocolate, cocoa powder, fruit, or cinnamon sugar on it. It definitely can’t be a regular dessert for me, but once in a while is heavenly!

At the dessert place, we played Bingo, which allowed me to practice my Thai numbers, and we also played Dominoes. It was funny because I have never played Dominoes before, which I think of as a classic American game to play, and the first time that I played it was in Thailand, haha! I really liked hanging out with Boe and her friends because they are all really nice and I get along with all of them. Plus, it is a goal of mine to interact with people outside of the CIEE group to better immerse myself in Thai culture.

Yesterday, September 10th, Ajaan Sulak came to speak to us again, but this time about the social structure in Thailand. We meditated on three separate occasions during the lecture, and it was incredibly relaxing. It’s hard to concentrate on just my breathing and forget about everything else in the world, but Ajaan Sulak told us that it is only natural for the mind to wander and that during the course of meditation the mind will eventually focus on the self and breathing, It was an interesting class, in which Ajaan Sulak called Bill Gates a “nice chap,” and said that he believed that the downfall of western education is that it only focuses on monetary success, as opposed to social justice and humanitarian causes.

Although I feel that this is a stereotype that is certainly not applicable to many schools and people, I have had experience with educational models not putting nearly enough emphasis on the importance of social justice. For instance, at Goucher, many students and faculty members believe that the peace studies department is a joke, and an impractical study since a lot of the occupations that one can acquire with such a degree are not very high paying.  While I can see their point of view, it is frustrating that so much emphasis is placed on monetary success as opposed to following one’s beliefs, regardless of what their passions may be. It was refreshing to hear that the Thai people think in a manner very unlike Americans, in that they believe that learning about humanitarian issues and suffering is of great importance. I can already tell that people’s commitment and belief in working towards peace in the educational environment is something that I will miss when I return to America.

My days are absolutely packed, but I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such esteemed individuals, Nic Dunlop and Ajaan Sulak. Most nights, I fall asleep at 10:30-11pm because I am so worn out from the day! However, it keeps me from being homesick, and there is always something/someone to keep me laughing and smiling.

P.S.- I met my peer tutor tonight, Yee, and she is very nice and very good at tutoring me in Thai. I am excited to be working with someone who I get along with so well to help me with my Thai because I really need to improve. One of my goals is to have a coherent, longish conversation with a member of one of my host families at least one time during the program.

P.P.S- I noticed that many of the Thai tutors were looking at me in a strange manner, and I thought that it was because I was Asian (many people don’t understand that I am American because my physical appearance is Asian). However, Yee told me that the Thai people are obsessed with everything Korean, and that everyone became excited in meeting me. Yet instead of meeting me, they simply ogled me from a distance, and when I looked at them they looked away and scampered off. It was a strange experience, but I was relieved when Yee told me why people were looking at me because at first I thought that I had something terribly wrong going on. Alas, it was simply my Korean-ness grabbing the attention, haha!

P.P.P.S- I have a flickr account so that you can see my pictures.  Just go on flickr.com and search for people and then put in Katie283!

Chan rack kuhn (I love you), Katie