Thai

Ties

Away We Go

Beautiful people,

As we attempt to write this last newsletter to introduce portions of our final projects to our readership, we wanted to tell the creative, intelligent, life-loving souls on this program that YOU have made this semester what it is.

In these past few weeks, all of the skills we‟ve practiced and developed throughout the semester were put to the test as we worked tirelessly to produce meaningful, collaborative projects. From struggling to communicate with shy NGO village leaders to struggling to communicate with each other, our successful final outputs have revealed the importance of this semester-long learning process.

After days of endless meetings and revisions to a schedule that we must pass on to another group of blindsided students, we have finally reached our last night together. As we end our rooftop cheese and cracker party, sharing stories about each other and laughing like madwomen (and Dan), we are sad of course, but these feelings cannot help but be overpowered by hopeful expectations for the future.

All great things must come to an end. It is difficult to think of leaving Thailand and each other, re-entering a world where people don‟t sit down to track their goals on graphs and fail to value or elicit silence in meetings. However, because these practices are now so ingrained in us, we have all embraced the hopeful idea that maybe, we can bring them home with us.

Above all of the lessons we‟ve learned about development, globalization, human rights and Thai culture, the most important thing we‟ve realized is the value of working with a group of inspiring, intelligent and just plain quirky people. Though many of us did not expect to develop friendships with one another, the relationships we‟ve created have proven to be most important of all.

In the years to come, we look forward to seeing, traveling, and collaborating with everyone on this program. (We know people say that, but this time we mean it).

Thank you so much to Josh for helping us put together this final newsletter and thank you to everyone on this program for your contributions, we love you dearly.

Love,

Jo, Jamie and Michaela

Letter from the Editors

Introductions

Report Team This semester our group took on a project that was not a typical grassroots community-oriented

project, but rather a more academic and policy-based project. One year ago during April/May 2010, Red Shirt protesters took to the streets in Bangkok in protests against the government. The events ended with 92 killed and around 2,000 injured. These events have had significant implications not just for the political situation of Thailand but also for civil and political rights in Thailand.

In the past year, four different groups have either completed or began reports investigating the events of 2010 in order find the truth and to bring about justice in Thailand. There has been no collaboration between these reports. The four reports include a submission to the International Criminal Court on behalf of the United Front for Democracy (UDD), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand‟s (TRCT) progress report, the People‟s Information Center Report (PIC), and the Human Rights Watch Report (HRW).

Our group of 6 CIEE students produced a comprehensive report summarizing and analyzing each of the four reports. Our purpose was to identify and give context to the perspectives of the four documents. There is currently no other report comparing all four documents. We strived to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the reports issued during the aftermath. We identified the background, goals, methodologies, findings and recommendations of each document and then analyzed conflicting information. We hoped to encourage an accurate, transparent, and accessible portrayal of information, thus contributing towards a more informed discussion in the public sphere. This analysis culminated in a 40+ page document which we intend on sharing with the different investigating report groups, journalists, family and friends, study abroad advisors and any other interested parties.

In the process of writing this report, a forum on May 9, 2011 was organized at the Law Faculty of Khon Kaen University which brought together representatives from each investigative entity to present their findings of their reports and overall progress. Speakers at the event included Kwanrawee Wangudom & Sarayut of the PIC, Wan Suwanphong, lawyer for UDD representing the ICC Submission, Somchai Homla-or of the TRCT, Dr. Sriprapha Petcharamesree, from the Center for Human Rights Studies at Mahidol Univsity, Pravit Rojanaphruk, a journalist from The Nation, and the wife of a man killed during the protests. Students, journalists, and local Red Shirts also attended the event. The majority of CIEE students attended the event and had the chance to interview the speakers afterwards.

Additionally, one of our main goals of this project was to make our work accessible to the public. We wrote an analysis article condensing our 40-page analysis into a form readable for the public sphere. The article summarizes the intentions of each report and asserts how Thailand is in need of changing their cycle of impunity that is characteristic of past political uprisings. We hope to get this article published by Thai English-language newspapers and on blogs.

While the nature of this project was greatly different from other projects and the grassroots focus of the past semester, we all learned a great deal about the politics of Thailand and extended our understanding of development to a policy level. We also were able to explore human rights from a new perspective of civil and political rights. Through this project we practiced our writing, editing, analyzing and group skills. We hope that all our hard work will have meaning to the public and to future CIEE groups.

Meghana Anugu, University of Rochester Austyn Gaffney, Transylvania University Dan Cohn, University of Rochester Michaela Larson, University of Connecticut Joanna French, Whitman College Jennifer Schwarz, University of Maryland

Kao Baat

Land Reform

P‟Ben is an NGO fighting for more equitable land distribution alongside villagers in Northeast Thailand. He wears scarves, a black barrette and aviator sunglasses, speeding by on a red „motorci‟ between every forest community we have visited. As he flashes that captivating, charismatic smile, cigarette in hand, it is easy to wonder if more than outrage over injustice motivates his work: maybe, for P‟Ben, it is simply natural to be a revolutionary. In the end of April, with the unpredictable style we now hope for, P‟Ben showed up unannounced at the Khon Kaen offices with a truck of villagers from the Kao Baat community. The community had just finished a press conference at the KKU law faculty to raise awareness that the Thai government may use the military to evict Kao Baat villagers from their homes in the Donyai forest. Although the villagers depend on this land to survive, the Dongyai forest is a national reservation and the government believes it is counterproductive to have people living on the land they are attempting to preserve. This mentality has led to the eviction of hundreds of villagers throughout Thailand, although very few of those instances involve the military. Kao Baat is 70km from a current conflict between the Thai and Cambodian governments, leading the Thai government to claim that the military presence is related to national security. From what we have seen, it seems that in reality, the government can profit from growing and harvesting eucalyptus and teak trees in this national forest when villagers are not use this land to farm themselves. Two weeks after P‟Ben introduced our group to Kao Baat, Meghann and I were bouncing over the ruts and small creeks which tangle the long dirt road leading into this community. We spent 24 hours with this community in order to learn more about what we could to support their current campaign. As the threat of eviction grows louder, Kao Baat needs more people that know their situation, hoping that this awareness can act as a safety net If the military does move in. Together with Kao Baat villagers and Thai Land Reform Network NGO‟s, we decided that an informational pamphlet and a feature news story would be beneficial to tools to contribute to raising this awareness. We will give Kao Baat 2,000 pamphlets to use at an upcoming protest in Bangkok and the feature will be submitted to newspapers incase someone reading is able to contribute some support. Although what we have created will be of some use to this community, perhaps the most important efforts we made were going there in the first place. Listening to Kao Baat‟s story, sharing a few meals and a long afternoon together proved to be an an important act of solidarity on each side. This lesson, the importance of taking the time to listen and learn from people with different experiences, is something we should all take to heart as CIEE Thailand moves into it‟s own future as a program and we create our own paths in the world as individuals after an important semester abroad. Cassie Peabody, University of Michigan Meghann Venus, Case Western Reserve University

Baw Kaew village was first established as a protest village in July 2009, more than 30 years after people from the

community had been forcibly evicted off their land by the government. The community has been working tirelessly

towards obtaining a community land title. Although the villagers were originally removed because the governmen-

tal declared the land a Forest Reserve, the government proceeded to use it for their own benefit, planting a forest of

inedible, soil-eroding eucalyptus trees that serve as a cash crop to be sold elsewhere. The community land title

would allow Baw Kaew to live and farm legally on the land of their ancestors in peace once again.

After initially visiting Baw Kaew village as a part of our Land Unit, a small group of students returned a month

later to create a Community Collaborative Consultation report. During our CCC project we learned about how Baw

Kaew was working on transitioning their previous campaign fighting for land rights to one focused upon sustain-

ability. Part of this new campaign includes preserving local knowledge and encouraging indigenous seed variety

exchange. P‟Wichai, a local government official and community leader at Baw Kaew, explained “There was once

200 types of local seed found within the village. There are now as few as 20 varieties left.” Loss of local seeds is

currently an epidemic found throughout Northeast Thailand. This devastating loss coincided with the mechaniza-

tion of farming through government promoted projects sparked with the spread of the Green Revolution in the mid

-1950s.

We were able to collaborate closely with the community on their vision of a seed sharing and learning center, par-

ticularly by using some of the ideas that the villagers voiced when we visited for the CCC. Baw Kaew‟s focus on food

sovereignty will hopefully encourage the government to recognize them as a self-sustained, legitimate community,

in addition to setting an example throughout Isaan. They want to spread knowledge on the importance of returning

back to traditional farming practices, as well as the numerous benefits of saving local seeds. These benefits span

from increased income and relieving debt, to being healthier for people and the environment.

Throughout the two week project time, we met with NGOs, government officials and villagers to better understand

their vision for the Baw Kaew Agricultural Community Center. We facilitated an exchange between an NGO and

villagers, attended a meeting between the villagers and the Forest Industry Organization, visited a government

owned seed research center, and recorded information on seed varieties at a seed exchange fair.

The first output that was decided upon through collaboration between our group and villagers was a pamphlet to

promote the Baw Kaew Agricultural Community Center, for distribution by the Baw Kaew villagers to fellow Isaan

farmers and organizations. It also is a source for farmers to better understand sustainable farming and seed pres-

ervation. Our second output is a booklet for NGOs, village heads and individuals who wish to learn more. This

booklet is a more detailed version of the pamphlet and includes more information on agriculture in Thailand and

the spread of the Green Revolution. Finally, we created two vinyl posters; one will serve as the main sign for the

outside of the center in Baw Kaew. The second will promote the importance of indigenous seed varieties at both the

center and for meetings and networking purposes - it can be hung up in the center or rolled up to show to other

villages.

On July 17th Baw Kaew will be celebrating their 2 year anniversary and the opening of the center. We are excited

for the villagers to use the tools we have created at the event.

Through our final project and community visits we have gained a vast understanding of the importance of commu-

nity and how culture is closely tied to livelihood. Our experience in community building with CIEE members paral-

leled the community building in the villages we visited. We hope our project was an example of effective commu-

nity collaboration that can be continued through future CIEE students.

Lindsay Friedman, University of Colorado at Boulder

Patricia Noto, Bates College

Lyric Rafn-Stoffer, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities

Baw Kaew

During project time the four of us worked closely with a village named Huay Muang located in Loei province. The villagers here live off the Poohinlikfie mountain and its abundant natural resources. The villagers‟ way of life is intimately connected to the mountain, and their survival depends on it. The mountain serves as a source of food and water for the villagers, and is a key part of many of their traditions. Poohinlikfie is situated on top of a large copper reserve, and is currently the proposed mine site for the Puthep Company. For project time this semester, we made a community overview for Huay Muang in conjunction with another group‟s final project involving this community.

This community overview report explains the importance of the mountain to the villagers of Huay Muang, and it describes the potential negative effects that a copper mine could have on the environment, villagers‟ health, and the community‟s way of life. The mine could emit heavy metals and chemicals that would pollute the air, soil, and their water-system, negatively effecting their ability live sustainably. The overview is intended to be used as an organizing tool by their local grassroots network to gain more support for this village‟s fight. The village hopes that in having a report that outlines this issue, they will be able to sway nearby villages, and possibly people in Loei city, to join them in their fight.

The overview is divided into several sections including community history, a detailed description on the village‟s dependence on the mountain, the possible health, environmental, and economic effects a copper mine would have on their lifestyles, and an outline of the rights this community has according to the Thai constitution. This booklet also profiles the local grassroots network, Poohinlekfie Preservation Network, and discusses their organizing tactics. This network has been one of the most inspiring networks we have met with all semester since it has been organized almost entirely without the help of NGOs. Maddisen Domingo, Occidental College Kristi Huckabone, George Washington University Lena Morrison, Brandeis University Mirah Sand, Simon’s Rock College of Bard

Huay Muang

In 1995 a mining company proposed to build a copper mine on the Poohinlekfai mountain in Huay Muang, compromising the villagers‟ way of life. Because 90 percent of the village is comprised of farmers, this issue is crucial in determining the future of their livelihoods. Since 1995, the Huay Muang community has been fighting to preserve their mountain and their culture. For our final project, our small group was in charge of directing an educational campaign about copper mines and their effects on communities, to be presented to Huay Muang and its surrounding communities. We collaborated with Paw Biew, the president of the Poohinlekfai Preservation Network and a key player in the village‟s fight to ward off the mine.

The five of us girls bullheadedly took on the role of an NGO, taping a map of Huay Muang to our white board scribbled in details of our various tasks we were asked to accomplish. In a week‟s time, we were expected to design and make a pamphlet and vinyl, make an educational photo-video, get these materials to the translator and printer in time, and then plan a presentation for 6 villages to hear. Needless to say, stress levels and tension were high. As each new task was completed, we were still learning how to maintain respectful communication, and figuring out the balance of knowing when to be serious and when to take a Kid Cudi break. But after each meeting we had with Paw Biew, and seeing how excited the villagers were that we were playing a key role in their movement, our struggles with each other seemed petty in the grand scheme of things. This was not just a final school project - this was a step forward in bringing the community together and preserving their mountain.

We had our materials and our first task was at hand: presenting to a group of over 100 villagers the effects of copper mining. With butterflies in our stomach, we distributed pamphlets, displayed the vinyl, and showed the slide show. The presentation was received with great enthusiasm; we could see people thinking about how this potential mine could ruin everything they know. After the presentation we talked with a few teachers in the villages who were bubbling with ideas for what we could do next. We were excited by their ideas but at that point we did all we could do - we had to have faith in future groups ability to carry out these plans.

The culmination of the project was a tree planting ceremony led by Paw Biew. We paraded around the village with signs made by the youth to encourage people to attend this ceremony. Eventually, our parade joined with a couple hundred villagers at the top of Poohinlekfai mountain where there were 4,000 trees scattered around the mountain waiting to be planted. Not only was this our last day of our project but it was our last day in a village in Thailand. We had made so many close bonds that it was like saying goodbye to members of our family. Judging by the tears of some villagers‟ faces, the feeling was mutual.

In the beginning it was stressful managing our large workload and struggling to work as a group, while keeping our sanity. But seeing all of our hard work pay off justified the difficulties we encountered. We learned how to value someone else‟s desires over our opinions, and we learned, in the face of an impossible enemy (like a mining company), nothing is more important than solidarity. The five of us may not be able to see the villagers‟ fight through, but because we helped kickstart the relationship between CIEE students and Huay Muang, we will always have a vested interest in the outcome of their struggle. Anna Craver, Northeastern University Julia Peckinpaugh, Transylvania University Jamie Martina, University of Pittsburgh Cassie Schneider, University of Colorado at Sofia Noorani, Beloit College Boulder

Final Days in the Village

Council on International Educational Exchange

David Streckfuss - Resident Director

dstreckfuss@yahoo.com

Arunee Sriruksa - Assistant Resident Director

aruneee@yahoo.com

Jintana Rattanakhemakorn - Language Director

jeabjin@yahoo.com

John Mark Belardo - Field Study Coordinator

jmbelardo@gmail.com