Feature

17 Apr 2023
The Salween’s standing as “one of the few remaining free-flowing international rivers” is being challenged once again. Many factors suggest that dam projects along the river are being considered anew. Signals come from the Myanmar government, investors, and Thai politicians. If projects move forward, related human rights violations are likely to emerge once again.
15 Apr 2023
Living along a river destabilised by dam discharges, Upper Mekong residents tell how they cope with unseasonable water level fluctuations to protect natural environments, like the “Boon Rueng Forest” wetlands, and preserve traditional Akha cuisine.
12 Apr 2023
A series of photographs and essay by Real Frame photographer Yostorn Triyos explores life in communities on the banks of the Salween River after the Covid-19 pandemic and the February 2021 Myanmar coup, such as Sop Moei and Mae Sam Laep where people continues to live in uncertainty amidst the war. Meanwhile, the Thai and Myanmar government's project to build 6 dams across the Salween River has been put on hold due to the pandemic and the war.
16 Mar 2023
No government has ever admitted that the building of dams is the cause of “poverty” among the people of the Mekong River. The fish of the river and their economic value have been taken away in the name of development that comes with the construction of dams.  Mekong people have seen their options for survival restricted and narrowed. The poverty of their lives is not something that has just appeared out of the blue. Their fate lies entirely in political decisions, despite the government’s attempts to make the issue apolitical.
16 Mar 2023
Fermented fish jars, once a sign of prosperity in Thailand's northeast, are now a grim reminder of a culinary tradition threatened by the construction of dams on the Mekong River.
13 Mar 2023
Thai sex workers and supporting organisations are petitioning for a legalisation of the sex industry.  In the meantime, the illegal status of the industry leaves loopholes for corruption, human rights abuse, and inequality. 
11 Mar 2023
Following the February 2021 coup in Myanmar and subsequent violence against protesters, a large number of people from Myanmar came to Thailand seeking safety and are now living as refugees in urban areas. Some came with valid visas, while some are undocumented, but all are unrecognised as refugees and unprotected under Thai law.
7 Mar 2023
From the demolition of the Constitutional Defence Monument to the change of name of the Lopburi Artillery Centre, many attempts have been made to erase the memory of Khana Ratsadon, who led the 1932 Revolution. Prachatai and Sarunyou Thepsongkraow and Sitthard Srikotr, two history experts from Kasetsart University explore the remaining architectural footprints of Khana Ratsadon in Lopburi and finds an answer as to why Khana Ratsadon during Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram's term considered Lopburi an important city, as well as the reason they chose Art Deco as a representation of their concept of ‘equality’.
3 Mar 2023
Waste in the Mekong is largely due to poor waste management by riverine communities. Although it includes plastic materials from China, this material may well have been discarded locally. There are also an abundance of discarded containers from Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar. Moreover, microplastic contamination can now be found along the entire length of the river.
27 Feb 2023
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) has shared data of cases under the military government, when security forces brought cases related to violent political incidents dating back to 2010 using special laws, like Martial Law, announcements and orders issued on the authority of constitutions written by the military government themselves. People were arrested and interrogated in military camps before being transferred to both military courts and the courts of justice for prosecution.
23 Feb 2023
New orders issued by the Ministry of Public Health restricting the HIV prevention budget and requiring community-based clinics to be supervised by a government medical facility have drawn criticism from civil society due to concerns that the new regulations would limit their ability to provide HIV testing and preventative medication to at-risk groups.
16 Feb 2023
A group of filmmakers and an activist came together in Bangkok to discuss their experiences with film censorship in Thailand, and the ways they have learned to get around it.

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