Displaced Thais from Burma

 

"My ancestors were Thai. My grand parents are Thai. I was born in Pok Pian which used to be part of Thailand. We learn and speak Thai. Our ancestors told us we are Thai, but the land was given to the westerners. So we are not Thai citizens."

 

Sutin Kingkaew

 

When in Burma, they were called Cha, which means Thai. They were treated as second-class citizens and abused by the Burmese military state.

When in Thailand, they are called ‘displaced Thais', stateless, without nationality. They cannot own land, register marriages, travel across provinces, are denied access to state health care, and so on.

 

Sutin Kingkaew of the Network of Displaced Thais in Ranong, Chumphon, and Prachuab Kiri Khan spoke to Prachatai.

 

"I was born in Pok Pian of Marid province. Marid, Tavoy, and Tannesserim used to be part of Siam in the old days, and were lost to Britain and are now part of Burma. When I was young, my elders always said that our land had been Thai soil. We had lived there for a long time. We were all Thai. The Burmese live in their own communities."

 

Pok Pian is part of Marid on the Andaman coast. In early 20th century, Marid was divided into 5 divisions: Marid, Palaw, Tannesserim, Pok Pian, and Maliwan. Thai people have lived in Pok Pian and Maliwan.

 

Marid, Tavoy, and Tannesserim were part of Siam until, in the reign of King Rama V, border negotiations between Siam and Britain which occupied Burma at that time, were settled, and three treaties were signed in 1898, 1931 and 1932.

 

"Pok Pian used to be peaceful. Life was normal like in rural communities. But after the separation, the Burmese government has been in control of our lives. Only men can study, just in case we become monks. Very few women can read and write. We have no rights. Some managed to finish a university degree, but could not enter the bureaucracy, because on our Burmese ID cards we are identified as Thai. They don't trust us. We cannot be nurses or teachers," Sutin said.

 

During 1989-1990, Burma faced political turmoil; its currency collapsed and conflicts escalated. Since 1990-1991 Burmese troops have been deployed in Thai communities.

 

Sutin said that the Burmese military controlled their lives; for example, they could attend funerals, but they had to return home by 6pm. People began to feel afraid.

 

"Sometimes monks went to chant in another village and could not return to their temples. The situation worsened when the military interfered in religious affairs. When they summoned us for meetings, they would verbally abuse us, ‘The fruits are yours, but this land is ours.'"

 

In 1992-1993 the military began to seize schools and temples that had belonged to the Thais. They brought in Burmese monks, and tried to assimilate the Thais.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore, some groups of Thai people decided to move cross the border into Thailand to settle in Ranong, Chumphon and Prachuab Kiri Khan.

 

"At that time I came to think that if we continued to live inBurma, our Thai identity would have disappeared. We were forced to learn Burmese. Children were forced to enter Burmese schools from the age of 6."

 

Sutin and his family decided to flee their village, and entered Thailand in 1993.

 

Once in Thailand, Sutin registered at the district, and waited for years until the authorities called him in mid-1996. The authorities told him that he needed to take identification as a Burmese first, and then change it into Thai.

 

"I told them that it was unacceptable as I was Thai. Someone said my Thai was good, and asked if I had been in Thailand for long. I was asked what we had to indicate that we were Thai. I said we had our traditional festivity in the tenth lunar month similar to that of southern Thailand, and we had the same Likay drama, and Buddhist ordination traditions. But the authorities just said that I had been in Thailand for a long time, so I learnt these here. I was at a loss."

 

"Now I'm not carrying any card, because one of the cards identifies me as a Burmese national. If I have to go official places like Government House or the Army Headquarters, I use a village scout card instead," Sutin said.

 

 

Translated by Ponglert Pongwanan

 

 

 

 

 

Source: 
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