Call to boycott Thai ‘human zoo’
30th January 2008
A diplomatic row has broken out over the treatment of the Padaung tribe of women in the Mae Hong Son region of north-west Thailand.
The so-called ‘long-necks’, known in Thailand as the Kayan, are refugees from neighbouring Burma/Myanmar. They’ve long been a tourist attraction due to their custom of wearing columns of brass rings around their necks.
Around 100 Padaung initially fled Burma/Myanmar in the late 1980s after civil war escalated. Many of the women have been placed in ‘villages’ and tourists are bussed in daily to see and photograph them. In return, they receive a modest monthly income. There are now around 500 women living in the villages.
However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called for a tourism boycott of the area.
It claims the Padaung people have not been allowed to emigrate to other parts of the world. Since 2005, thousands of Burmese refugees have started new lives in countries including Finland, Australia and New Zealand.
The UNHCR and some of the Padaung claim that they are being prevented from leaving because the Thai government is afraid of the effect it will have on local tourist numbers.
However, the local government argues that the 20 Padaung who say their applications are being delayed are not economic refugees.
Instead, they say the Padaung are classified as Thai hill tribes and are ineligible for refugee status because they don’t live in refugee camps.
However, the UNHCR’s regional spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey said, “It’s absolutely a human zoo. One solution is for tourists to stop going.”
Some of the 20 women have now removed their rings in protest. They had been offered new lives in Finland and New Zealand.
For now, they remain in limbo while the arguments continue.
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