For those who have not read the first of these postings, here’s the link, Cultural Experiences in a Thai Village - Part 1, or, here’s a brief background which might be helpful in understanding this blog. It’s about an aspect of my experience from last February, when I located myself in a collection of small villages in north-eastern Thailand, close to the Laos border. I was there to study culture, to see what I could learn about a community and the worldviews of the people within it by just, basically, hanging out, for a short period of time, in this case about a week and a half. It was a great experience, with a variety of learning for me. I chat about some of what I experienced in terms of others’ impressions of me and how that affected my experience in my first posting on this topic. In this one, I’m sharing some of what I learned about a most unexpected area of these peoples’ existence, something I thought would be of interest to anyone, really, interested in the human condition.
This learning evolved from a series of conversations I had with my host about the economic situation in the communities, land and property ownership, marital processes, and a few other topics. Gradually more came out, and a greater understanding was gained. Let me see if I can summarize it here, without being too assuming. What one would likely “see”, as an outsider, of this, if one were observant, would be the interesting demographics present in the communities during my stay. There were virtually no men or women, other than the school teachers, between the ages of about 16 or 18 and, oh, about 35 or so, in the area. There were, however, many children, and some people over 40, and some elderly individuals. I was a bit curious about who was looking after all those children, well, apparently, they kind of look after themselves. At least insofar as living arrangements. Apparently (I did not go wandering into the houses at night to count heads) the kids hang out in whatever houses suit them, by themselves, during the non-rice harvesting season. Breakfasts are kind of, sometimes, provided by elderly individuals. Lunches, as I saw, are provided at the schools and the preschool. I have no idea what happens with dinner. The kids show up at school as they show up. Older kids help out with the younger one (this I noted). Family structure appeared to be fairly loose, meaning, kids moved from one base household to another rather fluidly. My hosts had a couple of “children” of their own who, um, just, well, showed up one day and so they, my hosts, allowed them space in one of their shelters, shared in the food, and called them their children. Adult partnerships also appeared to be fairly fluid. Even when a partnership has been acknowledged, it was expected for the woman at least to have at least one other boyfriend. I don’t know what the expectations are for the men. In terms of land and house ownership, the women appeared to dominate. According to my host they held the ownership of the majority, and the biggest, properties and houses. This was because their off season work was so much more lucrative than the men’s. Which brings us to where all these young men and women were during the period I was visiting…
Apparently, during the off-rice season, all reasonably responsible young men and women of the community leave the community to engage in work elsewhere, sending back a portion of what they earn to be used by the community, supporting all those children, some of whom I would guess are theirs. The men generally head to Bangkok, the women to Phuket, that wonderful cesspot of human sexual activity, where they make their relative fortunes. In pursuing this the women are incredibly well organized. When the time is approaching for them to head out of the communities they send a delegate to Phuket. This woman will scope out the bars, set up arrangements with the owners, and find a place for all the women to stay. Once this is done she is joined by the remaining women and they go to work. They pool their money and every now and then send someone back home to deliver it to the community. They do also apparently keep some for themselves, because they use that to make their housing purchases. They typically do quite well and are able to, through this approach to income, not only provide for their families and community in the immediate time, but also save enough to purchase a very nice, by local standards, accommodation, to provide for their future.
I was at the same time fascinated, awestruck, and horrified by this situation. These women, these people, have very little opportunity for advancement, and their living conditions are undesireable. They are very poor. There are government restrictions on what they can do, for example, nobody local is permitted to own a power saw, a restriction which effectively prevents the locals from expanding their income to include the use of other locally available resources. Their education is not the best, so income requiring education is inaccessible. They are of a minority that is not well regarded, so there is discrimination. They know what else is out there, and I am guessing they would like some of it. But how? Well, there is this huge demand for women in Phuket, which is, now that there’s a road, accessible by bus. So. Get together, organise a way to supply that demand, and you have a way out. It is impressive, what they have done. They have worked together, they are providing for their basic needs. Imagine what they would be able to do if they were allowed the opportunity to put that initiative and business sense to another area, I don’t know, maybe building a business with a little less personal cost and more ownership than the one in which they are engaging, or managing some company’s finances, or something! They would conquer mountains. That’s what leaves me awestruck. Minimal education, minimal resources, yet they work together, and they accomplish really a miracle, raising their entire community up. What horrified me of course is the cost that is being required, of them, of the community, of the children who are raised outside the presence of the entire generation of their parents. The robbing of the opportunity to form intimate relationships. And… the loss of opportunity, for the betterment of everyone. With the risk of sounding like a child myself, it’s not fair!
I am glad I had the opportunity to have this experience, to visit this area that has produced these remarkable people, to hear a little of their stories. To experience dealing with preconceptions and assumptions about myself, to see people struggle to place me in something familiar, and known to them, and to have to work within the restrictions and difficulties that imposed. At the same time, I am glad I didn’t have to stay, that I didn’t need to watch as those young children, particularly the girls, grow, develop, and likely follow the most logical path for them. So I return home with a greater understanding, of many things, an appreciation for making the best of things, and a much increased appreciation of the spider web of contributing factors that can reach in and manipulate a young person’s future in a far off and relatively remote region of the world. Thank-you, to those who let me in, who allowed me to increase my understanding and experiences in this way. I hope I am able to use this understanding and experience in a positive fashion, to better the experiences of others, increase mutual understanding, and contribute to the improvement of the human condition.
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