You-Me-We-Us; indigenous people in Thailand
Preface
On the occasion of the 'International Day of the World's Indigenous People', an online exhibition opened on August 9, 2021. This online exhibition is about the rich variety of ethnic identity in Thailand.
Many of us are familiar with the Thai-Chinese, Thai-Muslim and Lao Isaan peoples, but less well-known are, among others, the Lahu, Bisu and Phuan peoples. But they too are indigenous: indigenous. Native, endemic, indigenous.
Under the name You-Me-We-Us, the website has started with information about the 60 groups known in the kingdom of Thailand. Stories, maps, a quiz, interviews, articles and also videos where you can read, watch and most importantly learn about the history of those groups, their civic status and rights, their culture, traditions and more.
Later, because the exhibition is not yet finished, a documentary called 'Becoming Home' will follow in which six stateless young people, ie young people without a nationality, talk about their dreams and expectations. They have to fight against prejudices in the community and against the lack of their full status. A trailer for this documentary can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ymTzctTiwk
This online exhibition is organized by the UNDP (= UN Development Program), the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, the Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association and the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand, with the support of the European Union.
Workshops preceded the website. In it, people from the indigenous peoples were taught how to make film and photos, and how to represent data graphically.
The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples falls on August 9 every year.
I will follow this website for Thailandblog.nl and translate and/or summarize articles from time to time. There are contributions that only consist of a video. Knowledge about indigenous peoples is a good help to understand land and people.
For those who want to visit the site: go to you-me-we-us.com, first choose the language if desired and after the intros go to 'Skip to main page' and then 'Story View'.
What a special website, Erik! Thanks for showing this to us. I was here:
https://you-me-we-us.com/story-view
Tino, because not all readers are proficient in English or Thai, I will translate or summarize all contributions on that site in Dutch.
The nice thing is that there is criticism of the Thai government between the lines regarding its policy towards undocumented migrants. Yet you see that a study club, which may bear the name of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, is participating. I therefore consider the site a serious site that encourages the government to improve the position of immigrants. And if you know how many people live in camps, that's a good thing.
Very interesting Eric!
Thank you !