Y12 trip to chiang Rai: LEARNING TO READ THE WORLD THROUGH OTHER PERSPECTIVES
MULTI CURRICULAR REFLECTIONS ON THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT
aims of the trip
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The north of Thailand has always seen itself as separate from the rest of Thailand. Not just physically, but also in other aspects such as food, language and cultural traditions. Being on the border, there has also been the influence factors typical of a border area – border disputes, cross border movement of people and goods (mainly illegal) and conflict.
During the week we visit various places and have many different experiences. When visiting these sites, |
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the objective is to help you to develop your critical thinking – a common approach is to formulate questions, challenge ideas, and demonstrate an understanding of the complex interrelationships between Global Issues from a range of perspectives and academic backgrounds.
The Global Issues that we will see can be exemplified across a range of scales, locations and cultures. (These are some of the IB DP’s fundamental principles!) The IB also requires you to be independent learners; reading is a great way of developing this skill – so to help you with this, we have put together some background to the places that we will be visiting, along with some subject specific information and thinking/discussion points.
The Global Issues that we will see can be exemplified across a range of scales, locations and cultures. (These are some of the IB DP’s fundamental principles!) The IB also requires you to be independent learners; reading is a great way of developing this skill – so to help you with this, we have put together some background to the places that we will be visiting, along with some subject specific information and thinking/discussion points.
tHINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT DEVELOPMENT
Some groups have tried to re-deploy the notion of development taking into account the environmental costs of industrialisation and have advocated for 'sustainable development'. Others say that a capitalist economic model is never going to be sustainable, so what we need is ‘sustainable contraction’ (as opposed to development)…and the discussion goes on.
Development is a controversial concept. It is linked both to decolonisation processes and to the end of World War 2, when countries were classified according to their political/ideological alliances: First World (capitalist), Second World (communist) and Third World (unaligned nations). Therefore, the notion of development always implies a relationship with other countries and ideas about what ideal societies should look like. The idea of a more developed country generally evokes the image of industrialised, affluent nations, material wealth, technology, modernity, democracy, scientific knowledge, civilisation and education. However, this image is constructed in relation to other nations and their peoples which are thought to be ‘backwards’, lacking in these attributes and in need of assistance to catch up. But who defines these parameters, in whose name and for whose benefit?
This concept of development has been questioned in recent years from different perspectives. Some critics see development as the imperialism of knowledge, a continuation of colonialism, which imposes on the world a ‘modernity’ that it does not necessarily want. Others see development efforts as political moves that will benefit mainly the economies of 'developed' countries and create even more inequalities as the flow of knowledge and power is often one-way in the ‘development industry’.
‘Power Geometries’
We should distinguish between the localism of the ‘powerless’ and the localism of the ‘powerful’, and likewise with ‘globalism’ (eg: TNCs, military powers, or the internationalism of indigenous groups or trade unions)
To think geographically, we must take into account the differential powers, which are the ‘power geometries’ through which the world is constructed, and potentially reconstructed more equally in the future.
Development is a controversial concept. It is linked both to decolonisation processes and to the end of World War 2, when countries were classified according to their political/ideological alliances: First World (capitalist), Second World (communist) and Third World (unaligned nations). Therefore, the notion of development always implies a relationship with other countries and ideas about what ideal societies should look like. The idea of a more developed country generally evokes the image of industrialised, affluent nations, material wealth, technology, modernity, democracy, scientific knowledge, civilisation and education. However, this image is constructed in relation to other nations and their peoples which are thought to be ‘backwards’, lacking in these attributes and in need of assistance to catch up. But who defines these parameters, in whose name and for whose benefit?
This concept of development has been questioned in recent years from different perspectives. Some critics see development as the imperialism of knowledge, a continuation of colonialism, which imposes on the world a ‘modernity’ that it does not necessarily want. Others see development efforts as political moves that will benefit mainly the economies of 'developed' countries and create even more inequalities as the flow of knowledge and power is often one-way in the ‘development industry’.
‘Power Geometries’
We should distinguish between the localism of the ‘powerless’ and the localism of the ‘powerful’, and likewise with ‘globalism’ (eg: TNCs, military powers, or the internationalism of indigenous groups or trade unions)
To think geographically, we must take into account the differential powers, which are the ‘power geometries’ through which the world is constructed, and potentially reconstructed more equally in the future.
STudent reflections on the 2016 trip:
In the past, the hill tribes were exploited by western demands for drugs at the expense of the environment because of their local economic disparities. Their only source of income to survive were stemmed from drug (opium) cultivation which led to this region being notorious as the “Golden Triangle”. Not only did this have a detrimental impact on the environment, but it also engaged the hill tribes in illegal activities whereby they were caught in a seemingly unending vicious cycle of drug trade. The Doi Angkhang Agricultural project helps to stimulate sustainable sources of income for the people and also provides education for the workers’ families. As Mr Bryan mentioned during our trip to the Royal Project, the multiplier/ knock on effect which this project had on the people who were previously bereft of basic rights (education, minimum wage, opportunities) were positive and impactful. From a humanitarian perspective, one can conclude that the Royal Project was beneficial to the migrants from bordering Myanmar and various tribes by giving them basic amenities, job opportunities and a non hazardous source of income.
The Karen tribe are an indigenous group that live in the North of Thailand. In the village that we visited, you could see the women who were wearing the rings around their necks and selling various things to tourists that come to the area. Although this is seemingly harmless, it is important to question whether or not they are being exploited. The assumption around the reasons behind why they continue to do this is that they want to preserve their culture, however some argue that it is all done purely to attract ‘tourist dollars’. Interestingly, we saw very few men and boys in the village. We were there during school hours on a weekday, and there were loads of young girls who were sitting waiting for tourists to come instead of being at school getting a proper education. This has the implication that younger generations are being forced into continuing the practice and are in a way imprisoned within the villages. On the other hand, it can be argued that using their uniqueness as a tourist attraction is providing them with a better quality of life compared to the one that they would have in Myanmar due to conflict with the government, as ethnic minorities were not given rights. This introduces the conflicting question as to whether or not efforts should be made to boycott these practices in order to encourage education and independence among the young girls in the village or if we, as tourists, should support them as this is the best quality life that they can find
The Karen tribe are an indigenous group that live in the North of Thailand. In the village that we visited, you could see the women who were wearing the rings around their necks and selling various things to tourists that come to the area. Although this is seemingly harmless, it is important to question whether or not they are being exploited. The assumption around the reasons behind why they continue to do this is that they want to preserve their culture, however some argue that it is all done purely to attract ‘tourist dollars’. Interestingly, we saw very few men and boys in the village. We were there during school hours on a weekday, and there were loads of young girls who were sitting waiting for tourists to come instead of being at school getting a proper education. This has the implication that younger generations are being forced into continuing the practice and are in a way imprisoned within the villages. On the other hand, it can be argued that using their uniqueness as a tourist attraction is providing them with a better quality of life compared to the one that they would have in Myanmar due to conflict with the government, as ethnic minorities were not given rights. This introduces the conflicting question as to whether or not efforts should be made to boycott these practices in order to encourage education and independence among the young girls in the village or if we, as tourists, should support them as this is the best quality life that they can find
The minorities we have visited were Karen, Lahu and Shan Estate. They mostly moved from Myanmar to Thailand as there have been political tension between Myanmar and Thailand in past regarding Buddhism and Muslims with the army. Due to the fact that they are illegal immigrants, the government gives them restricted area in order to live. Lahu tribe is classified as 3rd class citizens, whereas Karen tribe and Lahu are not recognised as any of the above. This means that they are limited in a Thai citizen’s rights, like for earning less than the average income of Thai citizen and restricted movements; also they did not have the right to work before.
Due to this, the Lahu tribes have suffered from local economic disparity. In order to improve this economic disparity, Lahu people received most of their income by opium cultivation, which caused the area called “The Golden Triangle”. Besides this, the tribe is known for its drug trafficking - crossing the Myanmar border. To stop this drug trafficking issue, Doi Ankhang Project was introduced. The people were easily persuaded as they were not highly paid when they were cultivating opium. The project has given the people stable job opportunities, with increased wages hence increased the people’s living standards. The government also helped to improve upon infrastructure, access to water, electricity and education. The Maekok River Village raises funds as well in order to provide the children in Lahu village scholarships. One interesting fact is girls in Lahu tribe achieve more scholarships than boys. This sparked a discussion of whether the girls are more determined as they would be forced to marry in the age of 13, or if they just wanted to not limit themselves here.
The Shan Estate is given land in order to stop fighting the Thai army due to political issues in the border of Myanmar and Thailand. The Shan village people maintain their tradition of from growing cotton to weave using foot operated loom. This has been their main income, aimed at tourists. This gives them the opportunity to spread their cultures and tradition both locally and internationally. However, the river changed its course 15 years ago, which means that the boats were no longer able to stop and dock to buy the woven products in bulk to export. This lead to unfortunate losses endured by Shan Estate.
Due to this, the Lahu tribes have suffered from local economic disparity. In order to improve this economic disparity, Lahu people received most of their income by opium cultivation, which caused the area called “The Golden Triangle”. Besides this, the tribe is known for its drug trafficking - crossing the Myanmar border. To stop this drug trafficking issue, Doi Ankhang Project was introduced. The people were easily persuaded as they were not highly paid when they were cultivating opium. The project has given the people stable job opportunities, with increased wages hence increased the people’s living standards. The government also helped to improve upon infrastructure, access to water, electricity and education. The Maekok River Village raises funds as well in order to provide the children in Lahu village scholarships. One interesting fact is girls in Lahu tribe achieve more scholarships than boys. This sparked a discussion of whether the girls are more determined as they would be forced to marry in the age of 13, or if they just wanted to not limit themselves here.
The Shan Estate is given land in order to stop fighting the Thai army due to political issues in the border of Myanmar and Thailand. The Shan village people maintain their tradition of from growing cotton to weave using foot operated loom. This has been their main income, aimed at tourists. This gives them the opportunity to spread their cultures and tradition both locally and internationally. However, the river changed its course 15 years ago, which means that the boats were no longer able to stop and dock to buy the woven products in bulk to export. This lead to unfortunate losses endured by Shan Estate.
