That's a great question. Sure you can look them up on Wikipedia, but wouldn't you rather hear it from me?
The Hill Tribes are an ethnically diverse group living in the northern hills of Thailand. Go figure, right? The tribes themselves are knows as the Akha, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Mien and Mon. Though you may have never heard of most of those groups, chances are you do know about at least a subset of the Karen tribe - the Karen Padaung - they're the ones that wear rings on their necks, which result in their clavicles getting jammed downwards, and their necks becoming enlongated.
Man, I hope we meet these folks.
Sure they look happy, but the Hill Tribes of Thailand don't have it easy. Many of the people living in the hills are actually Burmese immigrants who, after crossing the border to escape from the aggressive military dictatorship in Burma, find their plight to be ongoing. For one, their original economy was dedicated to smuggling opium from Burma to Laos, and using slash-and-burn farming methods, both of which were quickly stomped out by the Thai government.
 |
| The Golden Triangle -Where opium goes to get smoked |
On top of that, the Thai people are understandably not big fans of Burma, and by proxy don't have much love for Burmese immigrants. They don't see them as new members of their country, so much as they see them as "squatters." Combining a fear of increased drug trading and anti-Burmese sentiment, the Thai government refuses to issue National IDs to the Hill People, which in turn means they are unable to access most medical care facilities. Compounding this issue, without the money generated by farming and opium trade, the Hill People are poor, and lack adequate sanitation facilities. This in turn leads to them becoming ill from all sorts of waterborne illnesses.
 | |
| It's amazing how important these things are |
So, that's their story. Of course, I've left a lot out. I would suggest going and reading more about them on Wikipedia....or waiting until we get to the villages and interview the people ourselves! It's happening.
