An Unheard Voice from the Thai Diaspora in Ranong

Waiphot Kulachai, Junphen Wannarak, Patipol Homyamyen, Suebsawad Vuttivoradit

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to examine the conditions of the Thai diaspora in Ranong, the need for government assistance, and solution guidelines for policymakers. An in-depth interview was conducted to collect data from 17 key informants, including two Thai diaspora leaders, nine diasporas, two community leaders, two officials, and two academics. The data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. Thai diaspora faces difficulties in many dimensions of living, including education, employment, medical care, property holdings, and traveling outside the area. Corruption in government agencies is a major problem that prevents Thai diasporas from being considered Thai nationals and having a Thai identity card. Guidelines for policymakers to solve this problem are discussed in this paper. Corruption of civil servants and village headman is a major problem because Thai diasporas do not acquire Thai citizenship. The civil servants want these people to remain displaced, which makes it easier to extort money from them. Therefore, policymakers should focus on resolving such issues with human rights and good governance in mind, and decisive measures must be taken to deal with corrupt civil servants. The authors found that leadership is a very vital factor contributing to the success of social movements among the Thai diaspora. Poverty, deprivation and voicelessness of the displaced people are newly discovered variables that induce corruption among those with more power, especially civil servants and village headmen. Until now, the issue of issuing Thai nationality to such people has been delayed and has not received real attention from the government. In addition, the research methodology emphasizes the selection of key informants who are the first generation to claim their own rights, resulting in deeper issues such as human trafficking, which are still hidden under such problems.

 

Keywords: Thai diaspora, government assistance, unheard voice.

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.61.29


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