ELL: Akha Journal Dec 16, 2001

[Matthew McDaniel]

Dear Friends:

Dec 16, 2001
Thailand


Due to phone line connection problems in the mountains this list is now
being moved to yahoo.com as akhaweeklyjournal at yahoogroups.com

IMPORTANT:  Use only akha at akha.org for email correspondence, thankyou.

This is a general update and news from the Akha Mountains.

1.  Moving out of Maesai to the mountains.

2. Building a road with an Akha village

3. Other News


Moving out of Maesai:

You have not heard from me for some time because I was moving out of my
office and residence of Maesai of ten years and getting settled in the
mountains.  This is a major effort and change.

My new home is now built of bamboo, I have harvested my first year of
mountain rice, and I have also begun digging the road back to the
mountain fields from this village.

In the meanwhile many emails went unattended, and no Akha Journal got
sent out.

What strikes me most about locating in the Akha village is the general
neglect that the village experiences, interacting with the lower
mountain populations and legal system, the regional government office,
forestry, police and army, yet the village itself gets no aid.

There are many cases of despair in the village and drugs are a prevalent
problem, not as recreation but used by people killing pain of a physical
nature from overwork and of an emotional nature from the slow ongoing
death that is occuring around them.

Even with harvesting my own rice there was no other food around me when
I arrived at the village so I had to set out to import food to live on.
The food shortage in the village is astounding and it was impossible to
eat alone, so I had to really buy enough food for four or more, even
though I was only "planning" on cooking for myself.

The forced Army relocation of this village now eleven years ago, has
been the chief cause of this food shortage in the village.  Not the only
village in this situation, but many other villages have their fields
close by while the people of this village must walk three hours per day
to get to their fields and back again.  For this reason there is little
fruit and vegetables as they either have to carry it very far or the
passing hunters and army people (Thai Yai, not Thai Army) take it from
the fields before they harvest it themselves.  The village claims no
more than a handful of fruit trees, a few chickens and a few pigs.  They
own no cattle, only water buffalo, and these must be kept away from
their village where they have a difficult time to keep an eye on them.

Three immediate factors besides the shortage of food in the displaced
villages I noted:

1. Land Divestiture. The amount of land taken from the village by ploys
of the forestry department over the 11 years since the village was
relocated.

2. The numbers of the youth who are having to work in the lowlands to
support their families. This often includes prostitution.  The lack of
young women in the villages is noticeable.  As well as the government
failure to address the situation that in many cases they themselves have
created.

3. The number of children being removed to sectarian boarding schools.

Interestingly enough, the Maesai Chinese Baptist Church made it very
clear in a recent interview that they are cooperating with Thai
government policy of moving the Akha out of the mountains completely by
removing as many Akha children as possible from their mountain homes to
their boarding school chain.


The Road:

The village is in need of a road back to its mountain fields, and since
there are not funds to build the road, which requires much digging I
would dig on the road myself when I had time.

In the past month this is what has transpired about this road.  I began
digging on it myself to illustrate to the village the value of the road
and what could be done.

I was soon joined by an increasing number of the Akha of the village
when they began to realize that yes, there was some hope in sight and as
long as I was there forestry or army would not pounce on them.  The
distinctly would not build the road on any day I was not there.  The
army repeatedly came out to see what we were doing.

In the end the entire village had a vote, some 62 families, that they
indeed did want the road, if the way could be cleared to finish it.  The
Army of course was curious about what we had a vote about but we said
nothing.

We immediately ran into difficulty because a few of the Lahu in the next
village didn't want a road as they were busy secretly cutting trees and
were also busy helping forestry take land away from the Akhas.  They
protested our action that we had to cross one of their fields on the
existing trail as we widened the road.  We informed them that this was
an old army road and they had built their fields on the old army road.
Never the less, the army finally agreed to let us dig on the Akha land
ONLY section, so that the road to the fields will be incomplete till the
matter is resolved.  Segments across Akha land to be finished, segments
across Lahu land to be left unfinished till both Army and Lahu see the
light.

(If you would like to help you may do so by making yourself available as
a observer and road worker.
We are also in need of many plants now for the old upper fields to
establish crops in them such as coffee, tea, fruit trees, flowers, etc.
Please contact me if you are interested to help out in this way.)

This particular Akha village has extensive lands that they still own up
near the old village and the road is crucial to using this land.  The
army forced relocation 11 years ago requires a three hour daily walk.
At first I was told that there had been many miscarriages related to
this long walk but when I went house to house asking, I documented 21
miscarriages and early infant deaths within the last three years alone,
more than I had previously documented.  The total for the 11 years I
still have not documented.


Please think of the Akha people and the needs in the villages this
winter during your Christmas Season.  It is only November but we are
already experiencing a very cold winter.  December and January will be
worse and many blankets are needed.

Your donation to the Akha Heritage Foundation can also help support book
projects in the villages, fruit trees, coffee plants, tea plants, and
improvement of village roads. We are also in need of funds for first aid
medicines, and infant cereal for the children most effected by these
government policies.


Other News:

An Akha man of 57 was killed from Meh Maw Akha in Mae Faluang District
when he was farming on the Burma side.  He detonated an old land mine
when walking on an unused trail that was below an old Shan Army mountain
fortress position.

**

Ah Jung, the headman and son of Asaw Nimit of San Chai Mai, is dead.
His home was surrounded in a late night raid on the village, arresting
anyone for drug use.  But when it came turn for his house, he was afraid
that he would be shot or worse, and refused to come out for the Army.
Instead he shot himself through the head instead.

I have known Ah Jung for many years.  He was first arrested as a
teenager.  The police found drugs in the house and he was arrested as he
was the only one home at the time.  Recently married, he did three years
in prison, not home for the birth of his first child and son.  Later he
cooperated by helping administer an ill thought out project of methadone
treatment directed by Genny Grey, while the police alternatively raided
his village or came to use drugs.  In this time his older brother and
younger brother and cousin also went to prison. They are still there.
His mother died three years ago, and now only his father Nimit, and
younger sister remain.

He is survived by a wife and three children.

***

Bridge of Hope
Ch. 5 is up at http://www.akha.org/bridgeofhope.htm


Thankyou for your continuing support over the years.

Matthew McDaniel






The Akha Heritage Foundation
Maesai, Chiangrai, Thailand

Join The Growing International Effort To Protect The Akha
Sign The Petition To The Thai Government
On Line At:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/AkhaZauh/petition.html



http://www.akha.org

Donations:
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Credit Card Donation Site:
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Your donation goes to infant care, vitamins, medical supplies, wells,
bread and fish for the villages.

Donations by check or money order may be sent to:
The Akha Heritage Foundation
PO BOX 6073
Salem OR 97304  USA

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