My crazy week in Bangkok so far:
Mon, Oct 9
Morning
Spoke with controversial Buddhist scholar Ajaan Sulak Sivaraksa. He founded a movement called Engaged Buddhism, which challenges the prevalent notion that Buddhists should be content, in favor of a culture of activism combined with Buddhism. He has been arrested often, and has recently been charged with "lese majeste" (insulting the King--something Thais never ever ever EVER do, much less publicly.) He is an internationally renouned speaker--actually, as soon as he was done speaking with CIEE, he flew to Europe and then to California. His answers to our questions were so full of parables and roundabout answers that they were really hard to follow, but really provide good context and understanding. Enjoyed it vary much.
Afternoon
Spoke with Khun Ankana Nilapaijit, the wife of a "disappeared" (think kidnapped, fate unknown) Muslim human rights lawyer in the South. The government under former PM Thaksin suppressed (not to say it has stopped now) the Muslim populations in the South ("did I do good, Mr. Bush?"). Khun Ankana still works as a human rights activist, which is a powerful step for a female Muslim in a Buddhist country already, and she has actually been speaking with the Attorney General and working with the UN to bring in help. This discussion really brought me back to high school and Amnesty International. Actually, I asked her if she has worked with AI at all, and she replied that there's really not much that international independent organizations can do in a country like Thailand with a centralized and autonomous government/monarchy. The best they can do is to support the families of victims. Khun Ankana has started the Working Group on Justice for Peace, which encourages people to use the justice system which currently doesn't represent them to try to solve their conflicts. She is afraid that if this is not an outlet for poor, uneducated youth (especially the children of those who have already been kidnapped/killed), then they will be vulnerable to exploitation by others, including real terrorist groups. Both Ajaan Sulak and she spoke about the necessity of loving your oppressor as a part of nonviolent activism. It is what makes space for people to speak rationally, unclouded by the threat of being attacked (in this case, often physically) and breaks the cycle of violence. I have such respect for these things.
Evening
Switched gears again, to my internship, to take the funding proposal that we finished the previous night at 11, to Oxfam. Our ideas are really very much in line with what Oxfam is trying to, namely education that enables and encourages youth to live and work inside of their own communities instead of migrating to the cities, and communities organizing around self-sustainable, organic agriculture based on local wisdom. It was really exciting to establish this potentially amazing relationship between our NGO and Oxfam, but they didn't have money for us this time:(
Tuesday, Oct 10
Morning
Spoke with Thailand's first female monk, Ven. Dhammanunda. She renounced everything, from career to family, to join the monkhood, and had to go to Sri Lanka to be ordained b/c Thailand will not yet accept it. And as revolutionary as this woman is, she is so warm and friendly and easy to relate to. She is just a human.
Night
Spoke with a group called SWING (Service Workers IN Group) which acts as a support network for sex workers in Bangkok from things like English language training, computer skills, etc. to free HIV/STI testing and counseling to dinners with families. Most of Bangkok's sex workers come from the coutryside, actually from Isaan where we have been studying. The SWING staff split us into a bunch of groups to take us to the clubs in Pat Pong District. I don't feel much like talking about the things I saw, but if you want to know the details, ask me. Just don't do it in a joking manner. Rarely is someone physically harmed in this occupation, but it is the most violent thing I have ever seen.
Wed Oct 11
Spoke with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Economic and Social Development Board. Thailand is moving beyond economic growth as the primary goal of development, at least in planning. They don't even take money from the World Bank anymore, and are trying to address things like quality of life, strengthening community, establishing good governance, and conserving biodiversity through development policy. Though it's highly questionable whether these ideas are implemented in practice, it is a striking divergence from Western development models that these ideas are even considered in the planning stage.
Mon, Oct 9
Morning
Spoke with controversial Buddhist scholar Ajaan Sulak Sivaraksa. He founded a movement called Engaged Buddhism, which challenges the prevalent notion that Buddhists should be content, in favor of a culture of activism combined with Buddhism. He has been arrested often, and has recently been charged with "lese majeste" (insulting the King--something Thais never ever ever EVER do, much less publicly.) He is an internationally renouned speaker--actually, as soon as he was done speaking with CIEE, he flew to Europe and then to California. His answers to our questions were so full of parables and roundabout answers that they were really hard to follow, but really provide good context and understanding. Enjoyed it vary much.
Afternoon
Spoke with Khun Ankana Nilapaijit, the wife of a "disappeared" (think kidnapped, fate unknown) Muslim human rights lawyer in the South. The government under former PM Thaksin suppressed (not to say it has stopped now) the Muslim populations in the South ("did I do good, Mr. Bush?"). Khun Ankana still works as a human rights activist, which is a powerful step for a female Muslim in a Buddhist country already, and she has actually been speaking with the Attorney General and working with the UN to bring in help. This discussion really brought me back to high school and Amnesty International. Actually, I asked her if she has worked with AI at all, and she replied that there's really not much that international independent organizations can do in a country like Thailand with a centralized and autonomous government/monarchy. The best they can do is to support the families of victims. Khun Ankana has started the Working Group on Justice for Peace, which encourages people to use the justice system which currently doesn't represent them to try to solve their conflicts. She is afraid that if this is not an outlet for poor, uneducated youth (especially the children of those who have already been kidnapped/killed), then they will be vulnerable to exploitation by others, including real terrorist groups. Both Ajaan Sulak and she spoke about the necessity of loving your oppressor as a part of nonviolent activism. It is what makes space for people to speak rationally, unclouded by the threat of being attacked (in this case, often physically) and breaks the cycle of violence. I have such respect for these things.
Evening
Switched gears again, to my internship, to take the funding proposal that we finished the previous night at 11, to Oxfam. Our ideas are really very much in line with what Oxfam is trying to, namely education that enables and encourages youth to live and work inside of their own communities instead of migrating to the cities, and communities organizing around self-sustainable, organic agriculture based on local wisdom. It was really exciting to establish this potentially amazing relationship between our NGO and Oxfam, but they didn't have money for us this time:(
Tuesday, Oct 10
Morning
Spoke with Thailand's first female monk, Ven. Dhammanunda. She renounced everything, from career to family, to join the monkhood, and had to go to Sri Lanka to be ordained b/c Thailand will not yet accept it. And as revolutionary as this woman is, she is so warm and friendly and easy to relate to. She is just a human.
Night
Spoke with a group called SWING (Service Workers IN Group) which acts as a support network for sex workers in Bangkok from things like English language training, computer skills, etc. to free HIV/STI testing and counseling to dinners with families. Most of Bangkok's sex workers come from the coutryside, actually from Isaan where we have been studying. The SWING staff split us into a bunch of groups to take us to the clubs in Pat Pong District. I don't feel much like talking about the things I saw, but if you want to know the details, ask me. Just don't do it in a joking manner. Rarely is someone physically harmed in this occupation, but it is the most violent thing I have ever seen.
Wed Oct 11
Spoke with the Deputy Secretary General of the National Economic and Social Development Board. Thailand is moving beyond economic growth as the primary goal of development, at least in planning. They don't even take money from the World Bank anymore, and are trying to address things like quality of life, strengthening community, establishing good governance, and conserving biodiversity through development policy. Though it's highly questionable whether these ideas are implemented in practice, it is a striking divergence from Western development models that these ideas are even considered in the planning stage.
posted by Darren Legge at 11:09 PM
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