The afternoon raised similar concerns for me. We visited a village of various minority ethnic tribes. It's hard to describe the village but there were villagers in traditional dress who lived there and tourists would come around to take pictures of their homes and lifestyle. You could then buy their products. I felt very uncomfortable there because it seemed like we were there to objectify "the other." One of the women I started talking to was a refugee from Burma where she was part of the padong (?) tribe. She fled Burma during the war because there was no water or food. I was shocked that she spoke near perfect English which she told me she learned by speaking to tourists in the 7 years she has spent in this village. She was very honest about her experience and felt that living in the village was better than her life in Burma and presented a better opportunity for her young son even though they had no official citizenship and no standing in Thailand. I bought a few scarves she made because she told me she was saving money for her son's education. I still left conflicted about the village and my role as a tourist but felt that maybe I was able to make a small difference. I bring this up because it also relates to projects you may undertake with students around social action or global awareness. I'm curious to know if you have any thoughts about this.
ETA: I did a little research on the village once I returned. It seems that other people have written about the concerns I raised. This blog raises important points, if you're interested in learning more. http://wheresidewalksend.com/thai-hill-tribes-debate/. I also looked at a brief statement by the UNHCR from 2008 that raised concerns about the exploitation of a few ethnic tribes on the eastern border of Thailand. It wasn't the village I visited but I wonder if there were similarities. I'm off to find out more.
One of the teachers posted about the day on her blog with pictures. Check out what she thought about the day, see what her middle school students wrote, and see me riding on the elephant: http://www.mwverra.blogspot.com/2014/02/elephant-camps-and-hill-tribes.html.
ETA: I did a little research on the village once I returned. It seems that other people have written about the concerns I raised. This blog raises important points, if you're interested in learning more. http://wheresidewalksend.com/thai-hill-tribes-debate/. I also looked at a brief statement by the UNHCR from 2008 that raised concerns about the exploitation of a few ethnic tribes on the eastern border of Thailand. It wasn't the village I visited but I wonder if there were similarities. I'm off to find out more.
One of the teachers posted about the day on her blog with pictures. Check out what she thought about the day, see what her middle school students wrote, and see me riding on the elephant: http://www.mwverra.blogspot.com/2014/02/elephant-camps-and-hill-tribes.html.
I'm halfway through my trip. Post any questions that you have about my trip or Thailand and I'll try to respond!
And just to add, we got in a little fun rafting. I'll post a pic as soon as I get to a computer! The landscape is absolutely amazing here in Chiangmai.
Edited to add - photos!
Edited to add - photos!
Hi Ann Marie, This trip looks AMAZING. The sites are breathtaking and it is clear that there is a rich history that accompany. All joking aside, I think your selfies are awesome. While I enjoying looking at pictures from people I know who are abroad, I always find it much more interesting if I see pictures of them at the sites rather than just the sites themselves. That personal element is key!
ReplyDeleteYour experiences meeting the refugee from Burma was interesting to read, as was your experiences with the elephants. I hadn’t thought about the moral and ethical dilemmas that tourists inevitably face during their time abroad, and you shed light onto these beautifully. I think that this is an important topic to cover with older students in particular. Unfortunately, I feel one of the biggest problems regarding moral and ethical dilemmas is that not enough people care enough to immerse themselves into this topic. Not everyone may feel comfortable changing these issues (such as riding on elephants to raise money), but everyone has a civic obligation to become aware of these issues. Too many people turn the other cheek when it comes to touchy issues. Rather than ignoring the elephant in the room (pun intended), it is critical to explore more about the implications and how we can use our experiences to help our brothers and sisters gain awareness as well.
I hope you are enjoying your trip and are enjoying the warm weather ☺
Warmly, Caroline Dymek
Thanks, Caroline, for your thoughtful reply. I wanted to share my thoughts on how I felt while visiting the sites because I think it's important for all of us to confront dilemmas we might face in these situations. I'm still trying to understand it myself and I don't think it's appropriate to raise some of these issues with young students, but I want you all to at least give some thought to how you might address these issues.When I got back I read this blog and realized that others have had similar conflicting thoughts: http://wheresidewalksend.com/thai-hill-tribes-debate/. It's an interesting read if you're interested in learning more.
DeleteHi Professor!
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though you had a wonderful trip and were really able to experience a lot in the time that you had there. This post definitely resonated with me, as I had a very similar experience while I was abroad. Three friends and me made it to Bali and spent a little less than a week there. We purposefully chose not to stay in Kuta (where most tourists stay), but instead decided to stay outside this area to better become aware of and experience true Balinese culture. One of the most memorable experiences of the trip was spending a day traveling around to the different Hindu temples. These temples ranged from religious temples to temples dedicated to monkeys where there were monkeys all over the place just looking for people to climb on (they were very friendly). We got to the last temple around sunset and it happened to be on the day of a Hindu holiday. We were able to watch people of all ages dressed in all white bringing different goods into the temple to leave as a sacrifice. I had never seen this many people lined up the steps to a religious place of worship before and it was incredible to see.
I also had a similar experience with both the elephants and going firsthand into people’s villages from that tourist perspective. With the elephants, we did our research and tried to find a place that was known for treating the elephants appropriately. We talked to the man who “drove” our elephant while we were riding on it and he explained that at this park, each trained rider had their own elephant and only they could ride their specific elephant. There were also restrictions on how many rides a day and how much time in between each ride was needed for each elephant. Even with this in mind, there is always that concern about the ethical issues and where something may cross the line. Different people may have differing opinions and in older graders, discussions could be centered on things like social and ethical issues.
Lastly, while there we were able to do a bike tour all around seeing different villages and rice fields where people worked. One of the stops on the tour was at a family’s property. Lots of the extended family lives together and it is not just one house. Instead, it is a larger area with a stone wall all around it and is made up of smaller structures (ex. one for the kitchen, one for the brother’s room, etc.). Every family extended also has their own temple on their piece of land. We were able to go through one and met the family. While they said that they liked sharing their culture and way of life, we still questioned how we would feel about people coming through our house day in and day out. The best part was our chance to interact with the kids, which we did by playing and losing terribly in a game of soccer. While that tour was definitely interesting and we learned a lot, there definitely still is that question about a tourist over-stepping boundaries. I can’t wait to hear about the rest of your trip!
Dana Egan
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Dana! What an amazing opportunity for you and I am so impressed that you took the time to research and create a culturally responsible trip. I want to hear more about your trip! Due to the circumstances of this trip for work, I didn't have the chance to plan the itinerary or really research the places that we went to ahead of time (I didn't even know all of the places we were going). I think that pre-planning is invaluable and makes a difference in the types of travel experiences one undertakes. I think that is made particularly clear when comparing your trip to mine. Thanks again for posting!
DeleteHi professor!
ReplyDeleteYour trip looks amazing! It seems like you had a lot of fun on your trip and the history seems very interesting. I found this specific post very interesting because I had never thought about the ethic and moral dilemmas that we as tourist go through in new cultures. The only place I have traveled to is France, and I never experienced anything like this, so I was interested to hear what you had to say about it.
I agree that there is almost a good and bad side to each thing you experienced. I found it interesting that the elephants were used as transportation around the park when it was meant to protect them. I believe that they should be able to find a new way of transporting tourist around the park that does not involve the animal they are trying to protect. As for the village, I believe they could have different ways to sell their products without having tourists going around and taking pictures of them. Perhaps they should to set up a market for them to sell their goods. I find it interesting that the one lady you talked to seemed ok with it because it was a better life than where they came from.
It was interesting to think about these ethnic and moral issues and compare them to issues that teachers go through. I believe that every decision and issue has a good and bad side, just like your experiences. As teachers, we must take everything into consideration before making a decision.
Katie Dickson
Thanks for your post, Katie. I'm still processing the experience and look forward to talking about it in class this week. It was the first time I visited a village like this, although I've now spoken with colleagues who have visited similar sites in other recently industrialized countries. I keep coming back to the importance of tourism to the Thai economy. Just today there was an article describing how Thailand is openly courting tourists because they expect to lose something like 900,000 tourists this season due to the unrest that is scaring people from coming: http://t.co/yAhpWv7fP8. Our choices as culturally responsive tourists are similar to how we approach these issues in our classrooms. I struggle with how to bring these particular experiences back to younger students because I don't want to promote cultural stereotypes or objectify other cultures. Yet, I know kids love the elephants and that's a great hook to engage them in learning about Thailand. Looking forward to your thoughts.
DeleteHi Professor Gleeson!
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying reading these blog posts. I have always been really fascinated by other people's experiences, and they always make me want to try them! Going to Thailand is now definitely on my bucket list, it sounds like a wonderful experience.
This specific post really stands out to me because of your moral/ethical concerns that sound all too similar to mine. I absolutely love dolphins and orcas, and have found myself wondering the exact same things about the moral and ethical concerns about their captivity as you stated about the elephants. I have watched the Blackfish documentary, which basically says that Sea World is inhumane, and I have also researched what Sea World argues against the documentary. Sea World has several good points that they bring a unique experience of interaction between the animals and children, which in turn creates the want of children to help protect the wild orcas, dolphins, etc. They also explain that they no longer capture wild animals, take the best possible care of the animals, and spend countless dollars trying to protect the wild animals. These are excellent points, but you still can't help but feel as though the animals that they do have are stuck in a small pool entertaining tourists, while they could be swimming freely in the ocean.
I know this is slightly off-topic, but your anecdote about the elephants struck me because of how similarly I feel when thinking about this matter. Both sides have pros and cons. With the Thailand elephants, I wonder if they are still capturing free elephants, or if they are breeding the ones they have. I also hope that they take really good care of them. It is hard to say whether it is cruel or not because it can be seen as a way to bring in money to protect the animals, or can be seen as inhumane.
Besides all of this, I think it is great that you were seeing all different aspects of Thai life and experiences! I loved the pictures from the classrooms and was amazed by how similar they look to classrooms in the US. I look forward to seeing you later today and hearing more about the trip!
Sam Gross