REFLECTIONS

2

Dear Beautiful People,

While writing this Newsletter to all of you, we decided to leave our topics

broad and open-ended. We wanted to focus on where we are post Water and Dams

unit, while still understanding ideas that have developed throughout the semester,

surrounding development, globalization, and culture.

Over the past two months we‘ve delved deep into the issues of sustainability,

corporate-social responsibility, and governmental/international responsibility in rela-

tion to food, land, and water issues. In addition, we‘ve done extensive research

about mining, seed banks, protest villages, and the 2010 April-May government

crackdown in Bangkok last year.

Despite our protests against goals discussions and references to ―group proc-

ess‖, we have become a group. We‘ve had secret rooftop dates and impromptu

dance parties in classrooms, vans, and villages. We‘ve had conversations that range

from what defines richness to how to increase creativity in education. Understanding

each other‘s families and friends has become a major topic of conversation; it helps

us know where each of us comes from, where we want to go. We have stubbornly

questioned CIEE‘s alternative model of education, but come away all the better for

it, learning how to communicate with individuals at every level, from villagers,

NGOs, to leading government organizations.

Sadly, yet hopefully, we are beginning to breach the topic of going home and

what that will entail. How will we remember everything we‘ve learned, and keep our

vows to change, specifically after spending so much time and energy working to un-

derstand these global issues? Are the changes we want to make personal, having to

do with what food we eat and what research we conduct to understand our home-

towns? Or are we aiming for something bigger, attempting to implement systemic

change by understanding the multi-national corporations and organizations that gov-

ern our world? Either way, we are increasingly questioning ourselves, each other and

the cultures and systems from which our values spring.

We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter of our ideas and experiences and

we just want to say THANK YOU to all of the people on this program that we can

now (sincerely) say we love. Thank you to the staff for all their support, and a spe-

cial shout-out to Josh and Allison for making it possible to create this newsletter in

three jam-packed days.

Love,

Jo, Jamie, and Michaela

Letter from the Editors

3

Thai Glossary

Table of Contents

Values —

Julia Peckinpaugh……….. 4

Michaela Larson…………… 5

Relationships —

Cassie Schneider…………. 6

Anna Craver…………………. 7

Community —

Kristi Huckabone………….. 8

Dan Cohn………………………. 8

Patricia Noto ………………… 9

In the World —

Sofia Norani ………………… 10

Maddisen Domingo……… 11

Wat-tah-nat-um — culture

Wit-tee-chi-wit — way of life

Low-gah-pee-wat — globalization

Gah-pad-ta-na — development

Sid-tee-man-not-sia-chan — human

rights

Nam-prik — Isaan dish with tomato paste

and peppers

Som-tom — Orange papaya salad, a spicy

Isaan dish

Yai — maternal grandmother

Patoon — Skirt for women

Exchanging —

Lindsay Friedman……… 12

Jennifer Schwarz ……… 12

Lena Morrison ………….. 13

Culture —

Mechana Anugu ………. 14

Meghann Venus ………. 15

Development —

Cassie Peabody …….… 16

Lyric Rath-Stoffer ….. 17

Reflections —

Mirah Sand …………….. 18

Austyn Gaffney……….. 19

4

Sustainability. What does it Really Mean?

Low gah pee wat, (globalization), gah pad ta na (development), and sid tee man not si a

chan (Human Rights); three core themes CIEE Thailand focuses on, and three topics that I

can‘t seem to stop thinking about. Shortly after arriving in Thailand, I was faced with life de-

fining questions related to privilege, oppression, and capitalism. I was forced to think about

consumerism, the Global North verses the Global South, and development schemes; whether

or not these focuses are sustainable. I‘m beginning to realize that while ideas concerning sus-

tainability in America, and other first world countries, seem to include large consumer target-

ing businesses, advocating for sustainable practices, sustainability in a third world country ap-

pears a great deal different, especially for villagers.

Sustainability, according to various villagers and community members we have met with, en-

tails ideas ranging from chemical free agriculture, to community land titles, to maintaining

livelihoods, to preserving wat ta na tam (culture). According the AAN, a network of organic

farmers in northeast Thailand, sustainability means small scale, chemical free agricultural

practices that sustain the community. According to villagers negatively affected by the Rasi

Salai and Hua Na Dams, sustainability represents preserving their wit tee chee wit (way of

life) and wa ta na tam. In both of these cases, sustainability is about retaining local wisdom

and knowledge while living off the land and using neighboring resources. This is different than

the way sustainability looks for department stores such as Target© and Wal-Mart©.

I‘ve been thinking a lot

lately about sustainable

practices to implement

in my life when I get

back home to the

states. Does sustain-

ability imply buying

organic food, wrapped

in a plastic bag; which

was driven across

many different states

to get into my hands?

Or does indicate a need

for growing food lo-

cally, be it through

community gardens or

local farmers? Do we

really need to preserve

cultures, such as those

close to my heart in

Appalachia? Or would

the world be a better place if we were globalized to have the same customs? I‘ve been learn-

ing a lot here in northeast Thailand, and if I only take away one thing from this experience

(which I won‘t, TRUST ME), it‘s the importance of preserving our world, and sustaining our-

selves more regionally and locally. We really need to start thinking globally, and acting locally!

Julia Peckinpaugh

Transylvania University

VALUES

5

Making Family what you want it to be

As we‘ve traveled from village to village throughout Isaan, I have begun to feel insanely

guilty. We‘ve interviewed countless villagers on their daily lives, the struggles they face,

and who helps them through these difficult times. Their grown children, however, are al-

ways in Bangkok, working and sending money back to the families. In some cases even,

their children are away working and the villagers have to raise their grandchildren.

At my homestay during the

second unit about land issues,

my family consisted of a

mother, her two daughters,

one granddaughter, and one

great granddaughter. I was

blown away by the family set

up and the dynamic to it all.

There was a hierarchy presence

in the family, but overall, there

was such an overwhelming

sense of compassion that I had

never seen in a family before,

Thailand or elsewhere. When I

interviewed the matriarch and

her oldest daughter, I asked

what it was like to have to raise your children or grand-children's children. The matriarch‘s

response: ―I would do whatever I could to help my family.‖

Initially, I agree with that statement: do whatever you can to help your family. But then I

put myself in her shoes; if my hypothetical child asked me to raise his or her child, would I

do it? Am I able to ask my parents that for me? Why don‘t I consider family that reliant on

me or me that reliant on them? Is it bad? Is it unnatural? Then again, what is family?

I‘ve settled upon the idea that family is exactly what you make of the term; your biological

connections, your friends, hometowns, towns you love, your ethnicity‘s food, your favorite

ethnic food. There is the mentality you were raised with and the mentality you want for the

future or a combination of the two. The only real option, though, is what you make of it.

Michaela Larson

University of Connecticut

6

Voices Heard, not Heard

Marginalized communities are constantly being ignored and overlooked as having

a muted opinion in the government‘s eyes. This reoccurring issue had my atten-tion since the first village home-stay back in Unit 1. The government rules in fa-vor of large-scale projects that strip away the sustenance of these rural villages,

and the villagers suffer to stay alive. Yet, it‘s the villagers that understand their environment better than their government. This is not just something I am wit-

nessing here in Thailand, but it happens at home as well. Communities are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their land and their rights when their govern-ment comes in and takes everything they have worked for away from them. The

government claims to be for the people working to better society improving the livelihoods of their citizens, but I have observed, since being here in Thailand,

quite the opposite. I have met numerous villagers and NGOs fighting in various issues through Northeast Thailand, and it seems to be the same conflict through-out all of them.

I come from a privileged background where I have had access to a formal educa-tion that has informed me that I have a set of standard rights. I am aware that I

have the ability to challenge my government when I have been violated and I have a voice in policy-making that pertains to me. Things in Thailand operate in a very different way. Most rural communities are not familiar with their rights

and they are suffering as a result of the lack of education. This may be why I am consistently shocked every time I hear about another village‘s struggle against

their government. After learning about the complexities through which Thailand functions, it makes a little more sense that these issues exist and their solutions are harder to obtain. Yet, I still haven‘t come to terms with the fact that a com-

munity‘s culture, one very much rooted in their land, has no voice or participa-tion in decisions that reclaim their land. These marginalized voices can be seen

throughout all of northeast Thailand and it‘s a trend that is rooted in the Thai government.

The answer to these villagers‘ issues might seem obvious. The government

needs to recognize their citizens as legitimate beings with substantial opinions. In Thailand that solution comes with many more deep seeded cultural problems, which shows just how impenetrable their government is. Issues range from so-

cial hierarchies, a democratic monarchy, and a developing nation in transition. The problems that lie with marginalized villages are rooted in a much bigger pic-

ture that has overwhelmed me since my first encounter with one.

Cassie Schneider

University of Colorado at Boulder

RELATIOSHIPS

7

Engineering with a heart

After talking with engineers working for the RID and EGAT who design and maintain irrigation sys-

tems as well as dams that have destroyed the livelihood and culture of thousands of villagers

throughout Thailand, it was apparent that they never talked with the villagers or asked for advice

on their designs or ideas. One man said he was sad that the villagers were protesting outside of

his work because he had to move away from home for a new job and just wanted to go to

work. This is ironic because his job under EGAT is to help these villagers, the people of Thai-

land. Obviously the job description he read about had nothing to do with being knowledgeable of

the people his project was affecting. Why was there such a disconnect between the engineers de-

signing these technical developments and the people that they were supposed to be helping?

The flaws in the education of

engineers, as well as their role

in most companies, stands

out. Many engineers do not

have to have people skills and

are generally not educated in

the humanities. In most

schools, it is not required to

learn about people who have

been affected by failed engi-

neering development; rather,

the focus is aimed towards un-

derstanding technical fail-

ures. but the focus is rather

the technical failures. It is

scary that the people building

huge development projects

have not studied the previous

effects that their projects have

on people on people for their

project, or who may not have

even talked to people who are

affected by what they are building. Technical innovations are supposed to be for people to help

people. Engineering has no context without first understanding humanities. How can someone

design something if they do not know how it will affect people? Solving an engineering problem is

mainly based on specs and requirements for power output, efficiency, overhead. Where are peo-

ple factored into this equation?

To engineer with a heart, the profession should not be solely based upon hard science and math,

but needs to incorporate humanities and incorporate a more holistic understanding of the effects

of technical development on people.

Anna Craver

Northeastern University

8

COMMUNITY Community

Community is a word that is constantly thrown around. In most conversations the word carries no true

meaning other than simply representing a group of people. Recently however, the idea of community

has become one that encompasses daily life in Isaan. Specifically, this is represented by the Rasi Salai

Learning Center in Srisaket Province Thailand, which is dedicated to preventing the loss of wetlands cul-

ture.

Community members at the Rasi Salai learning center have built a

meeting place for anyone interested in preserving wetlands culture

and protesting the future construction of dams along the Mun

River. Traditional fishing methods, foods, and crafts are all taught

at the center. These things represent traditional ways of life for vil-

lagers living near wetlands areas, and also highlight the potential

loss of cultural characteristics that bind the wetlands community to-

gether.

For the people of Isaan, community is something more than living

near each other. It is the idea of being united in a fight for liveli-

hoods, cultural traditions, and family. These beliefs were apparent at the Wetlands Festival where villag-

ers from up and down the Mun River came together to teach one another about important cultural tradi-

tions, share food, and dance. Historically Isaan villagers have had no voice in the centralized Bangkok

government. However, forming groups and collaborating with other communities has allowed them to

remain strong. These communities represent more than just a way of life; they are a way to survive.

Kristi Huckabone

George Washington University

The Slum Disconnect

I‘ve been considering a lot about urban slums, and what it means when we use the term slum. The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), which is responsible for monitoring slums around the world, defines two kinds of slums:

1. Slums of hope: ―Progressing‖ settlements characterized by new, usually self-built structures and usually illegal

inhabitants (i.e., squatters) and that are in, or have recently been through, a process of development, consolidation, and improvement

2. Slums of despair: ―Declining‖ neighborhoods, in which environmental conditions and domestic services are under-going a process of degeneration.

The Nong Wang slum community we visited during Unit 2 certainly would fit within these confines. Sure, it seemed many people were unemployed. And it also seemed that people lived in tight living conditions. But in asking four different people who lived there if they like the slum, they all responded separately with an offended, ―This isn‘t a

slum!‖ Later in an exchange with villagers, we learned why slum is not at all the proper term.

―We‘re a community,‖ said one villager. ―We care about each other, and we are close-knit.‖

This was interesting: the United Nations define slum in terms of financial, physical, and natural capital, while ―slum dwellers‖ define it only in social terms. This disconnect in understanding is symbolic of a much greater disconnect between large international development organizations and the people they‘re supposed to serve. When we visited dams in Unit 4, we saw even more clearly what happens when international organizations promote ―development‖

programs without understanding the people most affected by these schemes. It‘s these disconnects, I think, that will prevent us from reaching what some have called development with a heart.

If you don‘t take the time to understand people‘s circumstances, how could you ever know how to help

them? I wish international organizations would consider this question a little more deeply before funding

things like dams and national parks.

Dan Cohn, University of Rochester

9

Lessons of Community in Isaan

On the last day of our Unit Four trip, we met with Paw Somkiat, a leader and organizer for a vil-

lage affected by the Pak Mun Dam. Somkiat left us with a very important message about organiz-

ing that seems to be a common theme throughout our program. He emphasized how important it

was for people to work together when working on an issue, closing his argument by making an

interesting analogy. Somkiat said, ―With one finger we cannot hold a pen. With three fingers we

can write. With five, we can make a fist and fight.‖

Somkiat‘s words emphasize the

idea of strength in numbers

that we have seen in villages

since Unit One. In the past 2

months, we‘ve seen how the

most successful people are not

individuals, but those who have

formed the strongest communi-

ties. Many of the villages feel

like large families, into which

they graciously welcomed us

when we arrived. The situation

in rural Isaan is amazing and

devastating at the same time.

People that live, work, eat, and

drink with each other face de-

velopment schemes that drasti-

cally change their way of life,

often for the worse. Yet their

struggle is inspiring, and we have much to learn from their approach to their problems. Today it

seems as if many Americans have lost the sense of community that still runs strong among the

villagers. Instead of sharing with our neighbors, many people in our country barely even know the

people that live next to them.

We can take a valuable lesson from the people of Isaan, and once again look to the people around

us as a support system. I‘m still thinking about how community can once again become a crucial

part of American society, but I think it starts with changing our mindsets to rely on each other

instead of trying to resolve our issues individually. Communities are important not only for happi-

ness, but also in fighting for the issues that are important to us. The thought of my life after the

program is somewhat intimidating; we‘re learning so much and it can be overwhelming to think

about how to use what we have experienced. Yet Paw Somkiat reminded us that we have some-

thing unique coming out of this program: a group of 20 passionate young people. Although we

can‘t possibly act on every issue that we learn about here, we now have a support system for

whatever we chose to work on in the future.

Patricia Noto

Bates College

10

IN THE WORLD

Throughout our time in Thailand my peers and I are constantly reminded that Isaan is the

poorest region of Thailand. The government always has some plan of ‗helping‘ the unfortu-

nate people of Isaan. During our first unit we found that the government encouraged previ-

ously self-sustaining farmers to contract farm and use chemical fertilizers. Our second unit,

we learned that farmers were kicked off of their land so that tourist resorts could be built and

companies could come in to start eucalyptus plantations. This past week we focused on water

issues, with an emphasis on dams in Isaan. We learned that dams were built in Isaan to en-

courage economic growth. Specifically, they were built to increase irrigation and the produc-

tion of non-native jasmine rice for exporting. All of these actions created a poorer quality of

life for the Isaan people but potentially boosted the overall GDP of the country.

So the question that is in our mind is ―What does poor mean?‖ Is it defined by quality of life or

contribution to gross domestic product? On our homsestays we go to live with struggling

Isaan families. During these trips we are stuffed with great food and an overwhelming amount

of love. We are taken by the happiness of these communities and with admiration for the way

they organize to constantly improve their lives. Though different than our lives in America,

many of us consider this way of living to be rich.

After these trips my peers

and I come together and

reconsider our contribu-

tion to the problems of

these communities. The

sugar that our first unit

families grow is the same

that we eat when we are

using Nestlé products.

Thailand is the main ex-

porter of Eucalyptus,

meaning that the euca-

lyptus that invades the

homes of our second host

families will be in the

soap I buy when I go

home to America. And

when I eat Jasmine rice

with my family in Pakistan

I will think of my village

fishing family who now must live in the slums because a dam destroyed their livelihood and

home. It is during these meetings that we usually take a five minute break which I use to

walk down to 7-11 and buy some Hershey chocolate. Then someone usually brings up the

question, ―After living with these families and knowing what I know, if I do not take the per-

sonal responsibility to change my consumption habits, who will?‖

Sofia Norani

Beloit College

11

Finding my Effectiveness

After two and a half months in Thailand I‘m fi-

nally starting to adjust. I no longer stumble to

―wai‖ (bow) when introduced to individuals,

I‘ve started to become accustom to Thai grand-

mas doing whatever they want, and I‘ve

learned that timeliness simply do not exist in

this culture. Beyond understanding cultural

norms, I‘ve also begun to understand the po-

litical issues and complexities that plague

Northeast Thailand. If asked about the hot is-

sues surrounding agriculture, land, or water in

Thailand it would take a lot of restraint for me

to not talk for an hour straight. There is no de-

nying that Thai culture seems to be making

more and more sense every day; yet in so

many ways I still feel like an outsider.

This feeling of disconnect has reinvigorated my

urge to return home and work to fix US poli-

cies. In so many ways I am still very much an

outsider in this country and culture, and I can

very clearly see how this adds to my inability to

understand the best path towards creating

change in Thailand. Regardless of how much I

read about these issues and spend time living with the individuals fighting in these movements,

there is still so much I don‘t fully grasp. I think that the missing component is my inability to truly

put these issues in a social and historical Thai context. This is not to say that outsiders are com-

pletely ineffective, but I do believe that, for me, I can be more effective back in the US. I‘ve never

understood my own culture more than after being thrust into something so foreign and new. I am

loving my time here and I am really excited to return home and continue to support movements

for change that I can understand whole-heartedly. Although there are countless opportunities post

-college, I‘m feeling content knowing that I‘ve discovered where I can be most most effective in

creating social change. But it makes me wonder, did I have to travel halfway around the world to

confirm my passion in fighting for issues back home? Was this the only way to discover where I

am most effective in fighting for change?

Maddisen Domingo

Occidental College

12

Working with Communities

Throughout the past four units I have been questioning the power of the individual to ignite

change. I believe that every individual must take part in creating change, but sometimes the

outcome seems small or nonexistent. I wonder if my actions have had any effect, but through

the semester I have found that they do. In the third unit we worked on a collaborative report in

different communities. I worked in Baw Kaew protest community. Our goal was to aid the com-

munity in the development of a seed bank. The seed bank is used to store indigenous seeds from

the region. It preserves seeds so they will not get lost in the GMO seed wave. It also allows

farmers from different communities to share seeds. With only about 5 villagers, 2 NGOs, and my

CIEE group, we were set to make a seed bank. Baw

Kaew needed my group to do research. They wanted us

to research seed banks in the international context,

learn more about the best management system, re-

search a storing system and collect seeds from villages

that we continue to visit in the future. If I were working

for a seed bank project in the U.S., I would most likely

be doing small tasks, but here I have the power to

make this a reality. Working on the community level

with other individuals inspires me to challenge my per-

sonal responsibilities in my own communities.

Lindsay Friedman

University of Colorado at Boulder

EXCHANGING

What’s Justice?

Throughout our unit trips we visit village communities who have been struggling to retain their

culture and their rights. We have repeatedly heard stories where injustices are committed against

the people. In the land unit, I learned about the government arresting villagers for trespassing or

for ―global warming‖ when villagers thought they were farming on land they have had for genera-

tions. In this past water unit, we learned how the government built large scale dams for develop-

ment. These dams took away the livelihoods and culture of the people who survived by the river‘s

resources. The government never provided adequate compensation.

We have exchanged with some government offices to understand their perspective. Frequently

their explanation shows the stark disconnect between the government and the villagers. Policies

either do not make sense or they are not carried out to protect or help the people. They are often

motivated by monetary gains.

Learning about these cases has helped me come to a better definition of what is injustice. Injus-

tices are cases that cannot be rationalized nor logically explained. In Thailand, I have learned

about many injustices, such as situations where the government acts against the people, causing

harmful effects that make little sense. When I cannot rationally understand why a government is

acting the way it is, it makes me empathize more with the people or cause. By understanding

what is unjust, I can become a better advocate for issues that I believe are important.

Jennifer Schwarz

University of Maryland

13

A Connection to Home: International NGOs in Rural Thailand

I have always thought that I wanted to work with an international NGO in some capacity. In the

past month, I started questioning this ideology for the first time. During the last two units, I have

seen the importance of grass root Thai networks, such as the Alternative Agricultural Network and

the Thai Land Reform Network, in empowering villagers to fight for their human rights. Since this

empowerment came from such a grass-roots level, with everyone in the organization dedicated

and involved in the issues, I started to question how an international NGO could truly help Thai

villagers. The international NGO‘s I have experience working with provide funding to developing

countries. But after seeing the importance of networking and the importance of empowering peo-

ple to fight for their rights, I‘m wondering whether it is effective to simply provide funding from

abroad? How do you know where that money is really going and if it is really helping to empower

and enact change? How do international NGO‘s know how to help people when culture, language

and government structures are strikingly different in every country?

Unexpectedly, I gained an under-

standing of international non-profits

in a way that hit close to home while

on or our Community Consultation

Unit trip. For this unit, I went to Baw

Kaew, a protest village in rural

Northeast Thailand. When I asked

P‘Promot, an NGO working with Baw

Kaew, if he had any relationships

with international NGOs, he an-

swered that they had a connection

with one international NGO called

AJWS that is helping Baw Kaew be-

come more sustainable. I immedi-

ately thought of American Jewish

World Service, an NGO I have been

in connection with in the past. But

no, could it be? Could AJWS, headquartered in Washington DC, actually have connected with this

small rural village of Baw Kaew?

After the interview, I spoke with P‘Promot about what AJWS stood for. Sure enough, P‘Promot

sounded out ―American Judist Vorld Serdice‖. Sure enough, AJWS provides Baw Kaew with the

funding of staff and educational activities and also helps connect Baw Kaew with other interna-

tional communities working towards sustainability. Needless to say, I am ecstatic than an interna-

tional NGO I am familiar with not only sought out, but is helping such a hardworking and inspira-

tional community like Baw Kaew. I am now starting to see the important balance of the collabora-

tion between international funding and networks with a grassroots movement. This collaboration

empowers people and enables the success of a movement like Baw Kaew.

Lena Morrison

Brandeis University

14

CULTURE

Watanatahm

Culture. We have been throwing this word around a lot these past few months,

and often pin development against culture. After all what have we seen unit after

unit? For Unit 1 (Food), the Green Revolution is responsible for destroying indigenous

farming techniques; for Unit 2 (Land), the Thailand's Royal Forestry Department has

for decades promoted logging and the plantations of cash crops, displacing countless

forest communities; for Unit 3 a forest community was battling the installation of a

copper mine which would have innumerable repercussions; and for Unit 4 (Water)

we've examined how Thailand's large-scale development projects as the dams have

had debilitating consequences for the livelihoods of thousands of rural communities.

In whatever roundabout way, the development we‘ve studied is pinned against de-

stroying communities' livelihoods. I'm sure many of us would agree that development

should be about improving the general well being of society. What a paradox.

Regardless, there is some effect that development has on one's way of life or culture.

And at nearly every exchange we have had with communities, we ask the same ques-

tion: Why is it important to preserve your culture? Despite some slight variation, time

and time again the answer alludes to the youth and the future.

Recently I've considered the preservation of culture in the United States. The US is a

country that prides itself upon the melting of cultures, but in all this "melting" of cul-

tures what exactly are we preserving for our youth?

Take me for example, I am a first generation immigrant. My parents are both from

India and I will admit that in the past I have been completely complacent about un-

derstanding Indian traditions and customs. So what do I have to teach my kids and

their kids in the future about their heritage? --Not much.

Does it matter though? In this ever globalizing and developing world what role does

culture have when technologies replace old ways of communicating, eating, and liv-

ing?

It makes sense that my priorities don't lie in learning about my culture and heritage,

but rather, they lie in being successful in this society. What's most ironic though is

how now we spend so much time trying to understanding why rural villagers want to

preserve their culture and don't spend enough time considering that our ever-

changing culture is at the epicenter of development and globalization?

I don't know these answers; these are just some thoughts. But I think once I get

home I'll be much more interested in learning more from my parents about my heri-

tage.

Meghana Anugu

University of Rochester

15

Is it ok to sacrifice culture?

During our most recent unit about water we learned about the effects of dams on the local

people of Isaan. We learned how the government did not disclose the entirety of their plans

to build the dams. We learned that the dams are not generating nearly as much electricity

as the government claimed they would. We learned how hundreds and thousands of villagers

were displaced from their homes as dams caused the river to flood their lands. We learned

how the government does not provide adequate compensation to the villagers who were dis-

placed by the dam and villagers are losing their local knowledge and traditions that revolved

around the river. After witnessing all of these injustices, it was easy to say that dams have

caused nothing but problems for the people living nearby and they should be decommis-

sioned. While this may be true for in the particular cases that I experienced, it made me

think of the larger picture of dams and development.

What if these dams did produce as much electricity as the government claimed they would?

What if it was enough electricity to power all of Thailand? What if the dams provided enough

irrigated water to help farmers all over the Isaan region? What if the government gave the

villagers adequate compensation for their land and provided them with enough training to be

able to start lives elsewhere? If all of these things happened, would building dams be ac-

ceptable?

These questions plagued me for days while on the unit trip. Even if the government did eve-

rything in a more acceptable way, there is still the issue of the loss of culture. People will

still lose their local wisdom and traditions despite being adequately compensated, but is that

reasonable if thousands of others are reaping the benefits of electricity and water? Cultures

are always changing in this globalized world, so it is acceptable if one more changes, right?

That is when I realized that there is a difference between a culture naturally changing and a

culture being changed. New technologies influence cultures all the time, people choose to

indulge these technologies, and consequently, culture then changes. That is the natural

flow. When an outside force enters and changes the culture for a specific society, it is not a

natural change. Even if the government successfully accomplished all of those things I men-

tioned previously, people‘s culture would change without their consent. Forced cultural

change is not acceptable. Thus, until the government can figure out a way for people to keep

their culture and local knowledge when dams are built, they need to figure out another way

to generate electricity.

Meghann Venus

Case Western Reserve University

16

DEVELOPMENT

Local Wisdom as Wealth?

A youth committee held a New Years festival at the Rasi Salai Learning Center, which was

built to share local wisdom threatened by negative effects of Rasi Salai dam. The festival

brought people together from many communities throughout the Issan province. Unsure of

what there would be to discover, I roamed past a giant truck selling entire watermelons for

$2, stacks of hand woven sticky rice baskets and homemade Tiger Balm, hesitating momen-

tarily to watch a group of men make fishing nets, when she caught my eye.

It was a yai, a grandmother, dancing

intricately around the wooden stump she

used to hold up the ceramic pots and

dishes she was crafting on the spot.

Smothered in earth and age, her wilted

hands slipped intuitively along the

mound of river bottom; the ease and

focus with which she worked revealed an

intimate history between the two.

The afternoon slid by as this women‘s

process of creation absorbed me com-

pletely. She was accompanied by six

other women also dressed in patoons

and brightly designed cotton shirts, who

helped each other as they worked. The

clay they used came from the river her

husband had fished in earlier that morn-

ing. She explained to me that things

she was making would be used for ‗nam

prik‘ and ‗som tom’, staples in the tradi-

tional Isaan diet.

Baking in the heat of that day, I won-

dered what poverty looks like for a com-

munity colored in a vibrant, even rich, network of social ties, traditions, wisdom and history. If

community is infused with social and cultural abundance yet has little money, are they still

impoverished?

Cassie Peabody

University of Michigan

17

The Blame Game

How is one to blame a single institution when so many of these institutions are under even bigger

institutions?

The intricacy and complications within

power structures came to light in our

4th unit regarding dams and water is-

sues.

We met with two governmental institu-

tions, both the Royal Irrigation Depart-

ment and Electricity and Generating

Authority of Thailand (EGAT), which

shed light on just how centralized the

Thai government really is. It was my

first inclination to vilify and blame the

people we met with for the many ills

they inflicted upon the communities we

grew so close to. Because of their

―good intentioned‖ dam projects, to

supply irrigation and hydropower to

people downstream, they caused wet-

lands, essential to the livelihoods of

multiple villages, to flood. Additionally, they drastically disrupted fish and wildlife ecosystems.

However, once meeting with the individuals at their offices, it became clear that these were peo-

ple who work beneath a complex hierarchy of high powers. These individuals do not participate in,

nor are they in control of, making these harmful decisions. Much of their presentations were long

winded, regarding the positive implantation's their companies are making. They explained all the

additional projects they participate in, from fulfilling a need for renewable energy, to compensa-

tion for affected communities, to working on projects that reverse some of the negative effects of

the structures they built. EGAT also spent a long time explaining all the environmental awareness

they are involved with, how many camps and educational programs they fund, and how one of

their goals is to strongly encourage self-sustainability. When asked about their relationship with

the protesters who block the entrance to EGAT, one of the representatives explained that EGAT

provides them with water and electricity and is trying to act as a mediator between them and the

higher government. However, one admitted that he understood where they were coming from,

justifying this statement by stating his wish to simply go to and from work comfortably. This per-

sonified the representative, helping me understand that he is just a person trying to fulfill his

―job‖. He actually has good intentions at heart, however clouded they may seem.

The conclusion to play the blame game is one I still have yet to reach. I now realize it‘s not as

simple as blaming a single company or person, or fighting against a single entity. Especially within

Thailand, creating and instilling change is labyrinthine and confusing. Working from the bottom up

and utilizing grassroots organization seems to be a slow method, but remains the best way to

navigate the condensed hierarchical institutions. The power of networks and well managed organi-

zations are ways to breach these webs of oppressive ladders, and the overall constructs of sys-

tems are what should be analyzed, criticized, and then targeted.

Lyric Rafn-Stoffer

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

18

Just Some Questions I have thought a lot about rivers since the beginning of the water unit. I swam in the Mekong. Does that mean I have touched Laos, since the river borders the Laotian shore? I swam in the Mun River. Has the mud under my fingernails been touched by water from China? How many places have I gone to without knowing it now? Has the water soaking my shirt touched a child in its bath? Has it caressed the last remaining fish in a species that can no longer exist because of the dam? The Mekong and the Mun aren‘t just rivers, they are whole, complex stories. And now I‘m a char-acter in that story too. It‘s hard to piece the story together though. I spent five days by the river, and I perhaps have only seen one chapter, or maybe just an opening line. It‘s easy for me to completely side with the villagers‘ per-spectives from Rasi Salai and Hua Na. Their river, their source of livelihood, was taken away from them, and now they struggle to maintain a steady income and retain their culture. Yet, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, or EGAT, insists that the Pak Mun Dam provides necessary irrigation to villagers who could not support themselves without it. And the Royal Irrigation Department insists that the irriga-tion at Rasi Salai will help with the farming of Jasmine rice, a crop promoted for exporting, which requires consider amounts of chemical fertilizers and has negative effects on the ecology of the soil. It‘s hard to identify the true antagonist in this story. Is it the government? Is it RID? Or EGAT? Is it the dam, the booming life-eater itself? Is it the World Bank? Or the WTO? Is it myself? And my desires for a nice computer and fashion-able clothes and a $200,000 education? When did development become out of control? Was it the industrial agriculture promoted during the Green Revolution, which caused the Thai government to push Jasmine rice, which requires more water to grow than other local seed varieties, and thus eventually lead to the creation of a dam? Was it colonization? Or something that precedes even that? How could we have pushed something like development, which has such a profound effect on people, in such an inefficient and unsustainable way? The answers are as elusive as the river itself. I could never fully understand the river-story in its entirety. There are too many characters, too many settings, too many rises and falls, and no de-nouement. To try and wrap everything into a neat children‘s book is futile. The only thing I can do is to stir things up. To walk out into those rivers and let my feet mix with the mud, let the water fly high up into the air and then fall on my face as I continue to splash with joy. Because these issues are so complex, and the only way I can even begin is to dive head first, wholly willing to get dirty and soaked, to search nearly blindly underwater, working towards that small beam of sunlight which hits the surface.

Mirah Sand Simon‘s Rock College of Bard

REFLECTIONS

19

What is Poverty?

Throughout our last unit on water, I‘ve been asking myself the question: what is poverty? How is

an impoverished person defined for myself, my culture, the world? Because of our homestays I

have come to realize that the people of Isaan, the northeast region of Thailand, have not always

been ―poor.‖ They are rich in the preservation of a traditional way of life based on farming, fish-

ing, leisure, religion, celebrations, and strong family ties. In our modern society, the feeling of liv-

ing close to the land and relying on its resources is a unique characteristic that the Isaan people

retain in the face of a globalized and changing world. Instead, what seems to make them poor is

poverty as defined by a capitalist economy, an economy that relies on monetary exchanges and

the flux of currency markets. The large-scale construction projects, such as dams, that flood their

lands and destroy their way of life, are funded by international institutions such as the World

Bank. It are these development schemes, an export-driven economy, and urban migration to par-

ticipate in the financial world, that are making the Isaan people impoverished. And in most cases,

the development Thailand pursues at the expense of its people is modeled after my own country

of America.

Because of the inherent connection between

America‘s economic strategies and their ef-

fects on countries of the Global South such as

Thailand, I have been wondering about pov-

erty in my own life. As defined by the capital-

ist economy, I am not poor. In fact, my fam-

ily is middle class, and compared to the aver-

age Thai household, incredibly well-off. But I

also consider the thousands of years the

Isaan people survived in their region without

money, without goods from around the globe.

The other day, a student asked, ―What do I

have if money has no value?‖ I tried making

a list of skills that could help me survive in a

world where I cannot buy my food, my medical treatment, my education. After realizing the parts

of my list that involve purchases, such as biking, cooking, writing, a piece of property my parents

own, I whittled it down to a more concise grouping. If money has no value, then I have family,

community, the ability to learn, communication, and the gift of being temporarily able-bodied.

Unlike the Isaan people, I do not have the knowledge of the land I live on, the ability to farm it, or

the cultural traditions that will sustain my community. It reminds me that the Isaan people are

not poor, but rather I am. In the ways they were rich, I now feel impoverished. And I also feel the

potential to focus my life around the aspects that, to me, make a people truly rich, a wealth that

comes from close relationships and a life close to the land.

Austyn Gaffney

Transylvania University

20

Council on International Educational Exchange

David Streckfuss - Resident Director

dstreckfuss@yahoo.com

Arunee Sriruksa - Assistant Resident Director

aruneee@yahoo.com

Jintana Rattanakhemakorn - Language Director

jeabjin@yahoo.com

John Mark Belardo - Field Studies Coordinator

jm_belardo@gmail.com