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http://www.aznet.net/~rmyers/index.html
Ron Myers <myers@rohan.sdsu.edu>
Chapter III
Exploring Catalysts for Socio-economic Change in Northeast Thailand:
Origins, Causes and Effects (The 1960s Onward)
Table of Contents -- Chapter III
Foreword : ......................................................................................................................................................1
PART I -- The Region and the People - Geographical Setting : .........................................................................3
PART II -- Regional Inequities Observed by Outsiders : ..................................................................................5
Communist Threats Force Government Action : ...............................................................................................6
Turning of the Tide : ........................................................................................................................................7
USAF Air Bases and Foreign Investment : .......................................................................................................8
US Forces in Thailand During the Vietnam War Period : ..................................................................................9
PART III -- Northeastern Improvement Programs and Foreign Aid : ...............................................................9
Various Rural Development Projects : ...........................................................................................................11
Road building and improvement programs : ...................................................................................................11
Health, Medical, Welfare and other Assistance Programs : ............................................................................12
Mobile Rural Development Units (MDU) : ....................................................................................................12
Development Projects : ................................................................................................................................13
The Thai Military's Role : ..............................................................................................................................14
Communications improvement programs : .....................................................................................................15
Agricultural Improvement Programs : ............................................................................................................16
Educational and Vocational Training Programs : ............................................................................................17
Expanding the Range of Government Services : ............................................................................................18
Localized Hydroelectric Power and Irrigation programs : ..............................................................................18
Thailand's Participation in the Mekong River Project : ...................................................................................19
Agricultural-based Localized Industry : .........................................................................................................20
Aid and Assistance -- Lagging Behind in the Northeast : ...............................................................................21
Development programs implemented in rural Isan : .......................................................................................22
PART IV -- Transition from rice farmer to waged employee : .......................................................................23
Migratory Work Patterns of the Northeastern Thai : .....................................................................................24
The Influx of Rural Northeasterners to Bangkok : .........................................................................................24
Imported Foreign Industry : .........................................................................................................................24
Regional Political Compass Swinging Towards The Northeast : ....................................................................24
Foreword :
Traditionally an area of limited job opportunity, the 1960s witnessed
the dawning of a period which would bring needed economic change and
new-found freedom for the Isan people of rural Northeast Thailand. It
held the prospects for them to improve their low standard of living
and eventually their place in Thai society. Once considered helplessly
ignorant, inferior and an embarrassment to their fellow countrymen because
of their lowly station in Thai society, the advent of the Vietnam War
(the early 1960s) brought with it an era of transition and socio-economic
change and unique opportunity for the people of Thailand's Isan region.
This was the beginning of a long journey for the heretofore impoverished
peoples of rural Northeast Thailand from their subsistence-level agricultural
roots into achieving what would later develop into the emerging mainstay
labor force of the country. However, it would take at least three decades
before the Isan would experience any real measure of national awareness
or recognition.
Ironically, the Vietnam War, for all the suffering and turmoil it inflicted
on the people of the Indo-Chinese region (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia),
brought about good for the rural inhabitants of Thailand's Isan region.
Namely, it was the catalyst that triggered a series of events which
would subsequently open a door of opportunity for the residents of Isan
to better their circumstances inasmuch as it brought USAF forward bombing
bases situated around the area, which in turn provided fair-paying jobs
for the first time. (SEE MAP)
Numbering roughly one third of Thailand's total population, approximately
ten to twelve million during the 1960s to Thailand's thirty-five million
at the time, the people of the Isan region would later develop into
the country's prime labor source as they arose from their modest origins
to gain a place of acceptance in Thai society.
Notwithstanding, the Isan are beginning to experience new national consciousness
as they quietly arise from their poverty-stricken status to gain a place
of acceptance in Thai society as the emerging industrial labor class
of the country; as well as becoming a newly emerging and formidable
political voting block to be catered to and reckoned with as democracy
gains a greater foothold in the land.
Once the groundwork was laid, the ongoing process was due primarily
to the efforts of Northeastern Thai people to better themselves, not
necessarily through external causes. However, various external factors
combined in a synergistic fashion to provide a suitable hothouse environment
by which the incubation process could take place that would bring the
Isan people to a place of personal initiative and desire for move forward.
This chapter will endeavor to explore the various events, circumstances
and conditions, along with their origins, causes and affects that started
one of the biggest on-going peasant movements in Thai history.
The following events have been major factors that contributed in the
development process, either directly or indirectly, by assuming a supportive
role as the Northeastern Thai people reached inside themselves to find
courage and strength enough to face their circumstances, seize the opportunities
at hand, and set out in the journey improve their less-fortunate condition.
PART I -- The Region and the People - Geographical Setting
The Northeastern Thai Region is positioned along the borders of Laos
and Cambodia. It is located in the geographic area known as the Korat
Plateau, which derives its name from the ancient Khmer settlement of
Korat, the predecessor of the provincial capital city, Nakorn Ratchasima,
located approximately 130 miles northeast of Bangkok.
Isan is the largest and most populous region in the country, comprising
approximately one-third of the nation's entire population. It occupies
an area land mass of 62,000 square miles, roughly one-third of the country's
total area size. [1]
Comprising nineteen provinces by the year 2000, living conditions in
Isan had been neglected and bypassed by the central government for many
decades through regional favoritism and cronyism. Because of this, the
Northeast was extremely poor and under-developed in comparison with
Thailand's other regions, North, Central and South.
So deplorable were conditions in Thailand's Isan region that government
officials considered that to be assigned to the Northeast signified
the end of their careers, as if they were being reprimanded or discarded,
like being sent to Siberia.
Agriculturally, depending on the area, the land is typically low-lying
and flood-prone and often difficult to cultivate and maintain -- its
semi-fertile soil being of a high acidity rate and nutrient-depleted
from over-use and under-replenishment. Often suffering from unpredictable
floods during the rainy season, the dry season in November through January
brings clouds of dust that blanket the landscape. (fn?) Much of Isan's
lowlands and lower valley slopes are impractical for wet-rice and other
forms of agriculture and remain unused much of the year due to rainy-season
flooding. Thus, only a small area of the land is actually cultivated
or utilized. [2]
The word Mae Nam Kong (or its shortened form Mekong) means "Mother
of Waters" in the Thai, Isan and Lao languages. The Mekong starts
in Tibet and empties into the South China
[1] Area Handbook for Thailand. Frederica M. Bunge,
ed. & Robert Reiehart ed. al. 5th edition, Washington: G.P.O. For
foreign area studies, The American University. February, 1981, pp. 3-47.
[2] Area Handbook for Thailand, op. cit., pp. 3-47
Sea, twenty-eight hundred miles later. As it wends its way, it forms
the northeastern Thai-Lao border for a distance of approximately six-hundred
miles. In doing so, the Mekong serves as the main watershed for the
entire Northeastern (or Korat Plateau) region, its inland tributaries
such as the Moon, Chi, Song Khram and Seka Rivers draining into the
Mekong River. (SEE MAP)
The climate in the Northeast is noticeably distinct from other regions
of the country. This is partly because of the mountain ranges keep the
southwest monsoons away. However, the Northeast still receives much
rainfall from the many thunder storms that originate in the area from
the South China Sea.
The amount of rainfall varies from section to section; therefore, agriculture
is unpredictable. The region is hot and dry in the summer, but cold
northeasterly winds from Siberia and China chill the area during the
cold season. [3]
Among the crops normally planted in Isan are: glutinous (sticky) wet-land
rice and regular rice, the main crop of the area, sugar cane, cassava
root (tapioca), tobacco, cotton, watermelons and other various locally-consumed
items. Northeastern Thai farmers also raise domesticated animals such
as water buffalo, oxen, pigs, chickens and sometimes ducks. [4]
PART II -- Regional Inequities Observed by Outsiders
One visitor to the Northeastern region who observed some key disparities
between the Northeast and other regions of Thailand that are concern
the central government was Edward W. Mill. He wrote in 1970:
. . . One of the chief subjects of concern for the Thai government in
recent years has been the economic and social disparities between the
different regions of the country. The Northeastern region, traditionally
an area of less economic opportunity, has received special focus. Where
the per capita income for the central region is around $240 annually,
for the Northeast it is only $70. Soil and water conditions, poor communications,
and lack of adequate roads have contributed to this picture. [5]
Along with these inequities, Mill also pointed out other areas of concern
and corresponding development programs, saying that:
. . . the government has organized a vast array of programs designed
to help the region. A comprehensive regional development plan, known
as the National Economic Development Board (NEBD), has been worked out
to coordinate efforts and achieve goals
[3] Thailand, CIA World Fact Book Publications, <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/th.html>
[4] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan Development
and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
[5] Edward W. Mill, "Thailand Looks to the Future," Le Democrate
(Bangkok, March 23, 1970).
in this area. Working with the support of the United States Operations
Mission (USOM), the Thai government is carrying out significant programs
in rural development, road-building, communications improvements, and
education, as well as expanding the range of government services for
the Northeast. . . . Two years ago (1968) much of this governmental
activity seemed to be largely on the paper. Today, there is concrete
evidence of increasing accomplishment . . . long talks with community
development workers operating at the grass-roots levels, revealed a
new sense of confidence and dedication to the tasks at hand. [6]
Concerning the association between the national economy and national
defense, Mill went on to say that:
... Whatever the speculation may be, the Thai government is taking steps
to be ready for almost any emergency ... It seeks to link together economic
and military measures for national defense, with emphasis on the former
(economic stability). [7]
Communist Threats Force Government Action
At the time of Mill's article, communist subversion was on the rise
throughout remote impoverished regions of Isan, Thailand's northeastern
region.
One can only speculate as to the underlying reasons for the Thai Government's
sudden heightened interest in initiating development programs throughout
the country's Northeastern region. It appears, however, that the motivation
was more for national security purposes in the face of Communist subversion
-- based on economic disparity -- than for concern over the rural people's
welfare. Nonetheless, despite whatever the underlying motivational factors
involved, various programs were initiated as follows:
As previously mentioned, the first communist-related activity in Thailand
appears to have occurred in the late 1920s with a visit by Ho Chi Minh
to the emigrant Vietnamese of Thailand's Northeast region.
By World War II, because of political phobia, anyone suspected of opposing
the Thai Central Government found themselves marked and branded. Some
popular Northeastern Thai politicians were arrested, charged with plotting
a communist separatist movement, and were later killed "while attempting
to escape" from Thai authorities. This action further aggravated
Isan's feelings of alienation from the central government.
[6] Mill, op. cit., p. 2.
[7] Ibid., p. 4.
Later, in the 1950s, continued repression of Northeastern political
leaders opened and opportunity for the fledgling Communist Party of
Thailand (CPT) to extend its support base further into remote Isan villages.
Meanwhile, the prevailing government policy was to dismiss Northeast
Thailand as an agriculturally poor, economically depressed area about
which little could (or need) be done to improve their lot. Successive
governments poured the nation's resources into developing Bangkok and
other "more promising" areas, such as the south, abandoning
the backward and impoverished people of Isan to fend for themselves
as best they could.
Turning of the Tide
Ironically, political events beyond the Thai government's control concerning
one of Thailand's archrivals, Vietnam, would soon change all this, namely
the advent of the Vietnam or Indo-Chin conflict. This forced the central
government into urgent rural development programs in a concentrated
effort to court the Isan people being tempted and wooed by Communist
subversive activity back into the fold.
This is an archetypical example of the Thai government's normal modus
operandi when faced with external treats and situations where its own
citizens had suffered neglect. Throughout recent history, upon the occasion
of national threats, the Thai government, in typical non-confrontational
fashion, initiated policies of appeasement, compromise and deal-making
with whoever appeared to be the greatest threat or held the most power
at the time. This often included launching modernization programs to
gratify and appease internal dissent. (fn?)
For example, in the 1850s, when Burma and Malaysia were occupied by
the British and Indochina by the French, being faced the threat of foreign
domination, King Mongkut (Rama IV), while making diplomatic gestures
towards Siam's potential colonizers, also launched conciliatory internal
modernization efforts in an attempt to appease and squelch any potential
internal discontent, up to that time deemed unnecessary. Mongkut was
credited with political prowess and internal modernization efforts,
but the question poses itself, would he have been so quick to affect
internal change if there was no potential external threat forcing the
issue. A century later, the onset of WWII found Siamese authorities
accommodating Japanese occupational forces, and even 'declaring war'
on the US and Allied Forces, hoping to appeal to the Japanese for lenient
treatment.
USAF Air Bases and Foreign Investment
Beginning in the 1960s, when the government began to face Communism
as posing a genuine threat to their borders and internal stability,
Thailand made a compromising arrangement with the United States. The
US was engaged in a build-up of forces in the Southeast Asian arena
aimed halting North Vietnamese Communist aggression towards South Vietnam.
In conjunction with US containment efforts, Thailand allowed the US
to establish USAF bases in strategic areas spread throughout Isan, namely
in Korat, Nakon Panom, Udon, Ubon provinces. (SEE MAP)(fn?)
In exchange for permission to set up air bases in Thailand's northeastern
region, the US guaranteed the independence of Thailand and increased
its level of military assistance. This arrangement was mutually beneficial
in that it enabled the US to attack enemy targets only minutes away
from Thailand. The presence of these USAF bases afforded numerous positive
benefits to Thailand and Isan, including considerable modernization
of the transportation and communication infrastructure in the Isan area,
all at the expense of the US.
US Forces in Thailand During the Vietnam War Period
With the advent of the Vietnam War and the resultant US presence in
Northeast Thailand, thousands of jobs were created within the five air
bases spread throughout the northeastern region. Even though these were
mostly low-skill labor jobs, they were a godsend for the Isan people.
(more on this subject later) (fn?)
Along with the benefits brought to Thailand by the United States servicemen,
there was also problems. Some complained of the negative conduct of
many of the GI's; however, most merchants in adjacent cities and communities
appreciated the Vietnam war days because of the economic boost it brought.
In early 1969 when troop withdrawals began, there were approximately
50,000 American servicemen stationed in Thailand: 36,000 in the Air
Force, 12,000 in the Army, and 1,000 military advisors. The bases were
eventually closed down by 1975 at the close of the War. [8]
PART III -- Northeastern Improvement Programs and Foreign Aid
The first major Thai government improvement programs specifically designed
for Northeast came during 1961-1962 when the government proclaimed a
five-year plan for the development of the region with the following
objectives: [9]
1. improve water control and supply
2. improve means of the transport and communication
3. assist villages in increasing production and marketing
4. provide an environment for regional industrial development and provide
rural electrification
5. encourage private industrial and commercial development
6. promote community development, educational facilities, and public
health programs at the local level. [10]
[8] The New York Times, October 1, 1969, p. 1.
[9] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan Development
and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
This five-year development plan, although not the first effort of the
Thai government to deal with the problems of the Northeast, was the
first government-sponsored plan designed and implemented specifically
for the Isan region and not part of some larger national development
scheme.(fn?) When the plan was first made public, the government announced
that it would be spending about $300,000,000 (???) over the next five
years (1962 through 1966). The money to finance such a large undertaking
was to come, in large part, from United States aid grants. [11]
After the five-year development plan was first published in 1961, a
Northeastern committee in the National Economic Development Board of
the Prime Minister's office was given charge of supervising, coordinating,
and carrying out research in the Northeast region in order to coordinate
the plan with existing conditions.
Unfortunately, the implementation of the Thai government's rural aid
program was divided between a number of bureaucratic agencies, departments,
and ministries. Program coordination was the responsibility of the Ministry
of National Development and the Prime Minister's Office. The United
States Operations Mission to Thailand (USOM, a part of USAID) devoted
a large share of its resources to assist the various Thai governmental
agencies working on the Northeastern development plans.
Various Rural Development Projects
Road building and improvement programs:
Doubtless one of the greatest boons to overall Northeastern development
was the US-built Tanon Mitraphap or system of Friendship Highways that
dissected the region. Many of these routes were heretofore semi-improved
gravel roadways linking province and district centers that were replaced
by heavy-duty blacktop two-lane highways constructed by US Construction
Battalion engineers. They formed a vital overland supply link between
the Satahip Bay deep-water Naval port at the southeast tip of the Gulf
of Thailand and the various USAF forward bombing and fighter reconnaissance
bases scattered throughout the Northeast Region. (SEE MAP)
The Friendship Highway system, both trunk-line and branches, continues
to be the main commercial transportation route in and out of the Northeast,
linking it with Bangkok and neighboring regions. It has been maintained
and upgraded to four-lane along many heavily traveled or strategic sections.
[10] Thailand, Committee on Development of the Northeast
(Bangkok: The Planning Office, National Economic Development Board,
Office of the Prime Minister, 1961), pp. 1-2.
[11] The New York Times, April 14, 1962.
Other lesser road building and surface improvement programs were initiated
by the Thai as a means of promoting rural development, economic, communication,
and internal security reasons. Since Communist subversion tactics and
activities depended heavily on lack of roads into remote and isolated
regions, these road building programs promoted government allegiance
and confound the Communist's game plan. This interdiction measure also
helped to make it easier deter further communist infiltration. Networks
of new roads were constructed to interlink isolated villages with main
highways. These road systems provided easier travel and ready access
to Bangkok, where rural dwellers would eventually wend their way to
seek employment and better paying jobs. [12]
Health, Medical, Welfare and other Assistance Programs
Along with the advent of better roads came expanded public health programs
into Isan's hinter lands, along with welfare and educational efforts.
To get the program off the ground, provincial officials were given greater
autonomy and authority to coordinate and execute strategies to bring
rural development activities down to a self-help level. They were also
provided with additional staff as well as equipment funds for the Northeast
rural development efforts. One of the means incorporated to enable these
programs was the Mobile Rural Development Units or MDU. [13]
Mobile Rural Development Units (MDU)
The Mobile Rural Development program was established to meet immediate
village needs through programs in the fields of health, education, public
works and various forms of community development. [14]
These mobile medical teams, through the cooperation of ARD and staffed
by Thai medical personnel, treated about one million persons in the
Northeast. The United States assisted the rural health training programs
financially, which graduated about 1,000 field workers each year. United
States assistance was also given to back family-oriented nutrition and
health programs, including promoting continued research and natal and
child-rearing guidance to four million women by 1970. [15]
[12] The importance of this will be seen later as rural
Northeasterners flood to Bangkok in cyclic migratory patterns to find
work.
[13] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan
Development and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
[14] Daniel Wit, Thailand: Another Vietnam? (New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1968), pp. 175-185
[15] USIS/USOM Liason Office, U.S. Assistance to Thailand's Development
and Security, April 1968.
Development Projects
The Thai government began exploring more ways to help develop the Northeast
and to better secure the region against the Communist threat, a menace
that threatened not only the Northeast, but the nation as a whole. Among
other things, the Accelerated Rural Development Program (ARD) was instituted
in 1964 to help deter and prevent this for happening. The primary objectives
of the ARD plan for the Northeast were:
1. 1. Improve the quality of life and raise living standards
2. 2. Mobilize the people to action by encouraging self-motivation and
personal enterprise
3. 3. Increase local-area income at a prescribed rate of growth
4. 4. Strengthen allegiances with Bangkok (central government) and the
rest of the country as a whole
5. 5. Utilize natural resources in the process
The program's main concentration was in six of the most needy of the
then sixteen Northeast provinces of central Isan, a part of the Lower
Mekong Basin area. (SEE MAP) Considering the expansive inroads communism
had made at the time into the various rural villages and districts,
these were important and necessary goals.
According to the ARD program, the Thai and American governments would
cooperate in making funds, personnel, and equipment available for the
initiation and completion of various projects designed to bring tangible
improvement to the areas.
Provincial governors were empowered to make decisions, allocate funds,
and to demand results. This was in accordance with the expressed wishes
of the local rural Northeasterners and in cooperation with the other
regional and local officials. Consequently, the ARD program was relatively
free from the central bureaucracy. [16]
That being said, many bureaucratic officials involved in the programs
were not without personal bias and favoritism. Many showed more a perfunctory
interest than actual concern for the people. This demeanor was exhibited
on the provincial and district levels by officials who were more committed
to the betterment of their own careers than the betterment of the plight
of the locals.
[16] Daniel Wit, Thailand: Another Vietnam? (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968), pp. 175-185.
Also, because of regional favoritism, which had continually plagued
the central government, ARD did not do as well as expected to equalize
the inequities between the regions and improve the quality of life of
the rural Northeasterner as was originally hoped. [17]
One other major problem facing government agencies involved in rural
development was financial aid and bureaucratic red-tape. In numerous
rural assistance projects, timing was an essential element. Due to red-tape,
it was hardly ever possible for a government agencies involved to provide
assistance, funds and services in time to meet the need. [18]
The Thai Military's Role
In addition to the Mobile Development Units, the Thai military was also
involved in the rural village-level development programs. These units,
composed of military personnel, doctors, government agents and an occasional
American observer or participant, went into villages in selected areas
and coupled medical treatment and economic development advice and examples
with information about the government's wishes for their well-being
and about the destructive objectives of Communism. These special units
were usually located in the most sensitive areas of the Northeast.
Communications improvement programs
In addition to the Mobile Rural Development Units, mobile information
teams and new radio stations, which emphasized the virtues of an independent
Thailand and the nature of the Communist threat. Buddhist monks helped
also by traveling from village to village teaching the villagers about
Buddhist doctrines and simple current events. [19]
By the early to mid 1970s, most villages were becoming aware of the
reality of Communist threats to their well-being, whereas before, many
showed a mere perfunctory concern, feeling they would be the same off,
no matter who was at the helm of the government. [20]
Most of the radio stations were owned by the various branches of the
Thai military. Radio was the media of choice for most villagers. Electricity
was slow in coming to most remote areas and every household owned at
least one or two inexpensive battery-powered portable AM radios. It
was their link to the outside world that they could enjoy from their
fields or their living room porches.
Each morning at 8:00 AM and evening at 5:00 PM, the Thai National Anthem
was aired. The official Thai national news was also relayed in twice
a day from Bangkok, morning and evening. This
[17] Daniel Wit, Thailand: Another Vietnam? (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968), pp. 175-185.
[18] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan
Development and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
[19] Daniel Wit, Thailand: Another Vietnam? (New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1968), pp. 175-185
[20] Personal interviews with rural villagers in Tha-U-Then district
of Nakhon Phanom province conducted by the author (1973-74).
was a favorite of all who wanted to keep abreast of current national
and international news events and economic forecasts. Whenever there
was a coup in Bangkok, the radio would
Besides the Thai national news, each province had its local "Paul
Harvey" who was adept at putting a countrified spin on special
interest stories and events, news and local issues, which caused the
locals and villagers to feel a sense of belonging. Besides these programs,
piped in Thai soap operas, affectionately dubbed "putrid plays"
by the Thai, filed in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon time slots.
Also, write-in music request shows where local DJs read letters over
the air and played requests, filled in the interim period and brought
a sense of inter-village and inter-district camaraderie.
Agricultural Improvement Programs
Thailand is divided into four major geographic regions: the Central,
North, South and Northeast. The main feature of the Northeast region
-- for the purposes we are concerned with here -- is a large plateau
which rises about 330 meters (1,000 feet) above the Central plains region.
This is called the Korat plateau and covers about one third of the country.
Droughts in the dry season and floods in the wet season are a normal
occurrence in many areas of the plateau, which are the underlying cause
of systemic abject poverty. [21]
Irrigation and flood control projects on the Mekong River and its Thai
regional tributaries have been incorporated in an attempt help to bring
a better quality of life and alleviate poverty due to poor agricultural
life in the region. To help accomplish this goal, agricultural extension
activities were also initiated which were designed to assist and enable
farmers to shift from subsistence level rice cultivation to other products
more suited to regional soil and water conditions. [22]
Educational and Vocational Training Programs
Edward W. Mill, during his visit to the Northeastern Thai region, also
observed some key educational disparities between the Northeast and
other regions of Thailand. He wrote in 1970:
Moreover, education [in the Northeast] has been only minimal. It has
been estimated that only 4.4% of the children of the high school age
[attend high] school; the majority of children spend not more than four
years in village schools. This economic and social imbalance has made
the region a prime target for Communist infiltration and propaganda.
[23]
[21] Area Handbook for Thailand. Frederica M. Bunge,
ed. & Robert Reiehart ed. al. 5th edition, Washington: G.P.O. For
foreign area studies, The American University. February, 1981, pp. 3-47.
[22] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan
Development and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
[23] Edward W. Mill, "Thailand Looks to the Future," Le Democrate
(Bangkok, March 23, 1970).
The Thais, along with their Isan counterparts, increasingly consider
education to be an important element in personal and development. Many
schools exist -- the rate of literacy being reported to be at about
seventy percent -- but the standards for education are not uniformly
high. Thus teacher training is perhaps one of the most important long-range
objectives of the education program in Thailand.
However, concerning the overall quality of education in Thailand's northeastern
region, socio-cultural anthropologist Charles F. Keyes made the observation
in his work Isan: Regionalism in Northeastern Thailand that Thai teachers
stationed in the district village with which he was associated in Maha
Salakhram province seemed to be far more interested in their own careers
and monetary advancement than in the welfare of the rural Isan children's
education who were in their charge. [24]
The government also reduced central control over local education to
encourage local school officials to exercise greater responsibility.
This was in recognition of the fact that educational principles in the
Northeast remained deeply rooted in traditional socio-cultural patterns
and that educational goals could be best realized when local people
are given the responsibility for themselves.
The government also started classes in some rural villages in which
local boys and girls who had already finished primary school received
three months training in vocational areas such as seamstresses or barbers.
The establishment of a university for the Northeast at Khon Kaen, "gate-way"
to the region, was symbolic of this recognition. It provided agricultural
and vocational education for qualified young people in the Northeast
and lessened the dependence of the Northeast on Bangkok for educational
training. Today, Khon Kaen University is a recognized leader in quality
higher education within the country and through its research programs,
is helping to provide a better way of life for all the people of the
Northeast. [25]
Expanding the Range of Government Services
Localized Hydroelectric Power and Irrigation programs
Thailand's National Economic Development Board produced the country's
first economic development plan during 1960. It was an extensive six-year
program for the period 1961-1966, to be implemented in two stages. Subsequently,
a second plan was created for the period 1967-1971.
The Thai government, again using American aid funds, began the construction
of irrigation and multi-purpose dams as part of the large international
scheme for the eventual harnessing of the power of the Mekong River
and its tributaries. This was a joint undertaking
[24] Charles F. Keyes, Isan: Regionalism in Northeastern
Thailand
[25] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid in Rural Isan
Development and Modernization in The 1990's, Rutgers University Press.
under the auspices of an association called the Mekong River Project,
of which Thailand was a member.
Two of the most important hydroelectric dams constructed in Northeast
Thailand at the time were (1) the multi-purpose Nam Pong Project in
Khon Kaen province -- expected to provide both water control and electrical
power for provinces of the region -- and (2) the Lam Pao Project in
Kalasin province.
On March 14, 1966, the King of Thailand opened the Nam-Pong dam project,
some fifty kilometers to the north of Khon Kaen. Electricity from the
power plant soon began supplying several provinces in the Northeast.
By the end of August 1968, the Nam Pong (renamed the Ubon Ratana Hydroelectric
Power Station) was supplying electricity to Vientiane and to the Nam-Ngum
dam-site in Laos. When the Nam-Ngum project in Laos was completed, Laos
returned the favor by supplying electricity back to Thailand. [26]
It was hoped that this plan would raise the living standards for the
Northeastern Thai by the mobilization and utilization of local natural
resources to help achieve an accelerated rate of economic growth. [27]
Thailand's Participation in the Mekong River Project
Later, the Mekong River Project was developed. The Project sought to
develop comprehensive water resources in the Lower Mekong Basin area
(including mainstream and tributaries) of SE Asia by converting its
water into electrical power through constructing hydroelectric generating
facilities. This along with other economic-related development undertakings,
were designed to benefit all the people of the Lower Mekong Basin, including
those of the Isan region.
A total of thirty-four Mekong River tributaries were surveyed. The first
of the Mekong Committee-sponsored tributary projects to be completed
was the Nam Phung in Sakon-Nakhon province of Northeast Thailand. It
was opened by the King of Thailand on November 14, 1965.
Work toward the objective covered a wide range of activities: definition
of the overall plan, investigation, construction, financing and management
of individual projects. It sought to catalog the many components which
make up the Mekong River Project. [28] The Mekong
[26] The New York Times, December 17, 1968, p. 2.
[27] Daniel Wit, Thailand: Another Vietnam? New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1968, pp. 175-185.
[28] United Nations Technical Assistance Mission, headed by Lt. General
Raymond Wheeler, Program of Studies and Investigations for Comprehensive
Development, Lower Mekong Basin (TAA/AFE/3, January 1968).
Committee was formed to overcome such problems inherent in international
river development. [29]
The Mekong River water development project benefited Thailand as a whole
as a member of the Mekong Committee and the Northeast in particular
with two dams completed in the Northeast Region. Thailand also benefited
from the construction of the first mainstream project spanning the banks
of the Mekong between Thailand and Laos.
Through these combined efforts, hydroelectric power generated by the
Nam-Ngum dam-site facilities in Laos is sent across the Mekong on multiple
sets of hi-tension lines, servicing the northeast region as well as
other parts of Thailand. (More about this subject later under Industry.)
Agricultural-based Localized Industry
Northeast Thailand, although slow to develop, has begun to take on more
localized industry, which first came in the form of agricultural-oriented
enterprises.
Agricultural production, being the population's major income, locally-owned
rice mills, are a predominant form of rural industry. Most of these
are small, diesel powered units that do custom milling. In the irrigated
parts of the provinces where rice is grown for market, larger mills
are fairly common. Most of these larger mills not only provide custom
milling but are local collection points for rice exporters located in
Bangkok. [30]
Cassava and sugar cane processing is becoming another important industry.
The large mills and processing centers slice and dry the cassava before
making the feed pellets as well as process sugar cane for shipment.
A whole range of secondary, light industry and commercial establishments
have grown out of these industries, which provide employment opportunities
and which contribute toward local economy.
Aid and Assistance -- Lagging Behind in the Northeast
A substantial disproportion of prosperity and access to basic government
development assistance programs exists in Thailand between urban and
rural and among the regions, with the Northeast being one of the poorest
and the least cared for of all other regions. [31], [32]
[29] For more details, see Mekong Committee, Annual
Report, 1965 (United Nations Document C/CN 11/714 (E/Cn.11/WRD/MKG/L.159),
March 1966); Article IV, Committee for the Coordination of Investigation
of the Lower Mekong Basin, Annual Report, 1967; a brief account of the
activities of the U.N. and the specialized agencies in Thailand, U.N.
Information Service at ECAFE (Bangkok, October 1968).
[30] ibid.
[31] The northern-most area of the Northern region is also listed as
being extremely poor in the A Comparative Study On Migration, Urbanization
and Development In Thailand, done by the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. United Nations Press, New
York. 1982. p.84.
[32] Figures taken from: A Comparative Study On Migration, Urbanization
and Development In Thailand, done by the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. United Nations Press, New
York. 1982. p.84.
The Northeast provinces were neglected by the central government for
many decades. [33] Nevertheless, the Thai Government, starting in the
sixties and seventies, began to inaugurate various health, education,
social welfare and economic-oriented rural development programs throughout
the Northeast provinces to help alleviate or at least lessen the poverty
level of the rural Northeasterner.
Ironically, according to data in A Comparative Study On Migration, Urbanization
And Development In Thailand, moneys spent per capita on rural government
assistant programs done in the Northeast during the 1970s averaged consistently
less than in all other regions of the country. [34] Nevertheless, government
assistance did increase throughout the period despite remaining lower
than in other areas of the country. [35]
Development programs implemented in rural Isan
While the above facts reveal that government aid to the Northeast was
less than in other regions of the country, many programs were The development
programs implemented in the rural Isan region included: the free distribution
of an Asian-style lavatory fixture for every household to promote more
healthful habits; agricultural and seed testing stations and fertilizer
distribution programs to help increase crop yield; irrigation and flood
control projects on the Mekong River to help to bring a better agricultural
life-style to the region; the Chon Pratan land irrigation projects to
route water to the needier areas or where it was requested; fish pond
and reservoir projects to promote new methods of income; the Isan Kiaw
or "Green Isan" agricultural and environmental projects; agricultural-coop
programs to help bypass the scalpers and provide a market outlet for
crops, produce and livestock at reasonable prices; government-sponsored
rice-purchase programs at current market rates; and most recently, capital
lending programs, to name a few.
The down side of most of these projects, although not entirely without
merit, was that they failed to produce the intended results. This was
due to a variety of reasons, including: being incapacitated because
of bribery, nepotism and corruption; stalled because of bureaucratic
red tape; misuse and dishonesty on the part of the recipients and the
officials in charge of distribution; and old belief-systems, methodologies
and life-styles practiced by the rural people of Isan that are hard
to eradicate. (Northeasterners are among the last to change ancient
hand-me-down mind-sets for new concepts and ideas.)
[33] Char Karnchanapee, Thai Politics and Foreign Aid
in Rural Isan development and Modernization in 1990's, Rutgers University
Press.
[34] Figures taken from: A Comparative Study On Migration, Urbanization
and Development In Thailand, done by the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. United Nations Press, New
York. 1982. table 48. p.81.
[35] Figures taken from: A Comparative Study On Migration, Urbanization
and Development In Thailand, done by the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. United Nations Press, New
York. 1982. table 48. p.81.
PART IV -- Transition from rice farmer to waged employee:
The Isan people of Thailand's Northeast region -- previously living
off their family-owned rice paddies by hand year after year and living
out their lives under the influence of ancient belief-systems, folklore
and traditions passed down from generation to generation, often willfully
ignorant of the modern world that has grown up around them -- began
to undergo a gradual socio-economic metamorphosis in the late 1960s
and 1970s.
It increased momentum in the 1980s and 1990s as Thailand modernized
and turned from being a predominantly agrarian economy to an industrialized
and exporting economy. Living standards in the Isan region began to
rise as Northeasterners sought work to support their new-found wants,
tastes and accompanying lifestyles.
The introduction of US Air Force bases into the Northeast and the economic
boost it brought to the area was part of the catalyst that brought about
this change. It brought an influx of US dollars into the local economy,
new technology, modernized transportation, along with creating tens
of thousands of jobs in the process. After the USAF bases closed in
the mid-1970s, many Northeasterners migrated to Bangkok to seek work
to support their new-found life-styles.
This set in motion a snowballing dynamic to the point where, eventually,
the once economically-destitute rural Northeaster became Thailand's
working-class main-stay.
Migratory Work Patterns of the Northeastern Thai
The Influx of Rural Northeasterners to Bangkok
To alleviate their distressed circumstances, Isan people began traveling
to nearby cities and beyond to seek employment. Before traveling abroad
to seek employment became readily available and popularized, [36] Bangkok
was the ultimate place to go to seek work and the financial remuneration
it would bring to meet the needs back home. Consequently, a sizable
number (majority) of Bangkok's taxi drivers today are from the Northeastern
provinces, as well as most hired help, shop, factory and construction
workers, hail from the Northeast.
[36] A whole industry of overseas employment agencies
grew up around the need to supply low-cost labor to large corporations
in middle-eastern Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya,
Iraq, Iran, etc.), and later in Asian countries (Japan, Taiwan, Singapore,
Brunei) Many scandalous profit-raking tactics were utilized by less
than honest Thai middlemen in the rush to supply labor to these countries.
Fueled by greed, fraud and overcharging of the uninformed peasant class
workers ranked among the highest offenses committed. Many people lost
their family fields, which they had to put up for collateral, for the
"right" to go work abroad. Others lost their wives to unfaithfulness
during their long absences. Nevertheless, the majority made comparable
fortunes which they sent back home to build new, western-styled homes
or start "mom-and-pop" businesses in their locale.
Imported Foreign Industry
In recent years, the Board of Investment of Thailand, BOI, has made
a greater effort to de-localized foreign industry that gathered itself
around Bangkok and surrounding vicinities. Part of this included incentives
for foreign-owned industry to locate in the provinces. So far, a share
of these, including Seagate Computer Hard Drives, Adidas and Nike Sports
wear are among the more recognized names to move into the northeast,
thereby providing much-needed jobs and income.
Regional Political Compass Swinging Towards The Northeast
The rural Northeastern Thai people, heretofore fallen behind urban areas
in economic growth and modernization, are now also emerging as a political
force to be reckoned with. This is evidenced in a July 3, 1995 Associated
Press report from Bangkok, Thailand, which read:
"Thai opposition wins, forms coalition
A rural-based party narrowly defeated the ruling Democrats to win yesterday's
general election, and its leader forged a six-party coalition government,
news reports said. According to unofficial results, the Chart Thai (Thai
Nation Party) Party led by Banharn Silpa-archa won 92 seats, while Prime
Minister Chuan Leekpai's Democrat Party captured 87, the Bangkok Post
reported today.
Banharn is an old-style political deal-maker whose party is strong in
the rural central plains and the northeast. The Democrats' support has
traditionally come from the more prosperous, better-educated south.
About 90 percent of Thailand's voters live in the countryside, which
has fallen behind urban areas in economic growth and modernization."
[37]
[37] "Thai Opposition Wins, Forms Coalition,"
Bangkok Thailand, Associated Press, San Diego Union Tribune, Monday,
July 3, 1995 (Page A-22)
Chapter IV --
Migration to Arab (Opec) Countries (1970s)
By Ron Myers
Table of Contents
Cessation of the Vietnamese War 1
Initial Migration of Skilled Laborers to Middle East 2
Cessation of the Vietnamese War
After slowly regaining a degree of economic prosperity on a world scale
since World War II in the 1960s, the advent of the OPEC oil embargo
in 1973 brought it all to an abrupt halt, along with a new economic
crisis. [1]Although the increase in oil prices was difficult to bear
up under for industrialized nations and their citizens, it would prove
to be a godsend for the Northeastern Thai.
The in 1975 signaled the end of opportunity for employment for the Thai
nationals in the US Air Force bases in Northeast Thailand.All USAF bases
were closed, US personnel returned home by the end of the year, and
the bases turned over to the Thai military.Thousands of Thai laborers
were left unemployed.All that remained at each air base facility was
quickly confiscated by Thai Military leaders, who sold the whole lot
to business opportunists at 100% profit, who in turn dismantled and
trucked everything to Bangkok for resale.
Meanwhile, many American construction companies working in and around
Thailand's USAF bases suddenly found themselves with negated war-related
contracts.Nevertheless, as a result of massive investment programs by
newly-affluent Arab countries, these same companies were able to negotiate
handsome new contracts in the Middle East. [2]This created a need for
a quick labor source, of which they found a ready supply in all the
newly-unemployed Thai nationals (mostly from Isan) who had recently
been under their employ in Thailand.Most of these were skilled workers
who had worked at the various USAF bases around the Isan Region: Korat,
Nakon Panom,Ubon and Udorn, as well as in U-Tapaoand Thaikli on the
Gulf of Siam. [3]
Initial Migration of Skilled Laborers to Middle East
The initial migratory flow of skilled laborers from Thailand to the
Middle East was rather modest and began in the early 1970s before the
Vietnam War's end.Many Thai laborers had to be coaxed to the Middle
East by high incentives and attractive wages because of uncertainty
and apprehension, never before having left their home country.
Towards the end of the 1970s, the amount of Thai laborers in the Middle
East had risen considerably. Although living and working conditions
in the Middle East were harsh, wages were much higher than anything
remotely comparable in Thailand. Although living and working conditions
in the Middle East were harsh, wages were much higher than anything
available in Thailand. [4]
Although some considered the export of Thai labor to the Middle Eastern
OPEC nations in a somewhat negative light by maintaining that it created
a shortage, in actuality it served Thailand's best interests by providing
training and experience for Thai laborers, and by generating currency
to bolster Thailand's economy, earned and sent home by the Thai. [5]
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