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BP: Critics decry 'human zoo' of t
- Subject: BP: Critics decry 'human zoo' of t
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 00:40:00
April 6, 1998
TOURISM / EXOTIC ATTRACTION
Critics decry
'human zoo' of
tribeswomen
Thai entrepreneur 'holds them prisoner'
Critics called it a zoo, stocked not by animals but 32
long-necked "giraffe women" for tourists to gawk at and take
pictures.
Before a recent police raid, there had been charges the exotic
tribespeople on show were being held virtual prisoners by a Thai
entrepreneur who allegedly abducted them from neighbouring
Burma.
Adorning their necks with brass coils, the women of the Padaung
tribe have proved a major tourist attraction since they began
fleeing Burma more than a decade ago.
Custom prescribes that girls before puberty begin to wear coils
that are augmented until they weigh as much as five kilogrammes.
The coils force the chin upward while pressing down the collar
bones and ribs, elongating the neck.
Various origins of the custom are cited, ranging from protection
against tiger attacks to symbols of wealth and status. One myth
tells of a beautiful dragon with a long neck that was impregnated
by the wind to produce the first Padaung people.
Most of the Padaung are in three border camps in the
northwestern province of Mae Hong Son. An estimated 10,000
Thais and foreigners visit these camps each year, paying an
entrance fee that allows them to photograph and mingle with the
smiling, colourfully attired long-necked women and girls.
Economically it is a virtually perfect arrangement. Everyone gets
a cut - the once impoverished Padaung, Thai businessmen and
government tax collectors, even a rebel group that uses the
money to finance its war with the military regime in Burma.
While some critics have long decried the "human zoo" aspect,
long-necked tourism took a darker turn last year when news
reports said a Thai businessman had lured a Padaung group out
of Burma's Kayah state with promises of setting them up with
their kin in Mae Hong Son.
It was alleged that the businessman, Dhana Nakluang, deceived
the Padaung by bringing them instead to Tha Ton in Chiang Mai
province, hiring guards to prevent escape and mistreating those
who protested.
With Dhana facing charges, police raided the camp in February
and took the women to a social welfare centre.
Dhana denied he had forced them to stay at his Thanabamrungkit
Farm.
"I assure you that they have a happy life here. They look
healthier than when they first arrived, especially the children," he
said before the raid.
"Mae Hong Son provincial authorities are upset that I have some
Padaung here in Chiang Mai. They made up the story to
condemn me as they want to be the only province where
Padaung can be found," he charged.
Indeed, the long-necked women have become Mae Hong Son
province's unofficial symbol, a come-on for tourists to a region
where many other tribal groups now wear jeans and ride
motorcycles.
In Mae Hong Son, officials, guides and others like to call the
Padaung "our long-necks," like those living at the village of Nai
Soi astride the Burma border.
Ma Nang, a 43-year-old with 24 coils around her neck, says she
is perfectly happy at Nai Soi, earning a relatively good monthly
income of 3,000 baht. That involves selling handicrafts and her
take from entrance fees, 250 baht for each foreigner and a
cheaper "photographic fee" for Thais.
She and others interviewed said they aren't bothered by having
to strike poses when visitors point their cameras and
video-recorders.
"We had nothing in Burma. I had to work relentlessly in the rice
fields." said Ma Nang, who left Burmanine years ago. "We miss
our homes, but we don't want to go back."
Technically refugees, the Padaung at Mae Hong Son are better
off - thanks to their elongated necks - than tens of thousands of
other people who have fled Burma.
Nai Soi is under partial control of the Karenni National
Progressive Party, one of several ethnic minority groups fighting
Burma's military government from bases along the Thai border.
Aung Sun Myint, a spokesman for the group, said the party
needed money for its cause and to help refugees and those
displaced by brutal military campaigns inside Burma.
"We didn't want to get involved in this long-necked business. But
the situation demands it. We have no money," he said.
While the Padaung focus on day-to-day livelihood, outside
observers argue about exploitation and distortion of tradition.
Given their tourist potential, the Padaung in Thailand no longer
practice agriculture and the men are mostly idle.
Tourism has, at least for the time being, preserved a custom that
had begun to disappear as the Padaung came into contact with
the outside world.
Traditionally, only Padaung girls born on a Wednesday of a full
moon were destined to have their necks fitted with the coils, but
now other youngsters are enlisted to meet the tourist demand.
Only initial discomfort is reported after the coils are set and as
the distance from ear lobe to collar bone lengthens to as much as
25 centimetres (10 inches), more than double the average.
The only danger posed is if the coils are removed. Suffocation
could result since the neck muscles are so weak that they cannot
support the head.
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Last Modified: Mon, Apr 6, 1998