DIFFERENCE

THE CHILD OF A BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER.

For the last week Ive been really crook (as we say in Australia). Ive been by myself in another country, sick as a dog, with only a few friends and no solid plan on what Im doing here, but on the upside Ive had alot of time to think.

When I was at home in Australia I don’t think I really had any idea what terms like “emersing yourself in a culture” really meant. But Im pretty sure I cockily thought I did. Have you heard the saying “Eating your words”?

I grew up for the first six years of my life as an outsider/insider in another culture. I was born in a remote and semi-traditional Indigenous community in the desert/coast of South Australia and my brother and I were two of (I think) about five or so non-indigenous kids in the small Yalata community. I now see this experience as the gift it was. Then we moved to New Mexico for a year and my brother told me about how people didn’t want to know him at his school in Albuquerque because he was Australian.(A little white Star Wars nerd in an Indigenous American Community).

It’s a bit of a tired subject but the very use of “Foreigner” to describe people from other countries here is sometimes honestly confronting for me personally. I could be from Iceland not Australia and Id still have the same label. Its strange to be classified in this way and is an institution which is quite un-challengeable even in its inaccuracy. In reality all ethnic minorities are also foreigners but this would not be recognised any more than your average Australian would recognise the Queen of England as their Commonwealth Sovereign. So what is this difference about? It’s a complex question so please excuse my potentially offensive generalisations.

So poetically, here I find myself an outsider in another culture here in Thailand. There is quite a few Ferrung (foreigners) in the city Im living in, don’t get me wrong, but they are a little light on the ground in my village. In other words Im pretty sure Im the only single white girl living in a house by herself here in my village. In Australia it would probably be called a suburb.

I’m living in a Karen Village on the outskirts of Chiang Rai..  This Karen group are a people group who have (so my neighbour says) come here to Chiang Rai in the last 100 years. He says that the old man over the road knows all about the history of their village coming here from Burma. Maybe Ill try and chat/interview him at some stage. Sitting on my porch chatting with my Karen neighbour the other night he was very clear about his ethnicity in relation to other ethnic groups. This is where the term “Hilltribe” falls in a heap. Karen people see themselves as Karen people not necessarily as being lumped in with other distinct ethnicities even though there is tenuous connections. I guess in a similar way as an Australian I always find it strange to be called European even though Im of European decent of course.

The big thing I wanted to say with this blog post was that , difference seems to matter in an underlying way wherever you are in the world. I had no clue (and probably still don’t) what it is like for ethnic minority groups to live in Thailand and call it home. To make the distinction, ethnic minority people like the Karen (my village) are people groups who are not indigenous to this country. They have migrated here over many years and life is not necessarily easy for them here. The Karen are discriminated against in this country and in Burma yet they hold so much of the countries allure for tourists and travellers. This is the tragedy of their losses of culture.

So I came here and I didn’t realise what it would be like to be the odd one out and how obvious it would be in my village. How much ongoing personal pressure it puts on you to be unable to speak the language and just communicate on a basic level with your neighbours or people you meet for your basic needs. My Thai does get a little better everyday but its still totally inadequate. Its much more challenging for me than I thought. At home asking someone for a photograph is intimidating. Here , without sounding negative, it is excruciating.

So what am I learning? Im learning patience and planning and to be the at the healm of my own ship. Within your own culture its easier to decide on a path I think because you somewhat understand the variables. Here I need to be so clear of what I want and why, or else you just end up eating intestines because its what everyone else is doing. I don’t care what anyone says I think intestines are gross and unless there is no other option I aint eatin em.

I wonder what areas of their lives and cultures ethnic minority groups give up when they come to live in Thai society? I wonder in what ways they feel different? Perhaps I will ask some people how it feels to be different here. Would that interest any of you?

By the way I am in no way comparing my little trip to people migrating to this country but its these thoughts about place and difference that run through your head when everyone in your street calls you “the foreigner”.

I wonder what its like for people of distinctly different cultural background to arrive in my country. Is this how people feel? Imagine what it must be like with a declining exchange rate, no support and no networks. Without sounding preachy ,next time you see a Sudanese person at the bustop in Adelaide why not say Gyday?

Please comment on this blog and share your thoughts or experiences. I would love to connect over these issues.

Around 12.5 percent of the population of Chiang Rai province are ethnic minority people. They come from many ethnic groups such as Akha, Karen, Lahu, Mien, Lisu and Hmong. Also Chiang Rai supports people from Burma, China and Lao.