THE ISAAN RECORD
From Isaan migrant worker to homeless life in the city [Video]
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Phaiwan Chala lost his job as a truck driver. When he couldn’t pay the rent for his room in Bangkok anymore, he became homeless.Keep watching ...
Isaan human rights defenders between fight or flight
Over 300 people gathered at Ubon Ratchathani University on Monday to discuss the state of human rights in the Northeast and the country.The 10th Annual Isaan Human Rights Festival gathered communities from across the region, activists, scholars, students, and foreign diplomats. Ambassador of Sweden, Staffan ...
On women and their role in Thai politics
When considering the role of women in environmental activism in Thailand, apart from their being energetic leaders, two things come to my mind.In confrontations with the police or military, women in the affected communities often stand at the frontlines. As they are seen as fragile, ...
No land, no fish: Mekong community in northeast Thailand struggles against a double-threat
Ubon Ratchathani locals in northeast Thailand are wondering why they are being prosecuted for farming on land passed on to them by their parents.“If I lost my land, I would want to die. I wouldn’t want to live,” said 50-year-old Rit Chansuk, his voice quivering ...
When the Mekong has no fish, and the land can’t grow
The government’s push to reclaim forest land from encroachers in Ubon Ratchathani’s Khong Chiam district has threatened members of two communities who now face arrest and eviction from their land. To make things worse, construction of Chinese dams in the upper Mekong River in the ...
How to solve Thailand’s local waste management crisis
After reading three Isaan Record articles published in November 2018 on air pollution and a waste water problem caused by the Warin Chamrap Municipality landfill and incinerator for infectious waste in Ubon Ratchathani, I can’t help but think that the state and local authorities have ...
China’s hunger for minerals stirs resistance in rural Thailand
The future of a Thai-Chinese potash mine planned in northeastern Thailand is mired in uncertainty as villagers are putting up fierce opposition, fueled by concerns about livelihood security, health, and the environment.After a protest group led by local women blocked access to drilling sites last ...
New study digs deep to shatter myths about Isaan
Persistently discounted as gullible, desperate, and unsophisticated, the 22 million inhabitants of Isaan–about a third of the country’s population–have long borne the brunt of bias from Thailand’s urban middle class.A new study by the Asia Foundation sets out to investigate if these biases hold any ...
