Mlabri village: Visit 3
In the morning, I walked out side of the guest house that we are staying at. The little, concrete alley way, referred to as a "soi" was quiet, calm. I knew that this was the quiet before the storm. A good storm, of busy activity for the day.
We had a meeting scheduled for 9 am with a guy named Man who I met the day before and his friend. I met him the day before. My back pack ripped and I was in need for a mend, so I went looking all over town. With attempts at Thai I was denied repairs and sent on a goose chase. Finally I walked by a store with a bunch of people stirring around, looking like they had some free time. The store looked like it specialized in many things, with Buddha figures, fabric, and other local necessities. I walked by the store and had a feeling to go inside. I don't see any sewing machines, but something inside me said "try". Enter I did, and was warmly welcomed. After struggling to communicate with some ladies, a Thai man said in perfect English (which is rare!) "can I help you"? I explained my need, which he communicated with his mother who was sitting at a desk. After a few words were exchanged, I was instructed to have a seat and relax, and my backpack was taken away. This is the case most times, never really sure what's going on due to the lack if communication, so we just have to flow.
The fellow who spoke clear English has been living in Seattle for 16 years; his name is Man. We had a chat about what we are doing here with the Mlabri hill tribe. He expressed concern as most Thai locals do when we talk about the marginalized hill tribe, with an air of hopelessness, also common.
Man became excited with the thought of his friend, a mans name that I cannot recall. He told me that his friend had been working with the hill tribes of the Nan province area, the state of Thailand that we are currently in. He told me that this man was self propelled, teaching and working with these people in need, completely out of his passion and love. He told me that he is the local expert on the hill tribe people, and that we should meet! I met his excitement with enthusiasm and asked if his friend would like to come along with us the next day to deliver a bunch of food the next day. He said he could not make it but would set up a meeting with his friend.
Enter the Jeddi: Later that day, Man called me and told me that his friend was able to meet at 9 am for coffee, but would not be able to come with us for the food drop. "Perfect! We leave at 10am to go to the tribe" I replied.
It all happened at once, as it does with situations charged with energy, love, and Jeddi's. Man and his friend were an hour late, a prime example of "Thai time". At the moment of his arrival, I looked down the soi and saw Jia, the government employee of the Provincial Office of Tribal Affairs that we've been working with, waiting for us. "Of course" I thought. "All at once". I instructed Jia to come meet with us. She had the driver park the truck and came to the table were we sat. Yut, another English speaker who works at a tourism office at the end of the soi, joined us as well. Yut has been really helpful with translation. Jia also speaks English, the best at her office. Her English is not complete, but she's able to hold conversations.
At the table we had an amazing meeting of the minds.
Aria and I
Jia, with Tribal Affairs
Her coworker, another Tribal Affairs employee
Yut, local guide and general awesome person of compassion
Man, who brought some cloths to date
Mans friend, the local Jeddi who's been working and living with the hill tribe people for years.
Everyone began to chat in Thai. There was a lot of acquainting to be done. I looked over at Aria, took a breath and relaxed. There was no understanding what was going on. Little bits were translated to keep us in the loop, but generally it was an exciting frenzy of people all interested in the same thing getting to know each other. I just basked in the energy of the moment and let it all flow.
After a cappuccino we loaded up into our trucks and headed off to make the days purchases. First stop was the ATM, where we withdrew the 500$ that converted to around 17,000 Thai Baht (34 baht per dollar, not the best conversion rate, seeing that the market is at 36. We lost around $30 with the lower conversion). Next stop was to purchase the large pan that the women of the tribe told Aria that they wanted to cook community meals. They had to go to the neighboring Hmong village to borrow a pot for large events. Now they have one of their own. The cost was 2,000 baht, or $55.
We then traveled to the rice dealer. We purchased 2 bags of conventional rice and 2 bags of sticky rice, the local favorite. Each bag weighed 50 kilograms, or 110 lbs each. That's 440 lbs of rice! Next we made various stops at fruit stands and purchased large amounts of oranges, rose apples, potatoes, and 20 kg (44 lbs) of pig meat, favorite of the Mlabri. We tried to find a live pig for them. Though we do not agree with meat eating, it's part of the Mlabri cultural identity to hunt and slaughter a pig. Hunting a pig is not possible for them right now, but the act of slaughtering a pig for them gives them a sense of identity. We still have some funds and are trying to locate a pig.
The total funds raised so far is $530 (17,952 Thai baht) and we have spent $288 (9820 Thai baht) so far leaving us with $242 (8228 Thai baht) left. We reopened donations till this Friday, due to the demand of people wanting to donate still! We hope to maybe use the money to set up a pig farm for them. We are not sure yet but are working with the Mlabri and tribal office to fun solutions!
We traveled through the deforested hills, passed through the local Hmong village, and came to the little Mlabri village named Huay Wyak, population 162 with 36 families. There are 5 Mlabri villages totaling only 362 people left in Thailand. The Hmong Is also a "hill tribe", but is very established in Thailand. They have cultivated the area into farm land. When this land was forest, it was the forest of the Mlabri. This is where they hunted, gathered, and lived with a freedom that they have no more.
Arrival to the village was similar to the past two visits. Quiet, with a few people around, slowly trickling in to see what the foreigners and local Thai tourist bring. We found one of the elders named Bla and his wife in their little hut. We had some converse through our translators about how they were living and their leaky roof. Aria went off with some women to talk with them, and I talked with Bla and some other men. The men explained to me that they missed the forest and the freedom they felt 10 plus years ago when they were hunter gatherer nomads. I asked him why he still wore a loin cloth under his shirt that draped over his thighs. He explained to me that is was comfortable and he could access his thighs to brush insects away. He like it. He was comfortable in it. He also told me about growing up in the forest, and how the area was full of plenty of wildlife and food. He spoke of elephants, monkeys, pigs, and tigers. I asked him if he ever saw a tiger. He replied "yes", and told me how he read the forest to see if tigers were present. He spoke of how he reached others about this and how it was important. Tigers would eat them. To think of the local bald hills thriving with this diversity was mind blowing.
Someone was sent to get the "chief" so that we could talk with the people and distribute the goods. The Mlabri are not a hierarchal tribe, and the "chief was appointed by the government because he learned the Thai language. The tribe functions as a community. If someone returns from hunting, then they share it with everyone. They all help each other. A concept we see deteriorating in our modern culture.
Gift giving is a common dynamic for this village. Often people do not work and rely on tourists to bring the something. A model not of empowerment but of poverty. Many local Thai people will visit the Mlabri and give them things, sometimes useless. Sometimes alcohol. As Native Americans were not used to alcohol, neither are the Mlabri.
The "chief" showed up. He had a hidden smile on his face. One of embarrassment with a touch of amusement. He is a very handsome man, and looks like his brother, who is the "Chief" of the other village we went to a week prior, the village called Huay Luu. Slowly the people gathered to the main hall that the government built. We all got together for a photo. The Thai woman named "When" who lives and works with the Mlabri people and is also the teacher at the school took the reigns. She had a list of the 36 families who live at the village, and some of the young mothers began to help her. We purchased plastic bags for distribution. We wanted to help with portioning but couldn't speak Thai. They just took control and divvied all the food up into 36 little piles. The two elder men sat and watched as the children and you women helped about.
We had just a moment where I spoke to the chief through a Thai translator and the chief spoke to the people in Mlabri. We told them that our friends and family in America wanted to help, and that we knew that this was a short term solution. We told them that we hope to find a long term solution to help them, one of empowerment. He spoke softly, shuffling his feet back as if to want to run away. I could feel that he rather be in the field working in the hot sun rather than talking to the people. He isn't a man who wants authority. He is a gentle man who's face shows love and hope. The Mlabri have had many people wanting to help, but they are wiry and don't trust anyone right off the start. They have to get to know someone first before they will trust and listen to them.
This all happened so fast and it was over. We were all observing each other; them us and us, them. Looking at each other as if we were from another planet. The Thai people are quite shy but nothing compared to the Mlabri. They are of a small statue, and crouch as they walk in front of you, as if your eyes had lasers and could penetrate them. Their bodies are different too. Not used to the bare earth and hot sun, but to the cool shade of the forest. They are small and have a little hunch, as if the design was made for them to navigate the twisted jungle with ease.
All said and done it was a fine day. A quiet day of giving and receiving. They received 1-2 weeks worth of rice and some other nutritious food, and we received the gift of experience. The experience of a beautiful culture that is on the brink of extinction. The experience of a tribe, that just 10 years ago was giving birth to babies in the forest with no medical attention what so ever. A tribe were people didn't know their age due to lack of calendars. A tribe that had no written language, for there was no use to write. Everything was passed down through the oral tradition. A tribe that wouldn't return to areas where past tribal members were buried for the belief of spirits haunting the area. A tribe that used to build lean twos out of banana leaves, and when they turned yellow, would move on. A tribe that watched as the wild animals faded, and the forest was stripped away for farming. This experience has no value. It is the experience most true, of life.