การตั้งถิ่นฐานสู่หมู่บ้านของผู้ลี้ภัยคะเรนนีและความสัมพันธ์แลกเปลี่ยน

Abstract

Ban Mai village in Mae Hong Son province of Thailand is located close to the Karenni refugee camps near the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Recently the number of Karenni refugees from Myanmar who have migrated from the refugee camps close to the village has been visibly increasing. The Karenni refugees are unable to find economically sustainable solutions within the camps. In order to get out of the livelihood hardships within the refugee camps and to build a better future, some of them have decided to seek a new way of life by settling outside the camps through various forms of exchange relations with the villagers. This thesis focuses on studying the exchange relations between Karenni refugees and Ban Mai villagers that resulted in Karenni refugees settling into Ban Mai village. The study has two main questions: 1. What is the form of exchange relations between Karenni refugees and Ban Mai villagers, and what is the social meaning of the exchange relations, and how have they met the needs of the Karenni refugees and the Ban Mai villagers? 2. How have the exchange relations led to the assemblage of Karenni refugees and villagers in the Ban Mai community, and also, what is the meaning of the Ban Mai community composed of Karenni refugees and villagers? In order to answer these questions, I utilized qualitative research methodology with the methods of in-depth interviews and participant observations. I collected data in the Ban Mai community for 6 months from April 2019 to October 2021.This thesis found that the exchange relations between Karenni refugees and villagers in Ban Mai took place in two main ways: 1. The economic exchanges that take place under the hope of personal benefit promote the economic development of the Ban Mai village. The economic benefits from these exchange relations is an important factor that has a decisive influence on the migration of Karenni refugees into the village. 2. The social exchanges that occur from the obligation of community members provide the Karenni refugees opportunities to connect with the villagers in the Ban Mai community while they participate and help with the village work. For these reasons, the exchange relations are such an important factor in demonstrating the potential of Karenni refugees in their own abilities to make a living by themselves. While the Karenni refugees may only be understood as those receiving assistance within camps, the Karenni refugees show their abilities as a people who give benefits and reciprocity in the village community. Meanwhile, the assemblage of Karenni refugees and Ban Mai villagers does not imply that they are one and the same. The Ban Mai community is made up of a diversity of people. It develops from the interactions of Karenni refugees with villagers through exchange relations that take place with the different desires of community members for their lives. Therefore, the Ban Mai community did not originate from a common identity, religion, and culture which emphasized the unification of its members. Rather, it happens from the assemblage as a strategy for solving the livelihood problems with the desire of individuals participating in reciprocal relations.