Discrimination against the Moken
Individual Documents
Description:
"For millennia, the Mu Ko Surin fishervolk have been fishing the Andaman Sea using traditional methods.
This small fishing community on a beach in the Ko Surin island group in Thailand belongs to the Moken tribe. For millennia, the Moken have been fishing the Andaman Sea, diving with spears down to depths of 40 meters. They have trained their lungs so that they can stay underwater for up to four minutes and even walk on the seabed. Years of diving without technical aids has sharpened their eyesight. The Moken used to live in their boats, moving from island to island and living mainly from catching fish and seafood, only staying on dry land during the monsoon season. But nowadays they live onshore all year round, because the Ko Surin National Park’s regulations forbid them to live at sea. So father Chao has turned his back on Moken tradition and moved to the mainland, whilst his son Nguei still tries to live according to it while he still can..."
Ulrike Bremer
Source/publisher:
Deutsche Welle (DW) Documentary
Date of publication:
2018-11-22
Date of entry/update:
2018-11-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"One of the few
remaining
hunter-gatherer
populations in Southeast
Asia, the Moken have
made the sea their home.
Foraging food from oceans
and forests, trading
fish and shells for other
necessities, and traveling
by boat across the waters
of southern Burma and
Thailand, the Moken have
maintained a self-sufficient,
nomadic way of life along
the Andaman coast for
hundreds of years. Approximately 3,000 Moken live around and on the 800
islands of the Mergui Archipelago along Burma?s southern
coast, while an estimated 800 Moken are currently
settled in Thailand.
The Moken have lived in this area since at least the 18th
century, though over time they have traversed the entire
Andaman Sea.2 Most Moken spend their daily lives
on small, covered wooden boats, called kabang. The
Moken?s hunter-gatherer lifestyle relies on men, women,
and children each playing roles in community subsistence,
taking only the resources they require for survival
and making minimal impact on the natural environment.
Usually catching enough for their consumption and trade,
Moken men use harpoons and, more recently, nets to
catch fish. Moken women and children collect crustaceans
and shells during low tide on beaches.3 When
trading goods with land-based communities, the Moken
usually work through middlemen operating in port towns
along the Andaman.4
The Moken face deepening poverty, marginalization, and
discrimination. Most are stateless, making them more
vulnerable to human rights abuses and depriving them
of access to other rights, including the medical care, education,
and employment opportunities that Thai and
Burmese nationals enjoy. Tightening immigration and
maritime conservation laws restrict the Mokens? freedom
of movement, threatening their traditional lifestyle.
In addition to government distrust and discrimination,
the Moken often face exploitation from land-based communities,
but are unable to seek redress through national
laws and policies. In recent years, more Moken have decided
to reside permanently in Thailand and Burma. Both
governments should act to protect and promote the Moken?s
basic rights, including taking steps to provide them
with citizenship..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Date of publication:
2015-06-25
Date of entry/update:
2015-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese and other stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh and India, Moken, Discrimination against the Moken
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.21 MB
Local URL:
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