Huey Pu Keang Village
Kayan woman weaving. Slideshow»
A Temporary Refuge
Huey Pu Keng Village, in the province of Mae Hon Son, is the temporary refuge of approximately 800 displaced Burmese refugees. For the Thai government and tourists, however, Huey Pu Keng is known by a different name: long neck village.
It is so called, because many of the women in the village wear about their necks a collection of brass rings. Extending from the clavicle to the chin, the rings elongate the necks far beyond what would naturally occur. Tourists from all over the world travel to the village to glimpse these exotic looking women.
In order to encourage the custom, the Thai government pays each woman a small stipend to wear the rings, and the women make a marginal income from selling their back strap weaving. Many in the younger generation desire a different way of life; they wish to remove their rings and earn money to support their families through other work. Yet there is currently no opportunity. And the men do not have any work at all. This is due to the extreme isolation of the village. To reach it, one must cross a river and follow a track leading to an unsurfaced road. At times during the rainy season, the river is impassable, and there are drownings.
Huey Pu Keng is a paradox. A tourist attraction. A village that was created by an invitation issued from the government. And a community with widespread depression and neglect, a place ravaged by malaria, separated by a hazardous river from essential supplies and medical care, in which the people feel helpless to enter into the stream of contemporary life.
Solutions
In collaboration with another NGO, Link Hands has begun to chip away at the helplessness and isolation. We have provided rice to feed seventeen desperate families for five months; mosquito nets for the community; and funding for malaria prevention training. In addition, we have committed to fund the establishment of a medical clinic and the first four years’ operating expenses.
Long-term solutions for these people will depend upon two factors: the emergence of homegrown community leaders and economic development. In order to cultivate the first, two members of the village have been entrusted with managing the grant money, executing the transactions for the rice and participating in the establishment of the clinic. Successfully accomplishing the second (economic development) will depend upon an inspired grassroots effort from donors.
Thirty two thousand dollars needs to be raised to build a road that will open up access to schools, supplies, and most significantly—service and commerce with other communities.