Shans donate Sala to HM King

S.H.A.N. humbly wishes His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej excellent health and happiness. 

5 December 2003

General

Shans donate Sala to HM King

An all-purpose community center worth $10,000 after completion by next year was donated in commemoration of the 77th birthday, 5 December, of HM King Bhumibhol Adulyadej by immigrant Shans in Thailand. 

"This is to express our sincere gratitude towards His Majesty for his compassion towards us," said Tengyun Phainang, headman of Piangluang, a village 3 km from the border in Chiangmai's Wianghaeng district. Though a Thai citizen, he was born of immigrant parents. 

Piangluang is the largest village in Wianghaeng, boasting more than half of its total population, 25,000 and composed of Shans most of whom had arrived following the establishment of a Shan resistance base by Sao Noi Saw Yanda in 1958. Next come the Chinese, who more than make up most of their inferiority in population by their superiority in prosperity. The rest include Lisaws, Palaungs and Thais most of the last category of whom are of Shan-descent.

The Shans, who hold Pink Cards (for displaced persons) and Blue Cards (for highlanders), are either former resistance fighters or their descendents. They had fought against communists as "undeclared" allies of Thailand, but with the end of the Cold War and ensuing general indifference towards ideological differences, the crucial role that they had played in the past is largely forgotten. "Worse still", complained a former officer from Shan United Revolutionary Army, "we Shans are notorious as non-pushers. We think we've done a good turn, and in time our hosts will remember. But the world, not even just the Thais, is apt to forget if not reminded." 

According to a cabinet resolution on 29 August 2000, displaced persons are entitled to legal immigrant status as Aliens. 

Also according to the Thai Nationality Act BE 2508 (1965), any person born in the kingdom between 5 August 1965 and 25 February 1992 can obtain Thai nationality. 

The Bandoi community where the hall is located has 126 households composed of 761 adults and children. 

District_Officer.jpg: Adisorn Nanthachaiyaphan, District officer, at the opening ceremony of the Sala 77th year.

Youth_Organizers.jpg: Youth organizers of the construction project.