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Don't treat children as lab mice, warns monk 

Culture

A revered Thai Yai monk from a northern district in Chiangmai admonished Shans active in humanitarian assistance along the border yesterday that they should aim for the establishment of permanent schools for Shan children in exile rather than setting up short-term literacy courses. 

Rev. Jamroen Jarintho, abbot of a Shan temple in Fang District, Chiangmai province, said, "We should be aware of the danger of treating them like laboratory mice." 

He was referring to the literacy campaigns launched every summer (March-May) and Buddhist Lent (July-October) that are rated well below expectations and lacking continuity by both the local Shan people and their offspring. 

Fang, 160 km north of Chiangmai, reputed for its hundreds of fruit orchards, is also known for its hospitality to Shans whose cheap labor is at the core of its economic boom. At lest 80,000-100,000 illegals are estimated to be working in Fang and its neighboring districts, Mae Ai and Chaiprakarn. 

The abbot was one of the 50-participants of the 2-day Literature and Culture seminar held in Chiangmai, 15-16 July. 
"According to the new constitution of Thailand, each locality is expected and encouraged to preserve, teach and promote its literature, culture and traditions as long as this is not detrimental to the national security," said Ms. Saengrawi Muangdee, a participant from Mae Ai, a district 15 km further north of Fang. "The problem is that we need to develop our own curriculum and prepare our own textbooks. That is the reason for our being here." 

The seminar elected an 11-member supervisory board made up of prominent grassroots figures in the Shan cultural movement in the north: 

From the clerical sector are Rev. Inta Inthavaro, Chiangmai, Rev. Maha Visanu Katapunyo, Bangkok and Rev. Maha Yajin Thammatharo, Bangkok. 

From the lay sector are Prasert Pradit, Maehongson; Monthip Payakwong, Chiangrai; Sawang Khongsilp, Chiangmai, Saengruang Saeng-on, Chiangmai; Kaew Khamthoon, Chiangmai; Ms. Khongsaen Heng-on, Chiangmai; Ms. Harnfah Saeng-uthai, Chiangmai; and Ms. Saengmuay Panam, Chiangmai. 

N.B. Shans are known as Thaiyai in Thailand. Shan is a Burmese corruption of Siam, a name given to the Tai family, of which Shans, Thais and Laotians are members, by Mon-Khmers.