‘We Still Exist’

The Social Suffering and Social Movement of Singkhon, the Siamese Diaspora Living on the Thai-Myanmar Border

Bibliographic Data

ID20487328
AuthorsPrapatsara Khorattana (0000-0002-0728-9877, Mahidol University Department of Society and Health, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities https://dx.doi.org/26685 Nakhon Pathom Thailand), Penchan Pradubmook Sherer (0000-0001-6887-9152, Mahidol University Department of Society and Health, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities https://dx.doi.org/26685 Nakhon Pathom Thailand)
Year2024
Volume17
Issue4
Pages333-353
Publication date2024-08-26
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiaspora Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0973-9572 • E-ISSN: 0976-3457
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/09763457-bja10119
OpenAlexW4404377060
LanguageEN
References cited5

This ethnographic study explores the life histories of 12 key informants of Siamese descent who were living in Myanmar but illegally fled into Thailand following civil unrest and thus became a diaspora in their motherland. The study was conducted from 2018 to 2022 in the Singkhon diaspora community of Ban Rai Krao village near the Thai-Myanmar border, in Prachuap Kiri Khan province, Thailand. It used the Critical Medical Anthropology ( CMA ) perspective, the concept of social suffering, and borderland anthropology to illustrate the traumatic experiences of the Singkhon and their participation in social movements for citizenship rights, land ownership and, particularly, public healthcare access. Although they have cooperated with Thai Nationality Reintegration Networks for decades, they have run into difficulties as a result of power relations within capitalism and bureaucratic delays. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic made it more difficult for those without ID cards to access government assistance and healthcare

Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Computer Science · Migration, Health and Trauma · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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