Lahu Women's Organization

The Lahu in Thailand

The Lahu are an ethnic minority population living in Southwest China, Laos, Burma, and Northern Thailand. An estimated 73,000 Lahu currently live in Thailand, primarily in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Song. Many Lahu live in isolated mountainous villages, impeding their access to basic healthcare and education services. In addition, the Lahu practice of slash and burn agriculture provides them with only a meager income, hardly enough to afford the bare essentials of life.

Lahu people in Burma have been the target of decades of violent persecution. Ethnic minorities such as the Lahu have suffered disproportionately under Burma's successive military governments. The socialist regime that came into power after the coup of 1962 violently suppressed ethnic opposition groups with imprisonment, rape, torture, and mass killings. Violence against the Lahu in Burma has only worsened with each successive government. Those who have managed to escape live in a state of limbo as stateless persons along the Thai-Burmese border. Without proper ID cards, Lahu are unable to access healthcare and education services in Thailand. As unregistered migrants , Lahu women and children are vulnerable to kidnapping and human trafficking. 

Traditional Lahu Garment Weaving

Lahu women have long been recognized as expert weavers. Adept at working on both traditional back strap and foot treadle looms, Lahu women hand-weave delicate patchwork trims and unusual embroidery work. Lahu weaving is unique in that the pattern appears on only one side of the cloth. Also, each Lahu tribe follows a distinct style of weaving. 

Region: Southeast Asia
Capital: Bangkok
Population: 65,068,149 (2007)
Size: Slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Independence: Thailand was never colonized. The country was founded in 1238. It is a constitutional monarchy-ruled by a king
Currency: Thai baht
Languages: Thai, English, ethnic and regional dialects

Adult Literacy Rate: 92.6% (2000)
Education: Education is mandatory for ages 6-14
Life Expectancy: Male 70.24 years; Female 74.98 years (2007)
Infant Mortality Rate: 18.85 deaths /1000 live births (2007)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rate: 1.5% (2003)
Poverty Rate: 10% live below the poverty line (2004)
People living on less that $2 a day: 25.2% (1990-2004)
People living on less that $1 a day: 2% (1990-2004)
Access to clean drinking water: 99% (2004)
Access to proper sanitation: 99% of population (2004)
Doctor to patient ratio: 37 doctors for every 100,000 people (1990-2004)
Country Comparison: Burma (also known as Myanmar)

Adult Literacy Rate: 89.9% (2004)
Primary school enrollment rate: 90% (2004)
Life Expectancy: 60.5 years (2007)
Infant Mortality Rate: 50.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2007)
Access to clean drinking water: 78% (2004)
Access to proper sanitation: 77% (2004)
Doctor to patient ratio: 36 doctors for every 100,000 people (1990-2004)

Total number of refugees who have fled Burma: 165,000 (2005)
Internally Displaced People in Burma: 540,000 (2005)

All statistics from CIA World Factbook 2007 Thailand and Burma & UNDP Human Development Report 2006 Thailand and and Burma

Thailand has drawn attention in recent years for its progress in tackling HIV and AIDS and working towards the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), reaching three of the goals ten years early. Since 1990, Thailand has halved the number of people living in poverty within its boarders from 27.2 percent in 1990 to 9.8 percent in 2002, raised literacy rates to over 90 percent, improved maternal health, and improved access to clean water and sanitation for many of its citizens.

The country's HIV and AIDS awareness program is lauded by the world. Taking aggressive measures to curb the rising epidemic, the government aired public service announcements on the radio every hour, included AIDS education in every school, and promoted condom use through both free distribution and education. The results were fast and clear-the prevalence rate dropped to 1.4 percent in 2005 from 1.8 percent in 2003 and more than two percent a decade earlier. This is one of the lowest prevalence rates in the developing world, and it serves as a model for other countries trying to achieve the same goal. Focus is now needed on treating and caring for all of those who are infected and in maintaining the low prevalence rate even as government funding for HIV and AIDS programs has dropped off.

One population, however, that has not seen the same benefits from progress, is the large number of Burmese refugees living in camps along the Thai-Burma border. Thailand took in over 277,000 refugees and asylum seekers at the end of 2001, almost all of which were from Burma. Another two or three million Burmese are estimated to live in Thailand as "illegal" or "economic" migrants.

Burma is controlled by an oppressive military regime that carries out human rights abuses and attacks on Burmese ethnic groups, including the Karen, Karenni, and Katchin people, many of whom have fled across the boarder into Thailand for safety. Thailand, however, has not yet signed the UN Refugee Convention, and so while refugees can often enter the country, those running from human rights abuses are not provided the same protections as those fleeing from fighting in their home countries. The Thai government does not allow refugees to leave the camps to obtain education or jobs, threatening to arrest and send them back to Burma if they do. This means that people who have lived in refugee camps for more than 20 years have no way to educate their children or make money to support their families.