Sea Gypsies in Thailand

One of the groups in Thailand that lost the most in the tidal wave was the Monken also known as the ‘Sea Gypsies’. Sea Gypsies are an indigenous fishing people who have occupied the Andaman coasts of Thailand for centuries. They speak their own language and worship the ocean and Mother Nature. Traditionally, the Monken’s lived on boats during the dry season and emerge on land during the monsoon season. They survived on goods that they collected from the ocean such as fish spear shells, sea cucumbers, and lobsters. The Sea Gypsies have been affected greatly by the tsunami; they lost their houses, boats and belongings, as well as their civilizations. Despite the destruction of their homes there were only 42 tsunami casualties among the Moken communities. This is said to be because they knew the tsunami was coming due to their close relationship with the ocean.

More recently and especially after the tsunami the Monken people have been forced to live on land in villages which are poor and dirty. There are very few (roughly 500) Monken that still live on the ocean leading a nomadic life-style. The Monken face many problems with this shift into Thai civilization.

They are yet to be recognized as Thai citizens partly because of the dreadfully slow approval process and sometimes because of a nationalistic bias against them. In order to gain citizenship they have to prove that they were either born in Thailand or have been residents for at least 10 years. The lack of citizenship (for those who want it) has left thousands of Monken battling hunger, disease, and poverty alone without state help. They are also unable to own land if they are not citizens.

As the Monken ‘assimilate’ into the Thai culture they begin losing their own. Their way of life is changing but they are caught somewhere in the middle. Their livelihood is becoming an issue as governments are acquiring the Monken’s traditional hunting grounds in order to build resort developments and aquatic national parks. Besides fishing the majority of people in these communities have little employment opportunity nor information about viable jobs options. They are often seen as unsophisticated and unlawful drifters who need to be ‘assimilated’ into mainstream society. Moken people are now a marginalized group with little status or recognition in the community. The Monken have also been exploited in the mist of Thai civilization. The island elite and business owners pay the gypsies a pittance for their fish as well as their work on resorts and national parks. They also offer the Monkens high interest loans that they must take in order to buy their own boats.

The government tries to draw the Monken children into school, but almost 30 percent of children drop out of school after 6th grade (even though completion on 9th grade is mandatory) in order to help their parents’ fish. They face many problems in schools. As Monkens are seen as lower class many teacher and students discriminate against them making school life a hardship.