Tai Yai migration in the Thai-Burma border area : the settlement and assimilation process, 1962-1997

Abstract

To investigate the local context of Tai Yai migration from Burma into Mae Hong Son by studying how the transnational community is formed on the regional level. The year 1962-1997 were chosen as the time span for this study in order to focus in detail on the people generally categorized as Tai Yai refugees/displaced persons. Much attention is paid to the immigrants' interaction with local people, which is illustrated in their settlement and assimilation process. In order to see the phenomenon from the inclusive viewpoint, this study also covers the cause of the migration flow on the Burmese side, the response of the Thai government, and geographic, historical and demographic conditions of the receiving society, Mae Hong Son. In Mae Hong Son, despite their official title as refugees/displaced persons, the immigrants seem to be recognized by the members of the host society or by themselves in a different way than what outsiders would imagine so-called refugees/displaced persons. This is due to the peculiarity of the Tai Yai migration in Mae Hong Son that it has been constantly existed since the establishment of Mae Hong Son, and it has been based on the strong historical links with the Tai Yai community on the Burmese side. Utilizing the pre existing linkages with the receiving society, the immigrants build and reinforce the networks with the local villagers, and gradually become members of the Tai Yai community in Mae Hong Son. Active interaction between the immigrants and the local villagers could be observed during the course of the field research. This study reveals that the immigrants' settlement and assimilation process are strongly influenced by the history and peculiarity of the place in which the migration takes place. In Mae Hong Son, these conditions provide the immigrants with the networks as supporting systems and the sympathizers in the receiving society; thus the settlement and assimilation in the receiving society are carried out smoother than other cases. This induces the next flow of the immigrants, and maintains and characterizes the migration system in this area. It also becomes clear that the local villagers see and response to the influx of the immigrants from different perspective from those of the Thai government. So, further analysis of the migration phenomena in the local perspective is suggested.