[New-imc] Online form: Proposed new IMC! ()

Sun Feb 22 10:40:01 PST 2004

Indy Media:

I mention some points regarding this proposed site.

1.
First off, the site is NOT restricted to hill tribe,
we only mention that this is the birth of the activism
work that we do, and that it started in the north,
worth mentioning, but in NO WAY restricts the site as
to what content can or should be on it.  The site is
intended to be for all issues in Thailand, and to
promote all people who live within the borders of
Thailand, to increase their activism and networking. 
Hill tribe culture is not the only culture or the
major culture in Thailand but it is by far one of the
most oppressed exploited group of people, logical
reason that out of all this despair an activism effort
would come.  As well, Burmese immigrants, legal and
illegal, expats, Thai women married to expats, Thai
women with children who have returned from marriages
overseas, prostitutes, farm chemical workers,
prisoners, damn protests, democracy protests, and a
host of other issues that dominate the news in
Thailand, all have need for a place for vigorous
discussion and protest not found elsewhere in
Thailand.  All in all they have several common
threads, one being a total lack of transparency in
Thailand.

2. 
Activism.  We are not located in the west, we are
located ON THE GROUND in an impoverished Akha village,
from which we work in some 300 such villages, battling
army, police, forestry and medical abuse against the
Akha people.  Our help is sought by others as well and
we are acutely aware of the issues in Thailand and
what all activists face. Last year better than 2200
people in Thailand, predominantly Thai people as
compared to "hill tribe" were gunned down by the
police without mercy. A website in itself we would
have no time for, it is ONLY useful as a tool of
activism to get the word out, connect people,
enlighten issues and gather solutions.

3. 
Currently there is little network in Thailand. There
is distinctly less network and opposition to
government policies than there was last year. It is
not surprising to not have more IN Thailand network.
Few people want to stand up and be counted in Thailand
when the payback is a bullet to the head or a hail of
gunfire, brutal murders which we have documented first
hand ourselves.  International NGO's are only useful
for getting MORE of the word out, not for doing
anyone's job for them in Thailand.  A forum in
Thailand is needed so that these grass roots networks
have encouragement and support for taking shape. 
Currently  networking in Thailand is woefully lacking.
 As well, there is extensive support for the Akha
people from the international community, to support
and back up their activism and there is no reason why
this would be any less true for all of Thailand.  When
it comes to justice and protest, there should be no
barriers to alliances. No foreign NGO can replace the
work on the ground. Neither can an Indy Media website
do what must be done on the ground, but that done, it
is an excellent means to share events, tactics,
network and reporting. In the end this will benefit
any and all groups in Thailand.

Indy Media Thailand does not currently exist, and
would benefit all groups in Thailand.

Matthew McDaniel

*********

I have a few initial concerns about this application.
We should talk to
them to figure out more and what path to take with
this.

First it seems to be looking at indymedia as a
primarily a website, and
not a form or organization for media activism. My
other concerns are 
that
the supporting groups are mostly internationals and
profesionalized
institutional NGO's.

Where indymedia has worked in the global south such as
argentina, 
brazil,
ecuador, and south africa it has been because there
were strong local 
lead
organizing and a lot of focus on doing work which is
not online. There
have been a number of conflicts related to the role of
first world 
NGO's
and indymedia in the global south.

This is not to say that something couldn't be done,
just that i think 
it's
important to address these issues as it related to
this application.

Another issue is that the name was asked for Thailand
Indymedia, but 
the
groups and issues seem to be focused in the north and
with the hill 
tribes
which are important but also not at the center of Thai
politics or
culture. Perhaps another name might work better which
focused more
precisely on the region and activists involved.

in solidarity,
evan

=====
The Akha Heritage Foundation.
http://www.akha.org Akha Heritage Site.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Akhaweeklyjournal
Discussion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akha
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PO Box 6073 Salem, OR. 97304 USA.

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