The Karen tribe from Burma are refugees living in Northwest Thailand. The brass rings are a symbol of beauty that they wear around their neck, arms and legs. Beginning at age five, girls start wearing the brass rings around their neck, adding one every year.
Inside a traditional home the kitchen is the right, sleeping quarters in the back and living area in the entry.
Akha tribeswomen outside the Karen village.
While in Chiang Mai we had seen pictures of the Karen hill tribe that we could visit; we were looking forward to seeing these unusually decorated women in their village. The day of our visit we drove down a bumpy dirt road into a small narrow valley. Approaching the village we were perplexed by the presence of a ticket booth where we paid a high entrance fee ($16 USD); then entering the village there was a plethora of souvenir stalls and no men were present. We could feel an overall sense of unhappiness. We commented to our guide that we hoped the entrance fees were shared equally amongst the tribes people. During our hour visit about 70 more tourists came and went.
Two days later we were in Chiang Rai and went to the Hill Tribe Museum & Education Center to learn more about the six major hill tribes of Northern Thailand. We were horrified to learn that the "village" we had just been to was really a private for-profit business. The income goes to a Thai business man that has brought these Karen refugee families to live in a fake village to be photographed and on display for tourists. The women are paid $49 a month to be photographed, and each member of the tribe receives $5 for food. If they were still living in Burma the men would be working in rice fields where here they stay away from the eyes of tourists in their homes and tend to small vegetable gardens.
We felt that we had been fooled, guilty for promoting by our presence, and our hearts were heavy for the Karen families who are being taken advantage of. Although on the other side of the coin, in their country, Burma, the Karen hill tribes are being repressed and killed by the military government.
