Weerapong Kangwanawakul, often known as “Berm,” was raised in a big family. As the oldest sibling who carries the dreams of his younger siblings and family, he was expected at that age to follow a secure career route. He is not an engineer nor an architect, but agriculture and work are his definite passions, which help him to understand life, people, society, and the wider world.
Because of this, children, youth, ethnic minorities, and disadvantaged groups now have access to education in suitable ways. He is known to us all as a “Teacher across borders.” Along with this, he collaborates with the Thai, Myanmar, and Lao Border People Network to offer educational support to all students, regardless of ethnicity. He also makes wooden toys from natural materials to help enhance the capacity of the elderly.
Equity Talk with Weerapong Kangwanawakul, a director of research and public policy development at the Thai Media Fund and a teacher across borders, has worked with kids and young people for more than 20 years. As a result of the fact that children cannot grow on their own, he works on the belief that “A good society must be a society of people of all ages.” Even if those kids live in a vulnerable location, the environment, society, and family are crucial components that will give them strength, ability, and potential.
What does education entail for kids who live close to the Thai border?
It’s as though we assembled the garment piece by piece, removing only the arms, pockets, and body because we couldn’t see the entire shape of how it should be. People in Mae Sot or the state’s border regions will notice that ethnic youngsters, border residents, and people from nearby nations may experience difficulties. We frequently perceive them as being less than ourselves and as having issues. Why don’t we make the issue into a chance?
I also work in a school in Karen State, on the border of Phop Phra District, Tak Province. One youngster knew English, Burmese, Thai, and Karen, but we considered them to be Burmese border laborers and laborers. However, they do not use these advantages to create or advance commercial prospects in regions with international connections. It recognizes that they must have a problem rather than treating them as human resources. Nowadays, immigration smuggling is an issue. So, ask if the youngsters are well, they are good, but they can’t stay in the area because the area is unstable and unsafe. There are only wars and space invasions. It just puts no education in the system where they should get it. So, it has received specialized education from some DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army), and some KNU (The Karen National Union) troops. Or international organizations that work on borders have organized special education courses. Then send the children to the developing countries they want, like America, France, England, and Germany.
Tell us about your work with the elderly and your experience dealing with children and teenagers in border regions.
I’m a non-formal learner; I occasionally study and occasionally don’t. I entered graduate school at an advanced age. I won a UNICEF scholarship during the time I worked at the border and established the first vocational training program for at-risk children. Young children were lured into sex employment during the period, which was known as “Dek Tok Kheow” (Sexual exploitation of children) in human trafficking. Since 1995, I have worked in this profession.
I came to believe that children were good enough to be developed by us while working with UNICEF. They were youngsters who were adept at several things and dared to talk, think, and act. But if you inquire as to their strength, they were not. They were weak when real-life society hit them. We are unable to care for them indefinitely. But how can we offer them power, exactly? To determine if the kid is at risk, we thus consider the familial setting. They need to live. In 1997, while working concurrently with children and young adults, I also went outside to work with a group of elderly people.
The work on learning with children on the Thai border is difficult, but working with the elderly should be much more difficult.
The job we conduct with the elderly is considered to be the most challenging. However, we think that kids can’t develop on their own. For them to branch out, there must be components and a context. Therefore, we create a group of elderly individuals who hold the belief that society must consist of people of all ages. In those days, hardly one took the elderly seriously.
Why is it challenging to meet the needs of the elderly?
Due to the switch from analog to digital, it was occurring at the same time. It leaped at that moment with great speed. Nobody anticipates that people in their 70s and 80s would use cell phones. In the past, it was difficult for people to adjust since we never imagined that there would be a transcendence in the social framework. The individual who evolves will consequently have an influence on how families live together in Thai society. Our lives, ideas, and destiny of children at that time are all influenced by them since Thai culture is a big family, with parents and grandparents living together.
Therefore, we believe that it is tough to make it difficult for the most challenging individuals to comprehend and understand the changes and transitions of the new generation at that time (about 30–40 years old in this century). Consequently, we acquired a tool from the neighborhood, namely the wisdom of folk toys. It becomes Today’s “Playable Museum” by using it as a story to inspire advancement in other areas, including the environment, cohabitation, folklore, management science, and creative design.
On the other hand, I was somewhat young at the time, just 20 years old, and we were actively working to advance the Older Persons Act B.E. 2546. We made an effort to be as specific as feasible so that the working population at the time might understand that the issue of the elderly was unrelated to children. Even though we assumed ourselves to have been dealing with the future, that period presented many difficulties. Then, we consider the positive traits of Asians, like their strong sense of community, concern for one another, and shared customs. These settings are just as priceless as “privileges.” The government pays from the perspective that you are ill. We therefore think that the Older Persons Act must create a mechanism for the cohabitation of people of all ages in the area.
Ask whether it has arrived today or not. Everyone is mired in that right. Everyone should have a right to welfare exclusively in this way. But was it questioned if the neighborhood had any role to play in concretely promoting coexistence? It must be recognized as lesser. We concentrate on providing for the elderly population, yet we do very little, if any, action.
How much success do you want the Elderly Persons Act to have? And how can a positive social environment aid in children’s development?
At first, we considered delegating responsibility for the process of appraising, promoting, and supporting activities to the locals. However, all of them must involve participation from individuals of all ages; youngsters and adults should not be segregated. It prefers to isolate youngsters from the elderly, much like the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS). Although it ought to be combined, not separate, you’re still going to get into the specifics.
We think that improved welfare will result if the procedures engaged in the fields of people of all ages are connected. However, when the government shows there to examine benefits, it grants money and offers a variety of subsistence allowance. Additionally, it causes us to lose sight of the original cost that was worthwhile in terms of mutual care and support.
What are the obstacles and limitations of dealing with kids in vulnerable areas?
How to develop strength in youngsters is our challenge. As a result, we aim to provide a procedure for kids to learn through actual, first-hand experiences. The young person takes the internship seriously, doesn’t do it for three months, and then returns to criticize as though he has been doing it for a long time and was an expert. It could be visible at first. However, eventually, kids will start to listen and act in order to consolidate and organize their information in a more organized manner.
In the end, we believed that children had a wide range of options. However, they will retain the fundamental idea and belief that what they have created is integrated, not discrete. As a result, while the education system or basic learning system may not have to know everything or be proficient in everything, it must be aware of the fundamentals. You can jump down to that point if you delve deeply into something. We believe that the idea of growing up in border coexistence is primarily based on abilities that aim to be comprehended by youngsters.
The younger generation of border kids is unaware that the violence in Myanmar stops the nation from growing or experiencing conflicts. Or the Burmese people they grew up with; occasionally, they are unaware of the past. We often tell the younger generation that conflicts end with the fathers, but it is the present coexistence that we have to survive. A peaceful society results from new definitions and understandings. We think that these details might not be disclosed. It’s also common for parents to say things like, “I don’t want it; I don’t associate with Karen people,” which may be indicative of some bias. But we need to reconsider that it’s not; we need to work as a team.
What problems do children face as a result of misinformation and inappropriate educational practices?
They will undoubtedly experience strife, hatred, and bloodshed. And when kids encounter such things, they could develop into adults who do not help build a new community or possess an entrenched desire to sow hatred.
How much have the Thai government and its neighbors come in their understanding of border children’s learning dimensions?
The number of workers poses little of a threat. They comprehend the situation, know how to operate, and are sympathetic of this group of kids. In my opinion, there aren’t any issues at work in practice; the problem is that some of our laws are ambiguous. We are surrounded by several nations; therefore, there are no specific rules or laws for each location. There will be more background around the western border with Myanmar, the border with independent states, and minority armed groups. The boundaries with Cambodia and Laos are in various contexts and are thus distinct. We still have one law as a result. Each area has been thoughtfully designed and given significant power if we can decentralize the authority of the local government representatives in each zone. We believe that this could make it possible to manage preventative and quality-of-life enhancement efforts, which also has connections to other areas including security, economics, and epidemic aspects. It is all connected.
We speculated that it could be a distinct economic region overseeing a particular educational system. We might need to consider all aspects, rather than merely discussing security and the economics. Although we believe that such a concept exists, we might not yet be there.
Can you give me an example?
For instance, I discovered that international organizations like the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) recruited all deserving and gifted youngsters to reside in their nation at the Mae Hong Son refugee camp. Unfortunately, we don’t currently have a plan in place for how to think about bringing the brilliant individuals who may live there back to aid the family, the city, or the region as a whole.
For instance, in fundamental education, we could let students to continue their studies until Mathayom 3, but other from that, we do not have any policies in place to encourage children living on the border to successfully enter the educational system. Many individuals can attend, although some do not award diplomas. Offering a chance without giving a certificate is what it is called. All of them stand in the way of growth.
For example, Mong Thongdee won’t have a chance if he doesn’t participate in international tournaments or he’s not skilled at rocket folding. And how long will it be before he receives an ID card? We take our time with things like these. It retards the growth of children’s intellectual capacity and quality of life.
What are the main challenges to tackling delicate social issues?
It all comes down to communication. We don’t always use the information to communicate. We don’t take data’s potential to advance knowledge, comprehension, or social cohabitation seriously. Meaning and communication are the primary issues. We only provide a portion of the meaning in some stories, so we can’t fully understand it.
For instance, we want border kids to come and study so they may work in the medical field as physiotherapists, nursing assistants, or doctor’s assistants. But if local medical facilities or colleges turn away young people who want to work as physiotherapists or nursing assistants, illnesses or epidemics will spread there. The answer is that we can monitor the spread of disease and its hazards if we collaboratively develop particular areas with individuals in border regions who share our goals for knowledge and understanding.
Because border job was delicate in the past, the narrative of mountain teachers or border teachers would include aspects of security, economics, and education. War will not be fought if there is beauty in cohabitation. It is a peace with boundaries. It implies that this is how our real lives actually are. However, the government will ensure that it is illegal to cross the border above it. Invading Thailand entails taking advantage of it. The perspectives are different.
It implies that although people can live side by side and interact in border regions, security will be perceived differently.
It is a cultural region or administrative areas, if you say so. It may not have been obvious in the past whether this was Thailand or Burma. Although it wasn’t there in the past, there were lower-level affiliations with fraternities and families. We worshiped at the same temple or held similar Buddha in esteem. On the same day, there exist both customs and significant dates.
However, if you approach it from a border perspective, you will see that crossing the line is a violation on sovereign territory. It’s an alternative viewpoint. As a result, political science is the lower story and jurisprudence is the top story. Not the locals, but rather those at the top gazing down from a stability standpoint, are the issue.
Has discrimination or prejudice, particularly toward children and young people, decreased throughout time?
There is always a parallel between the sovereign vision and the view below. However, it’s always about the lowest levels when discussing how the government promotes soft power. We are aware that not everyone in the globe would have wished for it, particularly in the middle of lost wars or international conflict. Any soft-powered message about harmony, goodness, music, or anything else with a shared route will be sought for.
In terms of education and learning, what other possibilities would you like the appropriate government organizations to add?
The Thai government may not be clear of which agency, which might be one of the economic, social, or security organizations. We will have the chance to assist a workforce that is of outstanding quality if they can alter the way we think about security management or global population management. For instance, the presence of artisans from Myanmar presents more of a chance for us.
We ought to alter our perspectives, the way of thinking, and the new issue. This new value must be valued. In Taunggyi or other large cities when we travel over there, we eat delectable basil stir-fry. Most of the population arrived in Thailand to work and then went back home to work as skilled artisans, dressmakers, or construction workers. It’s unfortunate that we let all of these craftspeople to return home and start new businesses across the street. However, the Minister of Labor has never understood how to stop the informal labor market or labor exploitation, prevent it from entering the system, or that tax collection is causing us to miss this chance.
