Once again we started the day half asleep and cranky. Having spent our night watching the world cup finals, we gathered together at the lobby of the guest house and piled into the two taxis waiting to take us to our first destination of the day; AIDS Network Development Foundation (AIDS Net). Phi, who is a master’s student at the University of Chiang Mai and one of our student guides, assisted us in translating the entire session. Nan, the president of the organization, shared with us that AIDSNet is essentially a network that connects all the other NGOs together, while they do their share of awareness. Hence, they leave the more detailed concerns to other more capable NGOs that target and handle those issues and concerns. Their aim is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. The conference room that the talk was held at was filled with boxes of condoms donated by US AID, where Lamduan Mahawan the regional manager of the organization explained that a lot of help and aid comes from the United States and other countries in Europe. With regards to the hill tribes in the Northern regions of Thailand, where AIDS is growing at an alarming rate due to a lack of knowledge of the disease itself, Ms Mahawan also stressed their wish to eradicate the problem of ignorance amongst the hill tribesmen. Our talk ended with AIDS Net gifting us with two boxes of condoms and some magazines that raise the bar by spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS and practicing safe sex.
Outside the AIDSNet building
As we left the AIDS Net building, we piled back into our taxis and headed to our next destination which was situated on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. We decided to stop for lunch at an all you could eat buffet. The open space area held an array of local Thai cuisine, at a buffet rate of 49 baht per head. The place looked great and the food looked good. But sadly we were deceived. A funky yet unidentifiable smell wafted through the air as we ate, making it hard to go back for seconds and thirds that we had paid for. The drinks too were deceiving, vibrantly coloured orange and pink cordial that turned out to be strangely both sweet and sour. Most of us left the restaurant feeling unhappy and suffering from indigestion. And to make matters worse, we ended up getting lost on our way to our next destination. Thankfully we finally reached the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), where our host, Aung Myo Min, who is also the director of the organization, told us about the difficulties faced by the Burmese people- the reasons why they have to exile themselves from the country- and the faith of those who stay back to try and change the military regime.
We were served fruits and water while we watched a documentary about the current changes in Burma and the things that are being done to help push and implement these said changes like the human rights violations, child abuse and women abuse. These are the three main problems to be tackled by them.
Myo continued his talk, describing his own story of exile from his nation where he cannot return until peace has been restored. Otherwise, he risks going to jail and therefore, losing everything he has already fought for.
“My mother watches the news, and from there she knows that I am okay. Apart from that we do not have contact so that it is safer for them to live in Burma.” Said Myo.
Our talk later ended with a jump shot for peace outside of the HREIB house.
We had another half n hour to spare and therefore made our way to the mall nearby. This was the first air conditioned building with shops that we had visited in Chiang Mai. The outer part of the mall was decorated with the typical Thai architecture but the starbucks made it clear that it was modern. But with all the night markets, days markets and Sunday markets available, shopping in a mall didn’t seem right. After an hour of aimless roaming we went for our meeting at Gabfai.
Our final destination that took us back into the city was the NGO called Gabfai, a community theater that is also linked with HREIB. Gabfai means matchboxes in the Thai language; their motto is “a single flame can light a thousand candles.” Spreading the news is what Gabfai is about and lifting spirits when they are down. Generally, Gabfai uses the art of community theatre to tackle taboo issues that cannot be made blatant in the media and the public. Through theater many underlying problems faced by a community can be made into theater. For instance, this organization teaches the refugee women about their rights through theater.
Working out what community theatre means
After a routine wam up exercise that had us moving and making fools of ourselves, we sat down to learn about the past of Gabfai, and how it evolved from a mobile theater to a community of people alike.
Our visit to Gabfai marked the end of the day. We went back to the guest house where most of us dispersed to finish our stories and edit the videos.
Logo of the Thapae stadium
The rest of us caught the Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) show. Muay Thai shows a spiritual side of Thailand when the boys and girls do a dance/warm-up before each game, with the stimulating background music increasing the adrenaline, intensifying the atmosphere of the match.
This really was the icing on top of the cake. Even though it was not the real Muay Thai, and was more orchestrated for the benefit of the tourists, the fights were still intense and showcased children fighters from the age of 10. For instance we watched girls between the ages of 13 to 18 years fighting. The expressions on their faces when they were fighting were somewhat daunting. They looked as though the very life had been taken out of them. Then comic relief came in the form of four guys being blind folded, boxing each other senseless.
Adrenaline pumping as the tension rises
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