Speaking at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Community Hall, Prajiad Aksornthammakul, the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Office, said that Sea Gypsy communities could apply for grants, which would be examined by the Office of Social Development and Human Security.
But Thawichat Inthararit, Director of the Phuket Culture Office, told The Phuket News later, “The Sea Gypsies still have the same main problems – the land that they do not ‘own’, ID cards, and [preservation of] the language and culture.
“The question of land is particularly difficult because, when they do not own it, infrastructure cannot be built unless the person who holds the land papers allows it, and then many problems usually arise from this later.
“However, the RLPD [Rights and Liberties Protection Department] and other authorities, both in Phuket and Bangkok, are trying to solve this problem,” he added.
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office also reported that there are several health problems endemic in Sea Gypsy communities, the chief ones being diabetes and obesity, and decompression sickness brought on from diving deep and surfacing too fast. Public health teams have been sent to Sea Gypsy communities to teach them how to avoid illness.
In addition, 18 Sea Gypsies in Phuket are reported to still be without Thai ID cards. They will be asked to provide witnesses – midwives or neighbours – to attest that they were born in Thailand, after which they will receive ID cards.
The meeting also heard that a separate budget of B130,000 has been allocated by the Ministry of Culture specifically to preserve the villagers’ culture and improve their quality of life.
Mr Thawichat said that the money was being spent on classes teaching the Moken and Urak Lawoi language to the new generation and vocational training for sea gypsy villagers in Rawai and Laem Lah.