Do readers agree with Lofin that "If our people had ID cards and land for cultivation, problems such as drugs and prostitution would likely not occur."?

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A battle for identity
Hilltribe musicians sing of their struggles at a stirring concert in Chiang Mai
Story by ROJANA MANOWALAILAO

Singers from seven hilltribes told stories about the lives of highlanders through songs at the recent International Pop Concert by Mekong Hilltribe Musicians, organised to bring attention to the problems of statelessness, HIV/Aids, human trafficking and drug abuse in their communities. Fourteen new songs on the daily struggles that many highlanders face were delivered in the mother tongues of Karen, Hmong, Mien, Akha, Lisu, Tai Yai and Lahu at the concert on Nov 3 at the Chiang Mai University auditorium.

The lyrics were translated into Thai and English and projected simultaneously on two large screens to a crowd of approximately 5,000, mostly hilltribe people.

It's You tells about a young Akha girl who leaves her homeland hoping to find work in the city to save money. But eventually she is trapped in the sex trade and gets infected with HIV.

''There's no such thing as 'proper' work for the hilltribe people in the city,'' says Kongchai Sawettaporn, a 34-year-old Akha who composed the song.

Kongchai said his song portrays the lives of many young hilltribe women.

Lack of citizenship is the single greatest risk factor for hilltribe girls in Thailand, leading to their exploitation, according to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) research. Without legal status, hilltribe people are considered illegal aliens and subject to arrest, deportation and extortion. They cannot travel outside their home districts, which limits their job opportunities.

Without citizenship, they do not get an official certificate after finishing school, and that lessens their chances for higher education and consequently choices of employment.

A survey by Unesco and the Bureau of Social Development this year of 63,724 hilltribe people in 191 villages in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Son found that 37% still did not have Thai citizenship.

Despite the Education Ministry's policy that all children, regardless of legal status, are entitled to primary education, highland children are often excluded from school.

The Unesco survey showed that without citizenship only 43% were likely to enter lower primary school and only half of them were likely to move on to upper primary school.

''Some hilltribe people are lured into drugs,'' said 26-year-old Tai Yai singer Laomon Longaii, telling the story behind his song Don't Sell Drugs.

''If our people had ID cards and land for cultivation, problems such as drugs and prostitution would likely not occur,'' he said.
Lofin Sailee, 25, a Mien musician, also composed a song about a young hilltribe woman lured into the sex trade.

''Does she know her family is waiting for her to return? They don't care about the small amount of cash she makes from selling her body. Please return, since it's so lonely without your shadow,'' he sings in Return Home, Young Lady.

A music graduate of Rajabhat University Chiang Mai, he is the first in his village to receive a bachelor's degree. He took out a student loan in Mathayom 4 and sent himself to school, working as a musician in Chiang Mai restaurants. He has produced two albums in the Mien language as a means to educate young Mien people to preserve their own culture and language.

''Being hilltribe we're treated as inferior. Some Mien don't want to admit that they are Mien. They're ashamed to be Mien and to speak their own language,,'' he said. ''So they will do anything to get themselves recognised as lowland people to gain acceptance.''

Sae Vavee Juepor, 31, an Akha singer, also sends out a message on preserving hilltribe culture through his song Don't Forget Your Own Culture.

''What's there to be ashamed of?'' he laments. ''Some simply say they live in the lowland a long time and speak Thai mostly so they don't remember how to speak Akha. How could you forget the origin of your blood? How could you forget your own language?''

Sae has three albums _ No ID Cards, No Rights and Beloved Friends From Different Tribes in Thai and Akha United in Akha.
The four-hour concert was broadcast live by Radio Thailand Chiang Mai, which transmits across Thailand, southern China, Laos, northern Vietnam, Burma and parts of India, and on the Channel 11 television station.

The concert was the second to be co-organised by Unesco and Radio Thailand Chiang Mai.

''We're so small and so our voice cannot be heard,'' said Chi Suwichan, 27, a Pakayo musician of the Karen tribe.
''But in this concert at least people could listen to the stories directly from the insiders.'

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