‘Long-Neck Women’ Fight Against Confinement in ‘Human Zoos’

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  04.22.08 | 11:20 AM ET

imagePhoto by babasteve, via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Marie Claire, The Age and the Times UK are among the publications with recent stories about the plight of the “long-neck women,” a group of Kayan refugees from Burma who are known for wearing brass coils around their necks. Tourists from around the world flock to Northern Thailand to see them, but many of the long-neck women have apparently had enough of living in a “human zoo.” Several of the women have removed their coils and are fighting to move to New Zealand and Finland, where they have been offered resettlement.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has taken up their cause, but so far no exit visas have materialized. The stories allege that the Thai government refuses to let the women leave, fearing that their departure will hurt tourism in the region.



3 Comments for ‘Long-Neck Women’ Fight Against Confinement in ‘Human Zoos’

cecile buteau 04.23.08 | 4:10 AM ET

I am in support of these women.  I am so sorry that the world sees them as “different” . I think their neck jewelery is so beautiful, but on the other hand,  If they are comfortable with it, why not?  In my life, I have seen other body arts and more extreme expressions of beauty, that these women are more welcome in my world than some.
Thank you for your time.
Cecile Marie Buteau

Garrick Staples 06.01.08 | 9:01 PM ET

I have recently toured Thailand and seen these women. I am appalled by their living conditions. Small groups of “Long Neck Heren” women, with their little children, live in the desolated jungles of northern Thailand, in small wooden huts and sit all day in tiny lean-to sheds while waiting for vanloads of tourists to arrive.

They are the victims of Thai tourism officials and receive only a small fraction of the ticket sales to view them. I discussed this with the tour guide who insisted that the were better off on display in Thailand than being percecuted in their native Mayanmar.

Mike Pink 11.04.08 | 2:59 PM ET

When I travelled around Thailand I went on a hike to their jungle village. I felt that they are only really now a novelty tourist attraction rather than a protected real-life culture.  Sure they probably get some money from tourists and the guide company, but I bet it’s a tiny fraction of what the travel agent gets. Still, as a tourist I was probably part of the problem too!

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