Covid-19: Kayan ‘Long Neck’ Refugees From Myanmar Struggle as Thailand’s Tourism Crashes, Leaving These Tribe Destitute.
They left their homeland decades ago, and for a time found a future in Thailand’s tourism industry. But the pandemic has changed all that. Now many Kayan Long Neck women have lost their jobs, their homes and their dreams.
Fleeing internal political unrest and violent clashes between the Myanmar military regime and several ethnic minority armies in the 1980s, Kayan refugees settled in northern Thailand, where they have relied on tourism for a big part of their income. Then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March of 2020. Travel restrictions and business closures were enforced across the kingdom.
The restrictions reduced the spread of the virus but also reduced the flow of tourists to a mere trickle. High losses in the tourism industry over the past months have left many Kayan Long Neck women jobless and even homeless.
The restrictions reduced the spread of the virus but also reduced the flow of tourists to a mere trickle. High losses in the tourism industry over the past months have left many Kayan Long Neck women jobless and even homeless.
