Bangkok - If we want to solve a problem, we‘ve got to scratch where the itch is, goes a Thai saying. The Surayud government has eventually taken up this old wisdom to ease the southern violence by targeting the root problem: the view of dominant Buddhist Thais that they are the sole owners of this homeland, and their tendency to treat other ethnic groups as untrustworthy strangers.
This ethno-centric bias does not come out of thin air. How can we not believe that only we Buddhist Thais own this country when every history textbook tells us so since day one in school?
In what is probably his most challenging goal, the PM wants to revert this systematic brain-washing process. He wants an inclusive national history that recognises our cultural pluralism which goes back to prehistoric times, a time when Thai-speaking groups were just one among the many ethnic groups here, a time when Buddhism _ or Islam, for that matter _ had not reached our shores.
His initiative follows long criticism from scholars on the teaching of national history, which is not only boring to youngsters, but extremely dangerous to their minds.
Thai history, as taught in school today, emphasises rote learning of Thai court history and territorial warfare. Apart from playing up ethnic Thais as the defenders of the land, it misleads people into believing that this country‘s history started with the Sukhothai kingdom, followed by Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin.
This version of history dismisses the existence of other ethnic groups and their contributions as prehistoric settlements evolved into towns and principalities which were in contact with one another not only through wars _ as history textbooks have taught us to believe _ but also through migration, kinship, trade and cultural exchange.
The result of an ethno-centric history is culturally and politically disastrous. Obsessed with ultra Thai nationalism, the mainstream society views ethnic groups or migrant populations as threats rather than necessary ingredients for new growth.
Prejudice also makes people blind to state policies which exploit ethnic minorities and force them to give up their cultural identity to conform to our image of Thai-ness.
Under this brain-washing history, the youngsters in rural Thailand grow up to look down on their ancestral roots. Those who resist, such as the southern Muslims, feel painfully alienated and burn with anger. Violence is inevitable when Thai and Malay nationalism clashes head on.
However noble the aim is, the PM‘s move to revamp history textbooks will be no bed of roses. That he had to assign the Culture Ministry to undertake this task, instead of the Education Ministry, already shows strong resistance from the old guard.
Rethinking national history is an extremely sensitive issue because it requires a delicate balancing act with the military and royal nationalism. Can the Culture Ministry, the embodiment of conservatism, rise up to the challenge?
True to bureaucratic spirit, the Culture Ministry has set up a committee to compile a parallel history of cultural pluralism. Culture Minister Khunying Khaisri Sri-aroon made it clear, however, that this process will take time.
Many communities across the country are not going to wait.
They have already taken things into their own hands by restoring their own local histories to groom their young with local pride.
This is not about tribalism. It is about democracy.
Bombarded by top-down policies which destroy their natural environment and way of life, these communities know they will remain politically weak, short of cultural confidence; that their voices will not be heard if they have no room in the country‘s national collective memory.
An inclusive history that recognises cultural plurality will help free us from the destructive Thai and Malay nationalism. It will enable us to see members of other ethnic groups as equal citizens.
Only then have we a chance to pick up the pieces from ethnic violence and rebuild democracy together.
Source: www.bangkokpost.com (8 November 2007)
