Kayan people, who wear copper rings around their necks and live in Hway Pu Kel village, Mae Hong Song district northern Thailand, have left their village because Thai authorities cannot provide them enough food, said locals.
A total of 11, men, women and children were in the group that left. They have not been found.
A Kayan woman from Hway Pukel village said that they left the village because Thai authorities did not support them on a regular basis.
"Some villagers from Hway Suhtauk and a new village (Hway Pukel) left. Two families from Hway Pukel left the village and they include a husband and wife from one family and a woman with two children who left her husband and a child in the house. Nine from Hway Pukel are in the group and a total of 11 are from Hway Suhtauk and Hway Pukel village," the woman said.
Two families of the group from Hway Pukel New village moved to Hway Suhtauk village in the past. They moved to Hway Pukel New village when Thai authorities provided food. But the support from Thai authorities stopped, said a Padaung teacher from Hway Pukel village.
They have been living in the village for a year. They were comfortable living here but shifted because the Thai authorities asked them to move to the new village where they provided basic needs. But the administrator came and told them later that they could not take care of them anymore and it was best for them to move back to their old place, the teacher added.
There are 600 families living in three Kayan villages, Kayan Thayar village, Hway Suhtauk village, and Hway Pukel village, in Mae Hong Song. Thai authorities ordered them to move to the new village in September last year.
Copper ring wearing Kayan people have depended on revenue from tourism. Tourists flow has decreased now affecting their income, chief editor Khu Phae Du said.
"The problems of long-neck Kyan are not new. They are used to leaving suddenly for earning more income. The authorities assured providing food when they moved but they didn't get anything. When businessmen persuaded them to come they decided to go for more income," Khu Phae Du said.
Foreign tourists come to watch Padaungs known as long-neck Kayan people. The long-neck Kayan villages are in Mae Hongsong, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phu Khet area. Khu Phae Du said that the families can settle in these areas.
Last year, the Burmese government and Karenni Nationalities People Liberation Front pressurized Padaung people living in Thailand to come back and settle in their area.
