Saing Harn Fah and the rest of his musical group had to travel the whole night to reach Bangkok.  All of them were very excited, because this was their first trip to Bangkok as a Shan musical group, and their first time playing at an important affair in the city.   

Saing Harn Fah is a Thailand-born Thai citizen of the Shan; this group refers to themselves as the “Tai Yai” – the “elder brothers” of the Thai race.  The home of this musical group is in a small district called Chaing Dao, about 60 kilometers from Chaing Mai, where many Shan people from the Shan plateau have been migrating for over 60 years.  

They arrived to Bangkok and rested at a place near Chulalongkorn University, the venue for the “International Conference on Shan Studies”, held from October 15th to the 17th. 

On the first day of Conference, soon after the opening ceremony, Fah and his group of musician had the opportunity to play Shan musical instruments for a Kinnari (a mythical bird) and drum dance in the main building of Maha Chulalongkorn.  Fah and his group were very excited when they saw many people, including many non-Shan people, approaching to watch the dance and the musical performance after hearing the sounds from long oh-see Shan drums and other musical instruments.   

The International Conference on Shan Studies was organized by the Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Chulalongkorn University and supported by the Euro-Burma Office.  The organizers invited 40 experts on Shan studies to serve as speakers on nine panels.  The head of IAS, Associate Professor Sunait Chutinataranond, said of the event:

“The fruit of the Conference will contribute greatly to the building up of our awareness and knowledge of the development in political and social history, the arts, language, literature, performing arts, religions and beliefs of the Shan people in particular and the people of Southeast Asia in general.”

The venue not only contained panel sessions with talks given by experts on Shan studies, but also featured colorful display exhibitions that were always crowded with viewers.  The many exhibitions were displayed along the corridors of both the first and second floors of Maha Chulalongkorn building.  The exhibitions were on ancient Shan or Tai Buddhism, foods, literature and language, herbal medicines, education and schools, Shan dresses, the political movements of the Shan people, music and songs.   

During the first day’s coffee break, many participants and viewers approached the Shan food stall with questions as to how the foods featured there were made, and to taste some of the offerings.  Many Shan foods are made with soi beans, and a Shan lady had who had made the food invite the participants and viewers to try plates of Shan delicacies.   

A group of students from Chaing Dao district also explained how the Shan communities in the area are trying to build a community school, and shared their plans for a bi-lingual education program.  A teacher from Chaing Dao said that they plan to teach Shan and Tai Yai children with their mother language in elementary classes, and then branch out to the national Thai language later, in the 2nd and 3rd grades of the school.  Unfortunately, they are short of the funds needed to build this community school, and requested donations from the attendees of the conference.   

A young Shan monk, Ven. Phra Mahaponnya Kham Ai, who is studying in Sri Lanka, also supports the creation of a bi-lingual educational program for the Tai Yai communities in Chaing Mai province.  He commented on the necessity of preserving the Shan/Tai Yai language:

“In this era of globalization, the Shan people do not think too much about their national identity.  The cultural trends of western countries are so intense and invasive; I think ethnic people will lose their languages, cultures and identities.  This means preserving our ethnic identities is very important.”
About 80% of the Shan population practices Buddhism, and Shan culture is almost totally identical to Buddhist culture.  According to Ven. Phra Mahaponnya, there are about 200 monasteries in Tai Yai communities, in three different provinces – Chaing Mai, Chaing Rai and Mae Hong Song – and these monasteries have mainly maintained the Shan practice of Buddhism, language and traditions.

However, the situation is very different in Shan State, located in the eastern part of Burma.  According to Saing Saeng Jeun, a senior journalist from the Shan Herald Agency for News (S. H. A. N), which regularly collects information and reports it to the media, the Shan language is not officially recognized by military government of Burma (Myanmar).   
“In Shan State, there are about 55 townships where the majority of Burma’s Shan people are living.  In about half of these townships, the ‘Shan Literature and Culture Committees’ are merely social organizations that try to preserve Shan literature and culture”, said Saing Saeng Jeun.   
Burma’s military regime announced such ‘ethnic literature and culture committees’ to be illegal in 2008, and hence the activities of such organizations have slowed in Shan State.   

Burma’s military government’s discrimination against the Shan people and the civil war in the southern part of Shan State have forced thousands of Shan people to abandon their homes. These people often take shelter illegally under the protection of Tai Yai people in Thailand’s northern provinces.   

“I think there are about 1.2 million Shan people displaced internally and externally.  Many of Shan have fled to Thailand as refugees and migrant workers, and the population could be around 200, 000 – 300, 000 Shan people in three districts of Northern Thailand”, estimated Sai Ye Thit, a relief worker from the Shan Relief and Development Committee, based in Chaing Mai.  

In 2007, Thai authorities allowed the creation of a Shan refugee camp, Kung Gaw, in the Feng District of Mae Hong Son Province, but only allowed 580 refugees to live in there. There are over 70,000 migrant workers working in orange orchards and plantations in Feng District alone, as well as an unknown number refugees who have fled from southern Shan State to escape persecution, Sai Ye Thit claims.

Such vast population displacement, waves of refugees, and floods of migrant workers from the Shan people’s community are the results of a 50-year- long civil war in Burma.  The Shan Studies Conference also contained exhibitions on political developments in Shan State, starting at the date when the Shan leaders were agreed to sign the Panglong Agreement, which guaranteed the federal union of Burma up until the Burma’s current political situation.  

Shan resistance has been a mixed picture.  Shan armed resistance began after the Shan leaders were threatened by the then democratic Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu, with the loss of their rights of secession after 10 years of independence.

“U Nu used American President Abraham Lincoln’s words.  He threatened that if the Shan leaders, especially the Shan sao-fah (the provincial rulers of Shan State) were planning to secede from the so-called Union of Burma, they would be destroyed by force, like American southerners were cracked-down on by Lincoln”, explained Saing Saeng Jeun, recalling the era of Burmese history that lead to the Shan rebellion in 1961.

Shan armed resistance began in 1961 and the names of Shan political groups, alliance, and armed forces have been in constant flux.  Currently, Col. Sao Yerk Surk commands an army called the Shan State Army (in the southern part of the state) and has revolted against the central Napyidaw government demanding more rights for Shan people.  At the same time, the largest Shan political party, the Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) party, struggles to attain democratic and ethnic rights for the Shan people.  The Shan Democratic Union (SDU) is active in the outside world with advocacy activities for the Shan people.  The SSA (in the northern part of the state) has agreed to a ceasefire with Burma’s military government, but now, the leaders are in detention and the ceasefire has nearly ended.

Ordinary Thailand- born Saing Harn Fah, does not understand much about the politics and conflicts in Shan State of Burma. However, he has helped hundreds of Shan migrant workers and refugees trying to survive in Chaing Dao District.  He know well the connections and relationship between the Shan people from Burma and Tai Yai people in Thailand. He said:

“We are brothers.  We have the same languages and religions.  We need to help each other.  All of us have duties to preserve our literature and culture as we are civilized people”.