A Justice Site
Mirror Sites:
CSUDH - Habermas - UWP - Archives
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: February 3, 2005
Latest Update: February 28, 2005
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Entitlement or Greed?Thailand, in particular, the shoreline that suffered so much damage in the recent tsunami, is now being claimed by people with connections in the government for tourist development. Those who lived on this land, and whose homes and families were destroyed are being repulsed from the villages and told they can no longer live there anymore. Developers have claimed the land in the name of tourism, and say that foreign tourists don't want to see poor people in thatched huts and little boats.We need to understand that WE ARE THE TOURISTS. This is being done in our name. If we accept that, we are complicit in the displacement of these people who have lived on these beaches for who knows how long. They are raising their voices, but there is no answerability in this region. Their land is being fenced off and they are being told not to return.
Again, this comes back to the issue of religion as a present social issue, for itasks us whether we can be complicit in such thievery without offending our spiritual vlaues. Again, it is an economic, political, and spiritual issue. I think instead of race, gender, and class, we should start referring to economics, politics, and spirituality.
