• Spatial dysfunction in post-tsunami Baan Lion: Taking the Moken beyond vulnerability and tradition

    Author(s):
    Jaruwan Kaewmahanin, Duncan McDuie-Ra (see profile) , Daniel Robinson
    Date:
    2013
    Subject(s):
    Disasters--Sociological aspects
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    ethnicity, Thailand, Sociology of disaster
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M62D7J
    Abstract:
    This article focuses on the perpetuation of discourses of vulnerability and tradition for Moken people living on the Andaman Coast in Thailand. These discourses limit opportunities to see Moken agency and changes to contemporary livelihoods/lifestyles. This is depicted through the lens of the post-tsunami reconstructed village of Baan Lion on Koh Phra Thong island. We highlight that inappropriate donor reconstruction has led to spatial dysfunction for the local community (largely Moken). The village provides limited opportunity for place-making, connections to employment and trade, and some of the social benefits offered in other nearby local settings. While donors may have ‘built back safer’, we argue that they have not ‘built back better’, as their perception of local needs, livelihoods and lifestyle has not accounted for changes to contemporary Moken life that have occurred prior to and after the 2004 tsunami. The results are a largely depopulated and dysfunctional space whereby NGO and tourism activities are now trying to build a new sense of community and provide some opportunities to retain at least some of the transient population of Baan Lion.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.023
    Publisher:
    Elsevier BV
    Pub. Date:
    2013-5-20
    Journal:
    Geoforum
    Volume:
    48
    Page Range:
    145 - 155
    ISSN:
    0016-7185
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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