Living in Limbo

Nationless people living in Thailand confront discrimination and social and political marginalization. They fight the daily struggles of poverty, lack of education, lack of health care and precarious work and living situations. For much of the world, the idea of being nationless might seem unfathomable. So many populations who identify themselves according to the country they are born in, the country they live in or the country they are from and cannot fathom being denied this right. For thousands of ethnic minorities in Thailand this self-identity is refused them by the government and by society. Specific legislation makes it extremely difficult to obtain citizenship and works to keep these populations in a state of poverty.

As a result of this non-citizen status, hilltribe people in the north, and sea people and displaced Thais in the South are facing an exponentially rapid deterioration of their cultural identity. Forced to culturally assimilate in order to survive in the government relocated lands that they inhabit, these populations are quickly losing their cultural traditions and identities. Click Here for more information on these ethnic minority groups.

The Thai Citizenship Project working under the Mirror Foundation (aka Mirror Art Group), an umbrella non-governmental Thai organization with headquarters in Northern, Central and Southern Thailand, is working with ethnic minorities throughout the country to achieve citizenship for the thousands of people who are living without this right. To date they have helped thousands of ethnic minorities receive their rightful Thai citizenship but the uphill battle is ongoing. Read more about the specific work that Thai Citizenship Project does.