Tourism threatens "Gypsy," the sea in Thailand

Live "Gypsy" Thais sea off the Andaman Sea generations ago, but today threatened with expulsion from their land because of a boom tourist complexes.

With the establishment of marine protected areas and natural decline in numbers of fish, and a construction boom, he finds "sea gypsies" (Lai Chau locality) difficulty in maintaining the traditions of their ancestors.

A Nang Medellin 78 years old and talking about the pressures faced by local minorities in a country record number of Tours set a record last year amounted to 22 million people, say Medellin, sitting in front of his modest home in the village of Rawai where about two thousand "Gypsy," "I I live here since the area was a jungle. "

This old ancestors bought the land, located on the island of Phuket before becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand. Medellin and adds, "Do not go to another place."

And these people are struggling to stay on their land, but their struggle is difficult and complex. Many of them do not know how to read or write and do not know what is the concept of ownership. Thus, they were unaware that they can register the land in their name, and many of them became without any property today.

Others took advantage of this opportunity, including a real estate promoter became the owner of the land on which he lives and wants to transfer land to several families at home, and finds himself Nang today threatened with expulsion from their land.

In February last year, is the elimination of seven families to leave, the families decided to appeal, but the process may take many years. In waiting, almost all of its members live without water or electricity.