[David Draime]

This past summer I was in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and -briefly - Myanmar (Burma). While in northwest Thailand I visited several Padaung "long-neck" villages. The Padaung are an ethno-linguistic subgroup of the Karen people, originally from Myanmar, many of whom have resettled in northern Thailand as refugees. The brass ornaments worn by the Padaung women around their neck and limbs look like separate rings but are actually continuous coils that may weigh up to 20 kg. The neck coils depress the collarbone and rib cage, making it look as if their necks are unnaturally stretched. I noticed that little girls, like this one, wore fairly small coils, that would be gradually increased in size as she grew into adulthood.

I wasn't entirely comfortable walking through these villages with my sizable Nikon camera, though they certainly made me feel welcome nonetheless. Tourism is how these refugees make a living. They don't ask for money if you want to photograph them, but they are all selling trinkets and souvenirs....I have a LOT of trinkets from these villages - as well as a lot of photographs. In talking with them, I realized that most of them were in Thailand by choice - to escape a potentially much worse fate back in their native Myanmar. They seem to welcome tourism, as the best way they can make a living under present circumstances. As fewer and fewer Karen women are adopting the coil-wearing tradition, it is gradually dying out - as it should, I think - though tourism is no doubt slowing this trend somewhat.

Conte on Rives BFK (buff). 22" X 30"