4.1.1
Guidelines and Measures for Helping these Target Groups
(1)
Children and Young People. A large number of children and
young people have problems as a result of a lack of guardianship within the
family and resulting social and economic pressures. Many measures have been
proposed for dealing with this problem, including the carrying out of a survey
to determine the approximate number of problem children who need assistance so
that the Government can provide sufficient assistance. In helping these
children and young people, the aim is to help them to ultimately help
themselves, so that they have the means of earning a living and the chance to
become decent citizens in future. In giving assistance to crippled and
handicapped children, private organizations will be encouraged to take part.
(2)
Old People. Old people are here defined to include women aged
over 60 years of age and men over 65 years of age of which there are about
1.68 million at present. Many of them are now left on their own, owing to
economic and social pressures. Only 1,500 of these people are provided with
government welfare services in any year. The approach that will be adopted to
deal with this problem is to survey the number of old people who are eligible
for assistance. Criteria in granting welfare services will have to be
explicitly laid down both for the central region and outlying areas. Private
organizations will also be persuaded to participate in this process.
(3)
Crippled, Handicapped and Deprived People
The 1970 population census indicated that there were 142,200 handicapped
people in Thailand who needs assistance. Since then, the number has increased
considerably.
The
guidelines and measures to deal with this problem include a survey to
categorize those to be assisted and assigning relevant agencies the duty of
providing medical treatment and equipment such as artificial arms and legs,
canes for the blind, hearing aid, etc, to enable handicapped people to
participate in normal activities. Furthermore, occupation- oriented training
centres especially for the crippled will be established to give these people
the opportunity to develop their own skills and earn their own livelihood. For
those who are absolutely not capable of helping themselves there will be
welfare services centres rendering services free of charge to those
handicapped with no friends or relatives and with a charge for others. Charity
foundations or private organizations which provide similar services will be
supported through government subsidies and public announcement of their
merits.
(4)
Certain Categories of Women. There are many prostitutes in
Thailand. It was estimated that in 1975, there were 76,000 female prostitutes
in Thailand. It was also estimated that about 12,000 women were drawn into
prostitution as a result of the presence of the U.S. military bases in
Thailand. Problems relating to prostitution are still rather serious and need
to be dealt with urgently. A survey will be carried out to determine the
number of prostitutes in Thailand to assist the authorities in preparing
corrective measures such as the provision of vocational training facilities
for these women.
(5)
Hilltribes People. At present there are about 500,000
hilltribes people from such tribes as the Meo, Yao, Lee-saw, Muser, Egaw,
Karen and Haw, who live and work in the mountainous areas in North Thailand.
These hilltribes people whose number constantly increases, have as a main
occupation the growing of poppies, subsistence farming and hunting. Although a
hardworking people, the hilltribes people still cannot manage to earn enough
for their own living as farming in infertile elevated areas tends to produce
low yields. Moreover, these people still use traditional methods in
agriculture which rapidly cause deterioration in soil quality. These tribes,
being therefore constantly on the move to find new farm land, destroy natural
resources and the environment in the process. Most of the hilltribes people
still cannot understand nor speak Thai and as yet do not feel the need to
learn the Thai language. Besides this social problem there is the problem of
sanitation as the hilltribes people, living in scattered areas makes the
delivery of sanitary services a difficult operation.
To
help the hilltribes people, projects must be drawn up through the co-operation
of the Government agencies concerned. These projects have to be classified by
areas and should include the development of new occupations to replace the
growing of poppies, the promotion of modern agricultural methods and cottage
industry and the simultaneous development of their education and sanitation.
Officials will be sent to show hilltribes people new methods in agriculture.
Hilltribes people will also be brought to the agricultural centre in the North
to be trained in the use of new agricultural techniques. Livestock raising
shall be promoted and market outlets will be provided for cash crops grown by
the hilltribes people. In areas where natural resources such as forests and
streams are already destroyed or polluted, trees have to be planted and new
villages should be set up under a comprehensive settlement scheme. Land
ownership rights have to be given to the hilltribes people to give them moral
support and confidence and to make them feel a part of Thai society.
Government agencies shall give financial and technical support to initiate the
setting up of co-operatives for the hilltribes people so that they can learn
how to support one another in their own group.
(6)
Slum-dwellers. The Bangkok metropolitan area has about 300
slum areas with approximately 800,000 inhabitants. About 650,000 of these slum
dwellers are simply trespassers with no land ownership right. Most of them are
to be found in the Klong Toey slum area. There are about 150,000 people living
in slum areas with no trespassing where they pay low rent to landowners as
regulated by the law. There is, however, no plan as yet on how to improve
living conditions in these densely populated areas where the average family
size is as high as 7.4 persons
To
deal with these problems, strict measures are needed to exercise control over
urban construction works and keep them within the town planning regulations to
prevent further increases in the number of slum areas. For slum areas that can
be cleared dwellers should be moved out to other residential areas with
low-cost government housing facilities to offer them a chance of a better
life. For other slum areas that cannot be cleared, an improved pattern of the
living quarters has to be mapped out and basic amenities have to be amply
provided such as public utilities (including water, electricity and garbage
collection), sanitation, pawn-shops and cheap consumers cooperatives stores.
Moreover, the growth in the number of slum-dwellers will be prevented through
measures prohibiting the construction of new living quarters in these areas
and issuing house registration numbers to those already living in these areas.
In giving aid to these slum-dwellers, the participation of institutions,
private foundations and various organizations will be encouraged.
(7)
Convicts. Convicts can be classified into four different
categories, namely those imprisoned, those detained, those under custody and
those undergoing a training. On average, the number of the convicts has
increased. The rate of increase has been particularly high during the last
five years, averaging above 10 per cent per annum. In 1974 there were 60,803
detainees in state penitentiaries who had to cope with various problems such
as the degrading living conditions in overcrowded cells with health standards
lower than minimum requirements and inadequate professional training
facilities. Moreover, when the detainees are discharged, they have difficulty
in adjusting themselves to life outside, resulting in quite a number of them
being sent back again to the penitentiaries.
Guidelines
to be followed in solving these problems include putting an emphasis on the
provision of vocational training facilities for convicts to equip them with
necessary vocational skills for their return to society as normal citizens.
Conditions of state prisons should be improved to offer more space for living.
This can help to check the number of prisoners who attempt to escape or to
commit dangerous acts.
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