OPIUM AND THE KAREN: A STUDY OF INDEBTEDNESS IN NORTHERN THAILAND.
Author(s):
Cohen, Paul T.
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Journal Of Southeast Asian Studies, Volume 15, Issue 1 (1984-02). pp. 150-165.
Language:
English
Abstract:
In Northern Thailand in the 1960's a system of economic interdependence between the Karen, the Hmong, and traders was a product of Hmong opium cultivation, their dependency on Karen-raised rice, which because of trader-induced indebtedness fell largely into the traders' hands. The indebtedness also led the Hmong to hire Karen labor, enlarging the opium crop. Wealth polarization also developed among the Karen because of the system. In the late 1970's changes initiated by the Thai government began to break down the system.