We drove through the winding red clay roads of Northern Thailand. I breathed in the mountain air and took note of every shade of green. As an outsider looking in, it was beauty unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
For Pee, this drive wasn't anything extraordinary. His feet had pounded the same paths in this village for most of his life. He knew every curve of the road and called each person we passed by name.
This was his home.
Like many people from hill tribes in the Northern region, Pee has lived in Thailand all his life, yet the remote area he grew up in prevented him from obtaining the documentation necessary to register as a citizen when he was born. According to the government, Pee did not belong. He had no home.
Without citizenship, Pee faced an uncertain future. He would have limited — if any — access to education, and even if he made it through high school and university, employers couldn't legally hire him without proof of citizenship. His options would likely be limited to working a labor-intensive job on a farm or as a street vendor somewhere in his village or nearby, since he also wouldn't be allowed to travel outside of the district he lived in.
"When I didn’t have a Thai ID card, I felt like I wasn’t equal to the other people around me. Without an ID card it’s very hard to find a job or continue education or travel."
At the age of twelve, Pee, along with his mother and sisters, submitted his application for citizenship. For Pee and his family, an ID card was more than a piece of plastic. It meant hope. It meant a future with access to Thailand's public healthcare system, job opportunities, and financial services. It meant security and belonging.
The applications were left pending for years without progress.
IJM met Pee in 2013, when he was 19 years old. It had been seven years since he first applied for citizenship.
IJM re-submitted applications for Pee and his family and advocated tirelessly on their behalf.
One year later, Pee was the proud holder of a Thai ID card — proof that Thailand is his home and a tangible reminder of his newfound hope for the future.
After receiving his ID card, Pee moved on to study law at a local university. He is the first person in his family to attend college.
After I received citizenship, my life has changed a lot. I have the right to do many things, such as being able to attend university. I have always had big dreams…and now that I have my ID, I can follow them.”
One of the requirements for Pee's final semester in college was to work as an intern with a local organization to gain relevant work experience.
He knew exactly who to call.
"Getting citizenship was so hard for me and my family. I wanted to learn more so that I could help the other people in my village. That's why I decided to study law in the first place — to help other people get ID cards like me. I messaged Aom many times and asked if she would let me come train with IJM. She said yes."
After three months of interning with IJM, Pee knows the ins-and-outs of the citizenship application process. He's also a first-generation college graduate with a degree in law.
In a few months, Pee will take an exam to become a deputy so that he can work for the government. His dreams for the future include helping other people without citizenship and working as a government official, where he will have power and influence over the citizenship application process.
For now, he is content to continue studying and enjoying the freedoms associated with having an ID card.
Credits:
All photos courtesy of Jonathan Hane.