Feature

20 Nov 2023
The Pattaya Beach Nourishment project has been underway for 6 years now in an attempt to solve the problem of beach erosion. Even though the approach is widely accepted internationally, there have been questions from the civil society sector about the project’s sustainability and inclusivity, once it was discovered that part of the beach was damaged by drainage water from the city. There are also concerns among local fishers about the disappearance of their source of income from the beach.
8 Nov 2023
Lighthouse Reports and Prachatai investigate the dumping of plastic waste from Europe and North America in Myanmar – Thailand was found to be a ‘corridor.’ We invite readers to track the routes and roles that have been hidden. Even though the Thai government announced a ban on plastic waste imports as of 2025, that does not include ‘transit.’ – So this means Thailand will continue to act as a route for sending plastic waste on to other countries.
4 Nov 2023
In 2008, the Cambodian government granted Economic Land Concessions to three subsidiaries of the Thai company Mitr Phol, one of the largest sugar producers in the world. To make way for a sugarcane plantation, Cambodian farmers were forced off their land, police set fire to homes, and some residents were imprisoned. Now, over 700 families are seeking justice by filing against Mitr Phol what is said to be the first transboundary class action human rights lawsuit in Thailand.
31 Oct 2023
For 18 years, around 100,000 Thai farmers have travelled across continents to work as berry pickers in Finland and Sweden, believing it offered an opportunity to earn more money than they could through traditional farming in Thailand. Instead, they were subjected to unfair treatment and many came home empty-handed or bound with debt to the berry companies. To this day, their journey to seek justice is still ongoing, as they continue to advocate for fair treatment and accountability from the berry companies and relevant parties that exploited them.
13 Oct 2023
While many young activists decided to run with the Move Forward Party in the 2023 general election, several others shifted their support towards the Pheu Thai Party, despite its policies not matching up with demands made by pro-democracy protesters since 2020. From doubts about Move Forward’s support of popular movements to lack of organization and patriarchy among the party’s ranks, three young activists open up on why they changed their minds.
12 Oct 2023
The Move Forward Party emerged top of the poll in the 2023 election, winning in provinces that were once Pheu Thai strongholds. What made Pheu Thai supporters shift their allegiances? Three Red Shirt protesters tell us about why they now vote Move Forward.
6 Sep 2023
All sorts of sexual fantasies have found a home at Krubb, a sauna catering to the specific needs of gay men in Bangkok.  It is discreetly located just a few minutes walk from the Phra Kanong BTS station. Inside, on the walls of a dimly lit corridor behind a rusted door, hang photographs of men expressing various forms of kinks – Shibari, dog costumes, and more...
10 Jul 2023
At 14, Thanalop Phalanchai became one of the youngest people ever charged with royal defamation. At 15, she was arrested and held in pre-trial detention, making her the youngest person to ever be detained on a royal defamation charge. Her arrest and detention raised questions about the Thai juvenile justice system and whether it is serving the best interests of the country’s children.
16 Jun 2023
During the height of the pandemic, Thailand saw a growing number of reports of university students committing suicide, while others suffer from stress and mental health problems due to sudden changes in their lives as the country went into lockdown. Although mental health issues were on campus before Covid-19 arrived, the pandemic made the problems more visible. Now, students are calling for universities to adopt proactive mental health support measures, but with the shortage of mental health professionals, implementing a long-term solution may not be easy.
7 Jun 2023
While women have long been considered “ornamental,” with the media and the public mainly focusing on their looks or how they dress and act, LGBTQ representation is nearly non-existent. They are subject to the same fate and even worse. A watershed moment for the community came in the last election when 3 self-identified LGBTQ people won MP seats.
11 May 2023
As the 2023 general election approaches, activists and members of civil society hope for policies that will ensure LGBTQ rights and gender equality for Thailand.
2 May 2023
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when performance and entertainment venues closed, Thailand's musicians faced unemployment and lack of income. Many were forced to sell their beloved instruments or resort to finding other jobs to make ends meet, while missing out on assistance from the government for being informal workers. Meanwhile, the pandemic brought to the surface issues faced by workers in the Thai music industry, from precarious employment and unfair working conditions to lack of support for the creative economy.

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