Professor Dr. Kanokwan Manorom, Ubon Ratchathani University

Major demands for justice or political change in the world often begin with loud protests, large crowds, and open expression. The initial movement of the Pak Mun villagers followed this same pattern. However, over more than three decades, the nature of their struggle has significantly evolved.

In the past decade, the movement of the Pak Mun villagers has no longer involved sudden uprisings like those during the early years after the dam was built and put into operation. Rather, it has become a slow form of civil disobedience—through continued existence, adaptation, and insistence on their way of life under oppressive power structures.

Pak Mun Dam with its gates open (Photo by Kanokwan Manorom)

This form of movement reflects the power of “enduring silence.”

It is nonviolent resistance that is deep-rooted, protracted, and powerful. This method of resistance can be described as a response to the “slow violence” inflicted by the Pak Mun Dam. Its impacts did not appear suddenly but have seeped in and accumulated over time.It has quietly and continuously affected the lives, resources, and security of local people for decades.

In recent years, the author has observed that the negotiation efforts of the Pak Mun villagers have become more quiet yet resolute. They show flexibility on certain issues while steadfastly holding on to core principles. They primarily rely on academic and scientific information as tools to advance their demands.

Their efforts are no longer limited to opposing the closing of the dam gates. They also demand sustainable remedies for their long-term livelihoods, such as land compensation. This is more than just physical property—it is a symbol of the community’s food sovereignty and cultural identity.

Pak Mun villagers (Assembly of the Poor) rallying on 24 August 2024 to demand the Electricity Authority open the Pak Mun Dam gates in accordance with the provincial committee’s order. (Photo by Kanokwan Manorom)

The form of struggle displayed by these villagers recalls the concept developed by Anna Lora-Wainwright, an environmental anthropologist from the University of Oxford. She developed the concept of “resigned activism" through her study of Chinese communities living with long-term pollution.

Lora-Wainwright describes the struggles of Chinese people within contexts of limited power. Where there are no clear options to change oppressive structures such as an unresponsive state or environmentally damaging corporations. Even with fading hope for change, people continue to resist quietly, through petitioning, negotiation, or informal forms of expression. All of this constitutes a struggle for rights and dignity in everyday life.

A resigned yet persistent protest by the Assembly of the Poor on 24 August 2024 demanding that the Electricity Authority open the Pak Mun Dam gates (Photo by Kanokwan Manorom)

The author had the opportunity to join a subcommittee meeting investigating the impacts on fisheries livelihoods and criteria for compensation for those affected by the Pak Mun Dam, organized by the Assembly of the Poor in May 2025.Having followed the villagers’ movement for over 20 years, it is clear that the Pak Mun case reflects a form of “resigned activism.”

Although their voices may have softened at times, the resistance has remained strong. Hundreds, even thousands, of families continue to demand river restoration, land compensation, and live along the Mun River, even though the ecosystem has drastically changed.

A symbolic banner by the Assembly of the Poor calling for the dam gates to be opened to restore the ecosystem and compensate for the impacts, 24 August 2024 (Photo by Kanokwan Manorom)

Pak Mun women, especially, clearly demonstrate “resigned activism.”

They do not appear as conventional activists but play crucial roles as mothers, wives, daughters, or cooks during protests. Many use silence, politeness, and caregiving as tools to negotiate with the state. They do not demand power but create power through roles often perceived as “weak,” turning care into strength the state cannot ignore. Participating in state forums—despite bureaucratic language or repeated petition rejections—is a way to affirm their presence in the system. Even if the system does not listen, these actions say: “My life has value” and “My story is not over.”

Mun River rapids revealed as the river levels dropped when the Pak Mun Dam was opened in 2024. 
(Photo by Kanokwan Manorom)

The idea of “resigned activism” does not reject policy change but emphasizes that true transformation begins with listening, seeing, and accepting that not everyone has an equal voice.

Some resist by staying; others by teaching their children to believe in the river.

Some resist by telling stories to younger generations, and some resist by never forgetting how the dam changed their lives. Ultimately, the “resigned activism” of Pak Mun villagers tells us that justice does not always come from sweeping reforms.

Sometimes it begins by listening to long-ignored quiet voices and realizing that even without much power, “not forgetting,” “remaining,” and “passing on hope” are deeply transformative acts.

For Pak Mun villagers, monetary compensation alone cannot truly address the loss caused by the dam, particularly when it directly affected the river’s ecosystem—the main source of food and income for households.

After the dam’s closure, fishing—a central daily activity—declined drastically, causing the community to lose both an essential protein source and income from selling fish.

Fish, once the lifeblood of household economies, vanished with nothing to fully replace them. Thus, villagers call for land-based compensation that can be used for farming and to restore their former way of life.