Thais in the land of
frozen smiles By Bertil Lintner
LONGYEARBYEN, Svalbard - It's hard to
imagine two places more different than tropical
Thailand and the Arctic Norwegian territory of
Svalbard, or Spitsbergen as it is more commonly
known after the main island in the frozen
archipelago. But ironically Thais are the largest
ethnic group here after the Norwegians.
The total population of the main
settlement Longyearbyen is only about 1,800, of
whom 70 are Thais. Most of them are female
cleaners and chambermaids in Longyearbyen's hotels
and
restaurants. Apart from
Longyearbyen there are only a few other
settlements: the scientific station of Ny Alesund
to the north - mankind's northernmost habitation -
and the Russian mining town of Barentsburg to the
west.
Ing-Ing is from Phitsanulok and
Duanjai from Petchabun, two northern Thai
provinces where green rice paddy fields billow in
the warm breeze and coconut trees dot the
landscape. They have been in chilly, snowy
Longyearbyen for more than a year. "It's
cooold," Ing-Ing lamented. "I want to go
home, but the money is too good here." She and
Duanjai work as chambermaids at Hotel Spitsbergen,
along with five other young Thai women.
More than half of Svalbard's 61,000 square
kilometers is permanently covered by ice and snow.
The sun doesn't rise at all for four months in
winter and then it doesn't set in summer, when the
temperature hovers around 9-12 degrees Celsius. In
winter, it drops to minus-20 Celsius, or lower.
And across the territory there are more polar
bears than people - at least 3,000 wild beasts
compared with only 2,500 humans. People venturing
outside Longyearbyen are requested to go armed,
not to kill the bears but to scare them off if
they attack, which they often do.
So how
did tropical Thais end up here, only 1,000
kilometers from the North Pole?
It's a
fascinating twist on the human-migration angle to
globalization: while a growing number of
Westerners take up residence or retire in
Thailand's cheap, warm climes, Thais are
simultaneously seeking richer economic
opportunities wherever they can find them, even
way north of the Arctic Circle.
Despite
its remoteness, Longyearbyen is actually a
surprisingly cosmopolitan place - and that is
thanks to its unique history. Spitsbergen, and the
rest of Svalbard as well, was disputed, and
virtually uninhabited, until an agreement called
the Svalbard Treaty was signed in 1920 at the
final stages of the Versailles negotiations after
World War I.
Spitsbergen is rich in coal
deposits, and Longyearbyen was first established
as a base for mining activities in 1906. It was
named after John M Longyear, a businessman from
the US state of Michigan who formed the Arctic
Coal Co here in February of that year and built
the first permanent houses in the polar
archipelago.
Russians, Swedes and
Canadians also began to show interest in the
archipelago - but it was Norway that eventually
was granted sovereignty. But it was not without
certain conditions. Under the treaty, Norway was
obliged to grant equal rights to citizens and
companies from all the parties to the treaty to
reside in Svalbard, to fish and hunt there, and to
engage in mining and other commercial activities.
The Russians were the first to take
advantage of this unique arrangement, and started
mining for coal at several locations in
Spitsbergen in the 1920s. During the Cold War, it
was widely suspected that the Soviets were not
only interested in coal, but also in developing a
foothold inside a North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) member country as well. But
there was also a mine run by a Swedish company,
and assorted workers came from Scandinavia, the
United States and even North Africa.
Late arrivals The Thais came
much later, the first arriving in the mid-1980s. A
Norwegian mining official - coal was then still
the main source of income before tourism became
more important in the 1990s - spent his vacation
in Thailand and fell in love with a young Thai
woman, the story goes. Then mainly a mining
community, it was male-dominated, and few
Norwegian women were prepared to move here.
But Sompong Haug did, and she is still
here, a founding member of the slowly growing
local Thai community. Word spread about this "free
zone" near the North Pole, and more Thais
followed. Thailand was not actually a signatory to
the Svalbard Treaty, but Hanne Ingebrigtsen, legal
adviser to the local government, explained: "We
don't discriminate against citizens of non-treaty
countries." Anyone is welcome, that is, anyone who
is prepared to put up with the harsh weather
conditions. No visas or work permits are required,
and even a cleaner at a hotel can earn as much as
US$3,000 a month.
To get here, the Thais -
and others - first apply for tourist visas for
Norway, which they just transit on their way to
Tromso, a town in northernmost Norway, from where
there are regular flights to Longyearbyen. When
they go back to Thailand - and many of them do
when they have saved up enough money - all they
need is a transit permit for Norway proper.
But some, like Sompong Haug, have chosen
to settle here permanently. Apidej "Ae" Prinkan,
who lives here with his family and works as a chef
at Radisson SAS Polar Hotel, has been in
Longyearbyen for six years. "It's quiet and nice
here, not a lot of traffic jams and pollution as
in Bangkok," he said, speaking in a mixture of
Thai, English and Norwegian.
The Thais are
well liked by the local community, asserted Birger
Amundsen, editor-in-chief of Svalbardposten, the
world's northernmost newspaper. "They do work that
Norwegians don't want to do, they are good workers
and they don't cause any trouble." In fact, the
only complaint about the Thais is that they are a
bit too discreet and seldom take part in community
events.
One exception was last April when
Longyearbyen celebrated its 100th anniversary as a
permanent settlement. Norway's King Harald V and
Queen Sonja were present at the celebrations,
which included among the festivities a Thai
cultural show at the local school. The year before
that, Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana,
the eldest sister of His Majesty King Bhumibol
Adulyadej of Thailand, paid a visit to
Longyearbyen - and the entire Thai community
showed up to pay their respects.
The Thais
have become a growing part of the Longyearbyen's
local scene, as can be seen also in the local
supermarket: it now has an "Asian corner" with
rice, chillies, soy and fish sauce and other Thai
condiments. Ae the chef said: "More Thais should
come to learn how we live here."
As word
spreads among Thais about the economic
opportunities, despite the ice and cold, increased
globalization ensures that will be the case.
Bertil Lintner is a former
correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review
and enjoys fishing holidays in remote, cold
places. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific
Media Services.
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