Integrating Others: A Study of a Border Social System in the Thailand-Burma Borderland

Abstract

This study is concerned with Mae Sot and its vicinities in the Thailand-Burma borderland. This study examines how the Burmese are integrated in the social system of the town, although they lack proper legal status. This study attempts to overcome the conventional description of these people as victims and thus passive actors. Unlike earlier pathological approaches to peoplea??s ways of life, this study reveals that the Burmese, regardless of whether they are illegal residents, constitute the border society as prominent members. The society of the town is not possible without their participation and contribution. The case of Mae Sot vindicates that the society is not just founded in the legal or formal basis. This study suggests that it is quite necessary to take into account illegality or informality as a norm in constituting the society to achieve an adequate explanation of societal formation in the border town. Furthermore, it proposes that the integration of these legal and illegal parts gives a holistic understanding of the society.