Stateless in golden triangle

I have been working on the subject of Akhas for many years now. Far from the tourist clichés, this long-lasting immersion in Akha world allowed me to enter in their daily life, to discover their legends, beliefs, rhythms and rites, but also to share their intimacy. The Akhas found refuge in Thailand from 1960, when the conflict between the Kuomintang and the Burmese army forced them to flee Burma. There were about 7,000 Akhas in 1964. They are over 70,000 today. Very few Akhas are recognized as full Thai citizens. Most of them are still not allowed to travel without permission outside the district to which their village belongs. Their rights are limited: they have difficulties to obtain citizenship, especially for the elderly they are unable to justify their date of birth or a sufficiently long residence time in Thailand. They are often unaware of the complicated steps to be taken and many, for fear of being driven back to the border, prefer not to ask anything. This is what I wanted to show in the series I am proposing to you. This serie, "Stateless in the golden triangle", is composed of details, gestures and objects that alone suggest the everyday life of these elderly people that are always in search of gratitude and of whom no one speaks. I looked for poetry and gentleness... where their story is just pain and resilience.