A Riot Problem in Three Southern Frontier Province: A Cultural Management Model by Means of Peace

Abstract

Problem statement: It was evident that a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces of Thailand resulted from many factors such as an economic factor, a social factor, a political factor, an educational factor, a religious factor, a cultural factor, a traditional factor, including a geographical location. These factors linked one another to affect systematically a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces and the centre of the problem was a religious factor. The purposes of this research were these: (1) to investigate the background of a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces, (2) to investigate cultural dimensions used for solving a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces and (3) to investigate a cultural management model by means of peace for solving a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces. Approach: Research areas consisted of 7 villages in Narathiwas Province, 6 villages in Pattani Province and 5 villages in Yala Province. These are crisis areas and there are some youth who had ever participated in “San Jai Thai Su Jai Tai” Project (a project for supporting people who affected by the riot) have lived in. A population was people in 18 villages of Three Southern Frontier Province. A sample was selected by means of a purposive sampling consisted of 54 key informants, 108 casual informants and 108 general informants. Research instruments used for collecting data were a survey, an observation, an interview, a focus group interview and a workshop. A triangulation technique was used for examining data and research results were presented by means of a descriptive analysis. Results: A riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Provinces results from the differences of culture and ways of life between the Buddhist-Thai people and the Islamic-Thai people. The majority of local population are Muslims, they have their own cultural identity so these differences cause many problems such as a problem of cultural misunderstanding, problem of beliefs misunderstanding, a problem of way of life misunderstanding and a problem of traditional misunderstanding. A Peaceful Cultural Model (P.C. Model) was developed within real cultural context or real life of people according to determined successful condition. Conclusion/Recommendation: The result of this research revealed that solving a riot problem in Three Southern Frontier Province must need an understanding of basic needs, collective consciousness and collective cause of most local people; including respecting liberty and cultural identity of one another.