Institute for the Study of Humanities & Social Sciences,
Doshisha University
21st Period 17 Research (2022-24)
(Representative: Liulan Wang-Kanda)
Riyo Naoi
Ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Karen Revolutionary War (photo taken January 2009)
Discipline Regional Studies in Film and Video, Media Studies
Study Area Burma-Thailand border, Thailand
Research Themes
-Video Production and Research
on Refugee Representations on Cross-border Movements of Karen Refugees
-Research on Postwar History and Video Archives from the Perspective of Life Histories of Japanese Residing in Thailand
-Research on Community Formation among HIV-Positive individuals in Northern Thailand
From a scene in "Our Life"
A word about borders (boundary)
The Burmese Civil War forced many people to flee their homes and cross the border into neighboring Thailand. About 90,000 Burmese refugees are still living in refugee camps in Thailand. Here is another boundary, a border that separates the camp from the outside world. Refugees are separated from both their homeland and the host community by these borders, leading to decades of constrained and confined living, deprived of freedom.
The long period of displacement has also created various invisible borders within the refugee camp society. New and old generations, haves and have-nots, those who leave and those who stay. As I (and the audience) look through the lens of these people, how can I (and the audience) accurately capture the reality of the people living in the boundary zone? I would like to attempt a new approach.