Thailand's Troubled South Starts to Recover
Community and micro enterprises stage sharp increase, raising hopes over tensions
By: Asae Sayaka and Murray Hunter
Despite a recent rise in violent incidents across Thailand’s deep south provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat over the past year, a host of new community and micro-enterprise start-ups popped up, with rising economic activity the most effective deterrence against the ethnic and religious tensions.
The number of small and medium enterprises has risen from 30,000 in 2005 to 80,184 in the southern areas today. While many communities have suffered severely during the Covid-19 crisis, many within the Deep South have thrived through this mass of entrepreneurial start-ups.
Population within the southern border provinces is officially 2.07 million people, based upon a decade-old census. However, the actual current numbers are much higher today, with a very young population. This has changed generational perspectives, with the growing desire to undertake business both as a means of survival and career path…