They came to Thailand as refugees from neighboring Myanmar and were granted a special status so they could stay in selected areas. But after Thailand recognized that tourist would gladly pay to see these traditional tribes the protected villages were quickly turned into a human zoo. Even a special 'replacement' program from the UN failed due to Thailand's unwillingness to issue travel-papers to the selected the refugees. Thailand's fear to loose the tourist-dollar turned these refugees into caged animals on display.
