Fire! Fire!

Starting at the beginning of the year through May before the rains come, people who live in the mountains of Thailand begin burning the mountain fields. Some say it’s their farming practice, others say it’s to keep unwanted animals away like snakes, and still others don’t know why they do it, they just always have. Whatever the reason, it’s has caused northern Thailand to be the second most polluted place in the world. Many people experience upper respiratory problems and use masks and air purifiers to help alleviate their symptoms.

At times, the fires in the fields next to our GROW campus had jumped our wall catching anything dry on fire. There was a frightening night a couple of years ago when the sirens and lights of the fire trucks came onto our campus and fire fighters helped our staff fight a fire that had indeed jumped the wall. Now, we know to keep all the dry leaves cleared away from the wall during these months. So far this year no fire has affected our campus other than the annoying and unhealthy smoke in the air. A welcome early rain can clear the air for a day giving temporary relief.

Why doesn’t the government put an end to this practice, you may ask? I guess you could say they tried by limiting the burning months from March to May, but it hasn’t stopped the people from burning their fields outside those months.