Grandma Hai honoured for her fight for rights

Grandma Hai, clad in a graduation gown, grinned when saying she was overjoyed for being given the chance to receive her degree from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in person. She said she felt honoured, because despite the fact that she came from a poor background and had very little education, she had always stuck to righteousness and fought for her rights. She also urged Thai youths to study hard so they can improve their lives and help the country.

Ramkhamhaeng University's dean Kim Chaisaensuk said Grandma Hai was honoured for her 32-year-long peaceful battle for justice. She was fighting for the rights of her family and many residents of Ban Natan in Ubon Ratchathani's Phibun Mangsahan district, after their farms ended up being submerged in water after the construction of the Huay Laha reservoir.

In 1994, Grandma Hai joined protests held by the Assembly of the Poor and the Assembly of Small-Scale Farmers in the Northeast, as well as those organised by villagers affected by the Pak Mun dam construction. He said it was this fight against injustice that made Grandma Hai a symbol for human rights.

It is her persistent struggle despite obstacles that led to the university's conferring her with an honorary degree, he said.

After a 32-year-long battle, Grandma Hai and her relatives received a cheque for Bt4.9 million last October that was personally delivered by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.