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Published on March 29, 2008

She settles back in her chair in her sister's garden in Bangkok. She's relaxed and self-contained, serene yet articulate. She's also a woman on a mission.

Nonglak Trepp, 59, president of the Thai Woman Network in Europe (TWNE), hopes to help Thai women find their way back to their roots.

No Thai in Thailand can imagine the life of some Thais and their children living abroad - the lack of knowledge of their own culture, traditions and language that forces them to live in a desert of the spirit.

"In a strange culture, these people don't know who they are," says Nonglak.

A Thai woman who marries a European and moves to her husband's country confronts the challenge of a new culture and way of life, but, says Nonglak, a woman with very little education faces even greater difficulties.

Now TWNE is giving Thai women living in Europe a chance to better understand their new country and form stronger bonds in the family. Officially established in 2004 as a legal entity under French law, the network uses volunteers to help women handle a range of hardships, from prostitution, child abuse and financial difficulties to sheer loneliness - and above all, lack of knowledge.

Working with local authorities and NGOs, the network provides the means for people to meet people. All the people working within TWNE are volunteers: 160 independent members (Thai people working for local social organisations) plus two representatives from each of the 13 countries in the network as well as five executive members.

"But we're a real network," says Nonglak, pointing to Switzerland, where the organisation Thai Women for Thais brings with it more than 500 members through its representation in TWNE.

"Our focus is Thai women, but that extends to the family, children and community," Nonglak adds.

Activities change from year to year. For 2007-8, one focus is teaching the Thai language to children of Thai, or mixed, parentage. Three schools have been set up in Switzerland, two are starting in Italy. Sweden, Norway and France are "on the way".

These projects are kick-started with funds from Unesco.

It's true that Thai temples overseas provide the same service, but "We want to reach those who don't go to temple," says Nonglak. "There are a lot of Thai people who don't have any links to the Thai community."

Three seminars for Thai teachers are underway in Brussels right now, and by the end of May, London will provide the venue to train teachers on kindling interest in families to learn Thai.

"We deal with women who are not so well educated. This means that there are often communication problems between them and their kids. We hope that this effort will help strengthen family bonds," she says.

Some of the network's schools offer courses in language and culture to the non-Thai parent, or in handicrafts for earning an income or seminars in the local way of life, for example, how to lay the table the European way.

In four short years, TWNE has also managed to attract the attention of Thai ministries, which have gradually come to understand the network's aims.

"Now they recognise what we are doing, and they provide support. Money is not necessary all the time, but we do need help with documents and updates on new laws," she says.

The Foreign Ministry sponsored the network's general meeting last year in Europe, and the Ministry of Culture is dealing with two projects to bring young Thai people back to Thailand. The "Youth Homecoming" is scheduled for August this year, offering two or three kids from each country in the network the chance to visit their homeland.

"Some of these kids have never been to Thailand, but they're Thai," Nonglak says. "They should see where they come from."

Another project is to revise the curriculum on existing Thai courses so that it will fit realistically into the European lifestyle.

Nonglak herself knows how important it is to keep oneself up-to-date with developments back home. Although she constantly asks her nephews in Thailand for the latest slang, they chuckle when they hear her speak Thai. "They tell me I sound as if I come from an earlier era," she smiles.

A resident of Switzerland for 30 years, she and her Swiss husband, a doctor, have three children. She teaches English and French in a secondary school.

TWNE continues to grow. Additional European countries are considering joining, such as Turkey and Iceland. "We hope that countries in Eastern Europe will also participate," she says.

Now that TWNE has a representative in Thailand, the network hopes to set up a project in each province to prepare Thai women newly married to foreigners for their life in Europe. Also in the planning stages is a project to help volunteers deal with the terrible experiences some Thai women in Europe face.

"But we need to learn how to help people without harming ourselves morally, physically, psychologically," she says. "When you deal with sexually abused children, for instance, how far can you be involved emotionally?"

Also under consideration is the issue of allowing men into the network and perhaps, later on, Thai homosexuals.

From the beginning, TWNE has aimed at being politically neutral, but Nonglak points out: "Don't you think what we're doing is political? Man-woman relationships are also political."

Laurie Rosenthal

The Nation