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Published on: 7/8/2008
Last Visited: 7/8/2008
Activist Junya Yimprasert wants her home, 'Open Heart', to be a refuge for all
STORY BY ARUSA PISUTHIPAN, PHOTOS BY YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK
Labour and gender activist Junya Yimprasert has spent almost every minute of her life struggling for workers' rights.Hers is a life dedicated to fighting injustice.
"I used to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week.I operated two computers simultaneously … I was too busy to listen to my body.When it needed rest, I never listened to it and, worse, ignored it," recalled Junya, founder and coordinator of the Thai Labour Campaign, a non-governmental organisation established in 2000 with the objective of helping workers not only in Thailand, but around the world to stand up for their rights, and to focus on building links with national, regional and global labour and human rights campaigns and organisations.
Junya once suffered from thalassaemia, bronchitis and cystitis - diseases that made her dependent on medication and visits to the doctor.Hard work, she said, worsened not just her physical but also her mental health.
Today, the woman in her forties has found a new approach to life that enables her to continue her work and at the same time maintain a sense of well-being.In 2006, Junya moved to Chiang Mai and built a home on a two-rai plot in Tambon Maejo, far from the bustle of the city.She called it "Open Heart", and wanted the place to live up to its name.
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But Junya shook her head and said that she never planned to run the place that way.When there are visitors, mostly her friends, she usually prepares them tasty and, most importantly, healthy treats and makes sure that they feel comfortable and that their needs are satisfied.
Open Heart, she added, is more than just a lovely home, perfect for visiting friends.It is also where the activist runs her own entirely chemical-free organic farm, a sustainable agricultural approach she has been interested in since she was young.At her farm, she grows many kinds of vegetables, fruits and herbs, most of which she uses in her recipes.
Thanks to the fertile soil in the area, fruit and vegetables grown at Open Heart are so abundant that sometimes they exceed the household's needs.Junya usually gives the surplus to friends.
"This way the vegetables don't go to waste," the activist added.
Often a small idea is the start of something big, and Junya has established what she described as a "self-sufficient organic agricultural network"."Organic Basket" is the network she has created with, and for, local people who also run organic farms.The network, Junya explained, aims to provide organic farmers with a channel through which they can turn their produce into cash.A natural activist, Junya has been well aware that when it comes to the negotiating between workers and business owners, normally the latter win.And in a world where money speaks and capitalism rules, it is very hard for workers to stand up and be free of oppression."That was a major problem I wanted to solve to improve the lives of local people," she remarked.
About a year after settling in Chiang Mai, Junya had the chance to visit people in nearby areas and found that the biggest problem organic farmers had was that there were not enough markets where they could sell their produce.Setting up the Organic Basket programme allowed small-scale organic farmers to literally put their produce in a basket and sell directly to consumers to help them to earn sufficient income to support their families, she said.
It is also to help develop a better relationship between producers and consumers, without interference from middlemen, added the activist.
At Open Heart, the golden rule is equality.When Junya hired local people to work on her farm, for example, she never wanted them to consider her the boss - she said everyone should be treated equally.She occasionally threw parties for the locals who worked for her.
"At Open Heart, there are no class barriers, gender barriers or barriers of any kind."
Apart from the threat of capitalism faced by most workers, Junya also realises the power of gender domination which she has experienced herself.
Junya was once a victim of the patriarchal system in which men - or to be more precise, husbands - have great power over their families, enduring a marriage in which she suffered domestic abuse for six years.One result of the domestic violence was that she started seeing somebody else, which aggravated the marital conflict, and worse, was deemed immoral.
"It was a nightmarish relationship," she recounted in a soft tone."All the time [after I started to be abused] I dreamed that I killed my husband.But when I began to see somebody else, I was condemned for having an immoral sexual affair."
Junya understands that she is not the only victim of a failed marriage.Nor is she the only woman who has tried to save her marriage.There are many women crying in their bedrooms because of unhappy marriages, and there are an equally large number of seemingly good men who hurt their wives at home.
After her unsuccessful marriage, Junya started to question the morality of men and women, as well as sexual moral standards.Longing for love, she had tried all sorts of relationships - including monogamy, polygamy and even a lesbian affair - until finally she learned that to her, a relationship, or even sex, is not all about men and women, it is all about people trying to find a way to make themselves, as well as others, happy and satisfied.
These days the activist still devotes her time and energy to raising public awareness of labour and gender issues.If there is one thing she has learned from her experience, it is that life is beautiful when one is free from constraints and social standards set by others.And now that she has learned to live her life with freedom and contentment, she said that it is time for her to show her gratitude to nature.To do so, she hopes to use Open Heart as a starting point to create balance and harmony between people and the environment.
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