Meaning of Space, Condition of Memory : Relation Between Memory and Meaning of Space at Baan Huai Kop

Abstract

The article aims to understand the relation between Baan Huai Kop people’s memory and phenomenon utilizing qualitative methods consisting of observation, participant observation, and in-depth interview to collect data. The concept of the relation between history and memory and the concept of the emergence and function of memory are the conceptual framework of this article. The results in this article indicate that the relationship between memorial and historical data of Baan Huai Kop are supported and testified each other about the occurrence of the past, especially, on immigration related to governmental agencies such as EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand). For the meaning of “Baan Huai Kop” of people who were affected by the construction of CDR Vajiralongkorn Dam, economic difficulty and the limitation on resource access cause them to reminisce livelihoods in former village, by comparing with present lives at Baan Huai Kop. In contrary for displaced people who came from neighboring countries and haven’t yet gotten Thai citizen rights, Baan Huai Kop is place of opportunity and better lives comparing to their lives in the past. Their memories are related to what they are facing in present time. Therefore the memories is not confined themselves with the past only, and they indicate through their thought, their feeling and phenomena. Likewise, the meaning of Baan Huai Kop is not only the living place but also the storage space of memory that causes of their memories emerge.