Mu Lon was born into war, grew up in poverty and deprivation, and so the offer, when it came, was like the chance for a second life.

She is Burmese, one of hundreds of thousands of people to have fled the 58-year-long civil war for exile in neighbouring Thailand. From the age of 5 she had lived as a stateless refugee, without hope or prospects. Then came an undreamt of opportunity — a fresh start in New Zealand, with education, housing, full citizenship and, above all, peace.

The medical certificates were issued, the formal invitation was delivered, and in 2006 Mu Lon and her sister were all ready to travel to their new home. But two years later, as hundreds of thousands of fellow Burmese have left before them, they remain stuck.

The reason for their plight is not religion, politics or the colour of their skins but something altogether more unexpected: their necks.

Mu Lon is a member of the Kayan ethnic group whose women are known as the “Long Necks” or, more crudely, “Giraffe Women”. From the age of 5 they wrap their necks with tall coils of brass that are extended as they grow into adulthood — the extraordinary image of the swan-like women with their impossibly long polished neck rings has become the great tourist attraction of this remote corner of northeast Thailand. It is their value as tourist attractions that has sealed their fate.

For two years Mu Lon and her family, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and foreign governments have put pressure on the Thai authorities to allow 20 Kayan to take up the opportunity of resettlement in New Zealand and Finland. Several young Kayan women, including Mu Lon, have even taken off their rings in protest, abandoning centuries of tradition. The UNHCR has hinted at a tourist boycott, but all in vain. Unlike the members of other, less photogenic ethnic groups, the government of Mae Hong Son province, in which they live, has refused to give the Kayan exit visas.

Vague bureaucratic excuses are given, but the true reason is an open secret. “The local [Thai] villagers can sell to the [Burmese] refugees, and they can sell to the tourists who come here as well,” says Surachai Pidwai, the Thai village head who collects tens of thousands of pounds a year from tourists who visit the Nai Soi tourist “village” where Mu Lon and her fellow Kayan live. “If the Kayan leave it would be unfair to all those people who benefit from the camps. It would be awful.”

As many as ten thousand tourists visit Nai Soi every year to see about 50 long-neck women and girls who pose for photographs and sell postcards, bracelets and souvenirs. They pay 250 baht (about £4) each; Mr Surachai admits to taking up to 150,000 baht a month (£2,400) from the entrance fee. Out of this the women and their families are supplied rice, chilli and cooking oil, and a monthly stipend of 1,500 baht (£24) per set of neck rings.

As refugees, the Kayan have no land, no rights to social security and no freedom of movement to find better work or education. And at Nai Soi the monthly fee has not been paid for five months. “We have nothing for ourselves here,” says Mu Lon, 22, who receives no money at all now that she has cast off her rings. “Sometimes the tourists who come here say that it is a human zoo, and it hurts my heart. I want to go to New Zealand to have an ordinary life and freedom. But the Thai people say that if we go no more tourists will come.”

Tired of waiting for Mu Lon and her family the New Zealand Government has given their places to others. The UNHCR insists that all refugees should be treated equally, but declines to reproach the Government directly.Last year two Kayan women found a radical solution, by moving to a rival tourist attraction near Chiang Mai, where they were paid more than twice as well. When the news came out local business was outraged, the police were summoned and the Long Neck fugitives were brought back under arrest.

The Long Necks

— Kayan women might appear to have long necks but this is an optical illusion. As the coils are added they push the collar bone and ribs down, creating the appearance of a longer neck

— Actually stretching the neck would result in paralysis and death

— Removing the coils does not cause a woman’s neck to collapse, although the muscles weaken

— There are different theories as to how the custom originated. One suggests men put the rings on their women to deter slave traders

Sources: peoplesoftheworld.org; Sydney Morning Herald

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