Education and training: an answer to social problems

This is what Fr Rosen says; the Salesian missionary has been working in southern Thailand for 17 years. He is seeking to complete construction of a skills training school.

Pattani (AsiaNews) – Fr Gustav Rosen, an 80-year-old Belgian Salesian missionary, is pressing ahead with his pastoral mission in three southern provinces: Pattani, Yala and Narathiwas. He has been working in these Muslim majority provinces for nearly 17 years, facing severe social and security problems, including clashes between police, army and Muslim fighters.

"Let's build a professional school in Nongjik district, Pattani province - only seven kilometres away from Charoensir Suksa Catholic School," said the missionary. "This would be a step towards the future for youth, especially Muslims." The school is already 70% ready.

The school will educate youth, equipping them with professional skills, so they will be able to earn a living legally. Every year, the school will admit 100 poor and underprivileged students free of charge. There will be four courses, each one with a class of 25 students.  The courses will be for electricians, mechanical technicians, machinists and welders.

Fr Rosen explained how he worked with youth: "It is necessary to understand them and to take care of them. From experience, I can say some of these youth will achieve significant results. However if they live in laziness, it will be difficult to look after them."

But the situation is tough: Phimonphan Leelapatrapan, 39 years, lecturer at the Rajapatra University in Yala province, said that "our province was peaceful, now the climate is tense. We must be careful, even if we go shopping, to restaurants or near the Muslim community." Predee Pleanbamrung, 62 years, a retired government official said: "The first victims of the lack of security are monks and elderly people, but also students and teachers."

Yala, Pattani and Narathiwas are among 15 provinces of the diocese Surat Thani of Bishop Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil. The diocese was set up on 26 June1969. Catholics number 6,682 out of a population of nearly nine million. There are 43 priests in 39 parishes, apart from six monks and 99 sisters. There are two Catholic schools in Pattani and Yala, each with 900 pupils. Fr Rosen lives in Yala and to reach Pattani, he travels 50km daily. Twice a month he goes to Narathiwas, more than 100km away. The first professional school run by the Salesians of Don Bosco is now more than 50 years old. At the moment, the Salesians run three institutes, one in Bangkok, one in Ratchaburi province and the other in Suratthani. The problem of education worries the government too; in recent years, it has tried to replace unofficial Islamic schools with legal institutes.

• Thailand
• schools
• education
• instruction
• missionaries
• islam
• Gustav
• Rosen
• south