‘Dhamat-saja Groups’: The Making of ‘Translocal Neighborhoods and Communities’ of the Transnational Burmese Migrants in Ranong Province

Abstract

This article focuses on Buddhist-based social network groups of transnational Burmese migrants in Ranong province as translocal neighborhoods and communities. Using the concept of translocality, it found the ‘Dhamat-saja groups’ are Burmese youth cultural gatherings that produce translocal neighborhood consciousness in Burmese migrants. These practices not only bind migrants living in the same locality, but also connect translocally to Burmese people living in the nation state transnationally. This phenomenon is based on face-to-face relations and places that refer to both the homeland (Burma) and the host country (Thailand) at the same time.