THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE
The ‘Golden Triangle’ evokes images of mist-shrouded mountains overlooking the mighty Mekong River; hill-tribe villages set on the forested slopes.
The term, “Golden Triangle” refers to a largely inaccessible and undiscovered region that spans the three countries of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, one of Asia’s last wild frontiers, where opium was once grown, processed into heroine, and smuggled out. It was the source of half the world's illegal heroin, the root of crime and corruption that transcend porous borders and span continents from Asia to Africa to Europe and America.
HRH The Princess Mother recognised that while the lives and cultures of the hill tribes of the Golden Triangle, opium production and trade are inter-related, opium was essentially an economic crop - not an intrinsic element of the indigenous culture. By helping villagers to become self-support sufficient through crop substitution programs and the creation of alternative employment under the The Doi Tung Development Project, hill-tribe villagers in Northern Thailand now generate sufficient income and are no longer dependent on opium cultivation for their livelihood.
HRH The Princess Mother also realised that education was a critical component in the eradication of opium cultivation and abuse. By promoting greater awareness, a better understanding of the effects, the dangers and consequences of opium and opiates, fewer people would be tempted into drug use. Decreasing demand would gradually reduce supply. Public awareness would help strengthen the commitment of societies worldwide in the fight against narcotics and illegal drugs. The initiative led to the construction of the “Hall of Opium”.
HIGHLIGHTS
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