Gender, Buddhism and Social Resilience in the Aftermath of the Tsunami in Thailand

Abstract

This paper addresses the recovery in Thailand after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The country worst affected by the tsunami was Indonesia, while in Thailand about 8,000 people were assumed dead. In all the countries affected more females were killed than males. Disasters test the strength of a society's structures and relationships, and this paper focuses on the interplay between gender, vulnerability and social resilience. It provides an overview of social resilience as a concept and theory and discusses vulnerability and resilience in disaster situations. The paper is based on findings from a long period of anthropological fieldwork, which included interviews with survivors and relatives and with Buddhist monks and nuns. Buddhist temples, monks and nuns played important roles after the tsunami and became a refuge for survivors, and this paper explores religion as a resilience factor. Religious explanations and daily and other religious practices were of major significance in the recovery process, and Thai people have shown themselves to be both vulnerable and resilient.