‘The sea is all we know’: Thai villagers fight industrial zone
RINA CHANDRAN EVEN as a young girl, Khairiyah Ramanyah knew that the idyllic coast she lived on in southeast Thailand was increasingly at risk from development that threatened her fishing community. Khairiyah, 18, is now something of a local hero having led protests against a proposed industrial zone that she and other activists fear will devastate the coast, their homes and their livelihoods and that is now under review. Authorities say the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Chana district in southern Songkhla province will include a deep-sea port, power plants and industries on nearly 7,000 acres (11 sq miles) of land…