A formerly stateless boy who won the national paper plane championship graduated from university last week with full Thai citizenship in a tale of personal determination along with a Thai government commitment to end statelessness.

Mong Thongdee captured the hearts of Thais in 2008 when, at the age of 12, he won the national paper plane championship and was chosen to represent the Kingdom in the All Japan Origami Airplane Competition but was initially faced with challenges in attending the Competition.

The problem was that Mong Thongdee, the son of ethnic Shan migrants from Myanmar, was not a Thai citizen. He was stateless, as are many tribal and ethnic people who traditionally roam across borders or live in the most remote areas where birth registrations can be difficult to obtain. That meant he did not have necessary documents to allow him to travel abroad.

Fortunately, then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stepped in and granted him a temporary passport. Mong Thongdee traveled to Japan, represented the Kingdom and finished third in the competition.

Nonetheless, it took Mong Thongdee another nine years before he was given Thai citizenship.

That situation highlighted the problem of statelessness in Thailand and other countries. Because of its location at the crossroads of many tribal areas, the Kingdom has one of the largest stateless populations in the region. But in recent years, Thailand has been making significant progress on solving the issue, steadily granting citizenship to tens of thousands of people.

While saying there is still more to do, United Nations officials have praised Thailand's efforts in addressing statelessness.

"We welcome the Royal Thai Government's commitment to ending childhood statelessness. UNHCR will continue to support the government and stakeholders to build on progress made and consider making new pledges to address statelessness," said Giuseppe de Vincentiis, the representative for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).

Last week, Mong Thongdee received a bachelor's degree from Rangsit University's Faculty of Communication Arts, Department of Film. He has already been working as a cameraman for film crews – as a citizen of Thailand.

The young filmmaker was also the subject of a Thai-language film in 2022 entitled "A Time to Fly," which recounts his struggle and determination to achieve citizenship and success in life. The young man and his story still serve as an inspiration to others.

The trailer for "A Time to Fly" can be viewed at:
https://youtu.be/IxxSkpP4enE?si=bSBoSTWM4kPtpQUV

Photo courtesy of https://www.sfcinemacity.com/