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A Home for the Mentally Ill in Pattani

16 images Created 1 Nov 2012

The Bukit Kong home opened 27 years ago as a Pondo School, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness.

The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The home filled a huge need in the community.

The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open.

Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food.

There are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms. Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available to the residents.

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  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  NURIAH JETEH looks out from her house at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms. Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome002.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  The Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome006.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A resident at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. He said he is a survivor of the Tak Bai incident in which the Thai army killed more than 80 people protesting against the government. He said he didn't remember his name or how he came to be at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome021.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  Chickens peck in the dirt between rows of patients' rooms at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome004.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A neighborhood boy throws fruit to a patient at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome008.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A patient at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. He said one of his names is Sukria, but then added, "I have so many names I don't remember who I am anymore." He is kept shackled in his room at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome010.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:   A neighborhood boy brings food to a patient at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.   PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome017.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A patient at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. He said one of his names is Sukria, but then added, "I have so many names I don't remember who I am anymore." He is kept shackled in his room at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome015.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND: A resident prays at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. He said he is a survivor of the Tak Bai incident in which the Thai army killed more than 80 people protesting against the government. He said he didn't remember his name or how he came to be at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.     PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome022.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND: A resident eats in his room at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. He said he is a survivor of the Tak Bai incident in which the Thai army killed more than 80 people protesting against the government. He said he didn't remember his name or how he came to be at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a Pondo School, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.     PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome026.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A trustee brings food to a shackled resident at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome032.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  SUKRIA eats in his room at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. After saying his name is Sukria he added, "I have so many names I don't remember who I am anymore." He is kept shackled in his room at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome034.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND: Toothbrush and toothpaste in front of a patient's room at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.     PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome031.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A trustee passes a resident in shackles at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome030.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  A patient's leg shackles at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome039.jpg
  • 29 OCTOBER 2012 - MAYO, PATTANI, THAILAND:  Mr. PRASIT in his room at the Bukit Kong home in Mayo, Pattani. Prasit said he came to the home five years ago because he was having mental problems brought on by black magic. He said he is better now, cured by prayer and herbal medicine, but he stays to help others at the home. The home opened 27 years ago as a ponoh school, or traditional Islamic school, in the Mayo district of Pattani. Shortly after it opened, people asked the headmaster to look after individuals with mental illness. The headmaster took them in and soon the school was a home for the mentally ill. Thailand has limited mental health facilities and most are in Bangkok, more than 1,100 kilometers (650 miles) away. The founder died suddenly in 2006 and now his widow, Nuriah Jeteh, struggles to keep the home open. Facilities are crude by western standards but the people who live here have nowhere else to go. Some were brought here by family, others dropped off by the military or police. The home relies on donations and gets no official government support, although soldiers occasionally drop off food. Now there are only six patients, three of whom are kept chained in their rooms.  Jeteh says she relies on traditional Muslim prayers, holy water and herbal medicines to treat the residents. Western style drugs are not available and they don't have a medic on staff.    PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    PattaniMentalHome038.jpg
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Jack Kurtz, Photojournalist & Travel Photographer

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