Event held to celebrate Thai culture in Jersey
Community representative Dararat Lorimer wants to organise more events to promote her culture.
Event staged to celebrate Thai culture in Jersey
Dararat Lorimer hopes to arrange more community events to share Thai culture in Jersey
What is believed to be the first event of its kind has taken place in Jersey to mark Thai culture on the island.
Dozens gathered at the Town Hall in St Helier on Friday to sample Thai food and learn more about the community’s traditions.
Organisers invited Buddhist monks from the UK to take part in the event, where they spoke about Thailand’s history and helped lead those attending in a traditional chant.
Community representative Dararat Lorimer said it was the first time the Thai and Jersey communities had celebrated together, and that the event was intended to "bring future generations together".
The 2021 Jersey Census showed there were 267 people, external living on the island who were born in Thailand, up by 52 since 2011.
Lorimer said: "Everyone knows, we talk about the past, we talk about the present and now we should think about the future."
"I plan [on] teaching Thai, teaching Thai cooking and teaching Thai boxing going forward as well," she added.
"We need to celebrate more of course to help make sure we continue to mix all together."
Karolina Kierys said it is important for different community groups to celebrate their cultures in Jersey
Karolina Kierys, who is originally from Poland and lives next door to Lorimer, helped organise the event.
She said: "I think it's a lot of Thai people here in Jersey, but they don't have places like a Thai school or other things where Thai people can celebrate their culture."
Kierys added: "I'm sure that Dara will have plans for more events like this in the future.
"We've got the Polish Saturday School, so our children know our traditions, culture, language, and Thai people should have something similar."