So far, only 9 of the 56 arrested men have been granted bailed. A group of academics and NGOs in Chiang Mai has tried, unsuccessfully, to have the men released because, they say, their arrest violated citizens' rights as stipulated in the new Constitution. The appeal was rejected because of incorrect legal wording. Legal rigmarole aside, the Pang Daeng villagers are finding simply feeding their families perhaps even more difficult than getting their men out of prison. Quite a few have resorted to mixing their meagre stock of rice with dry corn seeds they planned to use for the upcoming planting season, or potatoes dug up from the forest.
Starvation sometimes makes villagers creative, too.
Students from Chiang Mai University are also raising funds to buy rice for the hilltribe people. But some of their problems seem beyond the students' help. After her husband's arrest, one child had an accident, and despite hospitalisation, still cannot talk properly. Another child suffers from a lung disease and needs regular check-ups. For Ms Naloh, the future looks bleaker as time goes by.