The fight to stop ancestral land being snapped up by industrial developers is never easy, as one Christian community is learning as it looks at ways to fend off what it considers an unwelcome bid to acquire their land in the name of development.
Many new commercial buildings and factories have gone up in Chon Buri's Phan Thong district as the government seeks to achieve its ambition to make its much-touted Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project a reality.
An old portrait of Francois Marie Guego, a French missionary who came to Thailand in 1867. He was instrumental in building the church.
A piece of a vast expanse of land owned by a Christian community has already been bought by developers and now residents are saying enough is enough.
The EEC project is one of the government's mega economic drivers. On Oct 4, the EEC Policy Committee approved four infrastructure projects worth a combined 432.85 billion baht, with terms of reference (ToRs) scheduled to be launched this month.
They are the U-Tapao aviation city (worth 290 billion baht); a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre (10.59 billion); the third phase of the Laem Chabang sea port (84.36 billion baht); and the third phase of the Map Ta Phut sea port (47.90 billion baht).
A lot of land is needed by the regime which has set its sights on new and unprecedented levels of development under the "Thailand 4.0" initiative, which seeks to strengthen the economy through technology and innovation.
However, some residents in the old Catholic community in Phan Thong district are standing up and demanding that the government's economic prosperity plan steers clear of their land that they have owned for generations.
The community owns 10,000 rai of land in Ban Hua Pai of tambon Khok Ki Non where the St Philip and St James Catholic Church is located.
The church was founded by Francois Marie Guego, a French missionary, who arrived in Thailand in 1867. His mission was to spread Christianity in Chachoengsao.
The missionary also visited nearby Chon Buri where he helped build a church in the Bang Pla Sroi community in Phanat Nikhom district. It was the first church he commissioned in Thailand.
Following a steady rise in converts in Chon Buri, another church was built, this time in the Khok Kariang community in Phan Thong district. Father Guego is remembered by devotees for his dedication in looking after local orphans and freeing slaves oppressed by their masters.
The church was later damaged in a catastrophic flood, which prompted the priest to search for a site to build a new church.
A suitable place was found in the Hua Pai community where the St Philip and St James Church -- the centre of community spirit and faith -- was constructed.
A story has been recounted about how the community and the church overcame numerous problems, including those caused by corrupt officials, before they acquired the land to build the church and for the early residents.
They worked side by side to build schools and gradually utilized the land to make a living.
Today, more than 3,000 Christians call the 10,000 rai of land, where they fish and farm, their home.
But keeping the land has proved quite a struggle.
Maj Gen Pramote Rattanopas, advisor to the Hua Pai community council, said his grandfather, called "Earn", worked closely with Father Guego to fend off crooked officials who tried to seize land from locals in the early days.
In one incident he said residents came to blows when some were gathered by his grandfather to form a human shield to prevent fellow community members, allied with local officials, from attacking the priest.
In 1880, Earn and local residents worked for the priest to clear land of bushes to be set aside for farmland for locals.
An exhibition commemorating 350 years of Catholicism in Thailand is presided over by Siripong Charasri, the archbishop of Chanthaburi, seen cutting a ribbon at the Chon Buri event.
Access papers were later issued to residents to utilise the land. The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Chanthaburi, by virtue of it being the church's administrative centre, was named the rightful owner of the land which it leased to residents for a small fee.
The EEC project has seen investment pour into parts of Chon Buri to establish industrial estates and finance transport development schemes.
There are many investors, especially in industrial businesses, who are out to purchase large swathes of land in the hope they become an integral part of the EEC infrastructure. This has become yet another test of the Christian community's resilience.
Long before the EEC project was conceived, a large industrial company approached the church to buy up to 300 rai of land, which almost tore the community apart.
Some important figures in the church agreed to sell the land and a number of local residents favoured accepting the company's offer although the bid was to fail.
"It drew fierce opposition from many other residents who were afraid of losing a large tract of land their forefathers worked so hard to protect," said Maj Gen Pramote.
Hua Pai community leaders say one way to help residents fight for their precious land is to make them aware of the hardship previous generations encountered in preventing its ownership from changing hands.
This was how the community came to organise an annual ceremony each on Oct 1 to mark the death of Father Guego. On that day, community members remember what the priest did for their community. The day is aptly called "Land Gratitude Day".
The residents are entitled to lease the land for farming and live on it for a meagre 400 baht per rai per year. Their right to access the land can be transferred to their children, no one else.
Father Wichien Chantapiriyakul, parish priest at St Philip and St James Church, said there are currently around 1,000 households living on the land.
If and when they move off the land, they forfeit their land access rights. The tracts they occupied are handed to other Catholics who are on a waiting list.
"This shows the kindness of Father Guego and forefathers who secured this land for a younger generation of Christians," Father Wichien said.
He said the sheer size of the land takes one end of it to the border with Chachoengsao's Muang district. Another perimeter is adjacent to Chon Buri's Phanat Nikhom district, which is an industrial boom town.
To stave off threats from industrial developers, more members of families currently occupying the land, who are living elsewhere, should be encouraged to head back to the community and settle there, according to the priest.
He said regulations may change to allow residents to sub-lease their land to outsiders for commercial purposes to generate a supplementary income for residents. "But I can assure you the land will not be sold," said Father Wichien.
Boonthai Eiam-sai, who leased 20 rai of land from the church, has turned the property into a fish farm.
The former village headman of the community's Moo 1 said some investors have their eyes on his land.
The last time he checked, the land was estimated to be worth at least one million baht.
He believes if the church's land is to be "offloaded" to industrial businesses, it would not be the whole 10,000 rai as the tract would be too large for development, said Mr Boonthai, who is also a church committee member.
"We hope the Church will not think about selling the land," Mr Boonthai said.
"If it does sell it, it means this Christian community will fall apart and the parish church at the centre of people's hearts will not survive either.
"Such a move would undermine the objectives set out by our Father Guego and those others who amassed the land," said Mr Boonthai.
Father Wichien, meanwhile, noted an emerging trend that has him worried, saying some residents are overly focused on making a living and have lost sight of their duty to the Church.
Forging community strength is done by arranging religious gatherings, he said.
Young residents are being encouraged to become priests in the church although these efforts have yet to show results.
"A recent meeting held by the Diocese of Chanthaburi emphasised that priests and other religious people must continuously implement proactive approaches to strengthen Christianity among these families," Father Wichien said.
Thienchai Samarnjit, a former archbishop of Chanthaburi, attends the exhibition.
Descendants of the first group of people who built Ban Hua Pai community gather in traditional costumes. photos by Chaiwat Pumpuang