The Thai Football Association has issued a lifetime ban to Thai referee Mr. Somsak Poosomnuek for using a racial slur in Thai, equivalent to the N-word (‘Ai Dam’), against Abdulkordiri Hamid, a Thai-Ghanaian football player fluent in Thai, during a third division game. In his defense, he claimed it wasn’t racist, pointing to his own darker skin tone compared to the typical Thai individual. Additionally, he noted that his friends have consistently referred to him as ‘Ai Dam’ throughout his life.
Source:
https://www.siamsport.co.th/football-thailand/thaileague-3/35815/
https://www.siamsport.co.th/football-thailand/thaileague-3/37131/
As a thai person, its really not equivalent to the N-word tho.
In Thailand, especially since young age, for some reason people like to nickname a person according to their distinct features.
“Ai-Wan” if you wear glasses “Ai-Tia” if you are short “Ai-Puek” if you are have very very light skin And therefore “Ai-Dam” if you have quite dark skin
Using it in a friendly context, although i still think its not appropriate, sometimes they really use these terms as just a nickname.
However, as much as we try to change the norm of the society, for the longest time, dark skin color represents those who do labour works, therefore having light skin is preferred in Thailand. You will see whitening products EVERYWHERE, collagen products EVERYWHERE, products that claim to make your skin lighter EVERYWHERE!
So yes “Ai-Dam” [literally translated to “Black”] can also be used in a derogatory context. The best equivalent would be if someone would call a fat person “Ai-Uan”, which literally translated to fat. Like its rude, it means to put people down, its not nice.
But its really not equivalent to the N-word…
And trust me, if Thai people want to use the N-word against black people, they would just directly say the N-word just simply cos they dont know what it means and how severe the damage is for saying so.
I still know people who’s still saying it til this day.
So no, Ai-Dam, doesnt equal N-word.