The trouble with Thailand.....
Winter seems to have arrived here in the UK, though the temperatures are still a few degrees above what the average is for this time of year. Wife has been and now returned to Thailand.
The more I read about Thailand and the current round of trouble and bullshit the more I don't want to be there.
People have been arrested for the new year bombings but whether they are the right people is anyone's guess.
The military government, of which I was originally in favour of, are starting to go the way of previous Thai dictatorships. The press is under greater control than when Taksin was there, they are getting all huffy every time Taksin goes anywhere or talks to anyone. They've "threatened" Japan about doing any interviews with him. It would be interesting to know exactly what they could threaten Japan with, as Japan seems to hold all the cards in the Jap/Thai relationship. Odd that CNN have interviewed him but they haven't "threatened" the US as yet. And they're taking what can only be described as a xenophobic approach to foreign and domestic policy.
A Japanese criminal on the run has been hiding in Thailand since June last year, with the Japs requesting his arrest since then. Strangely nothing happened until Taksin hit Japanese soil and mysteriously the Thai authorities happened upon this guy and offered him to Japan. Odd that.
Thais have been protesting outside the Singaporean Embassy shouting such things as "Singapore money out of Thailand". That's nice. When Thailand precipitated the crash of 1997 they were begging for foreign money but now they're doing well foreigners get the bird. All because Singapore wouldn't follow some military dictatorship's orders.
Will Taksin ever be in court? Will he ever be found guilty? Will the families of the murdered masses of Thailand ever find justice? The answer is surely a resounding NO. Thais in power are immune from criticism and certainly aren't likely to find themselves in the dock, much less a jail. Taksin's maid will probably get most of the stick and be found guilty of some wrongdoing and punished instead of the Shinawatras.
Oddly enough if he isn't found guilty of something then the present dictatorship will be completely illegitimate. But then who is going to say anything too loud about that? Don't forget, it is considered un-Thai to criticise your own kind. What goes on in Thailand is obviously correct because the clever people in charge say it is so the masses follow like sheep and blame foreign influence and misunderstanding of the "Thai way".
It looks like we have agreement (from the wife) on a return to Europe within the coming year, or early next year. Yipp-e-dee! The clock is ticking. I do like Thailand, just not the culture and the older my daughter gets the more I would like here not to be educated in Thailand and not to become "too Thai" in her thinking. Also, the longer I go without working the poorer I will become. I've enjoyed my time looking after my daughter but I need to be working.
On top of that it feels strange raising my daughter in a country where her father will always be an "alien" and discriminated against. More than anything that is something that I will always find hard to come to terms with.
Arghh, that's better!!
The trouble with Thailand.....
Winter seems to have arrived here in the UK, though the temperatures are still a few degrees above what the average is for this time of year. Wife has been and now returned to Thailand.
The more I read about Thailand and the current round of trouble and bullshit the more I don't want to be there.
People have been arrested for the new year bombings but whether they are the right people is anyone's guess.
The military government, of which I was originally in favour of, are starting to go the way of previous Thai dictatorships. The press is under greater control than when Taksin was there, they are getting all huffy every time Taksin goes anywhere or talks to anyone. They've "threatened" Japan about doing any interviews with him. It would be interesting to know exactly what they could threaten Japan with, as Japan seems to hold all the cards in the Jap/Thai relationship. Odd that CNN have interviewed him but they haven't "threatened" the US as yet. And they're taking what can only be described as a xenophobic approach to foreign and domestic policy.
A Japanese criminal on the run has been hiding in Thailand since June last year, with the Japs requesting his arrest since then. Strangely nothing happened until Taksin hit Japanese soil and mysteriously the Thai authorities happened upon this guy and offered him to Japan. Odd that.
Thais have been protesting outside the Singaporean Embassy shouting such things as "Singapore money out of Thailand". That's nice. When Thailand precipitated the crash of 1997 they were begging for foreign money but now they're doing well foreigners get the bird. All because Singapore wouldn't follow some military dictatorship's orders.
Will Taksin ever be in court? Will he ever be found guilty? Will the families of the murdered masses of Thailand ever find justice? The answer is surely a resounding NO. Thais in power are immune from criticism and certainly aren't likely to find themselves in the dock, much less a jail. Taksin's maid will probably get most of the stick and be found guilty of some wrongdoing and punished instead of the Shinawatras.
Oddly enough if he isn't found guilty of something then the present dictatorship will be completely illegitimate. But then who is going to say anything too loud about that? Don't forget, it is considered un-Thai to criticise your own kind. What goes on in Thailand is obviously correct because the clever people in charge say it is so the masses follow like sheep and blame foreign influence and misunderstanding of the "Thai way".
It looks like we have agreement (from the wife) on a return to Europe within the coming year, or early next year. Yipp-e-dee! The clock is ticking. I do like Thailand, just not the culture and the older my daughter gets the more I would like here not to be educated in Thailand and not to become "too Thai" in her thinking. Also, the longer I go without working the poorer I will become. I've enjoyed my time looking after my daughter but I need to be working.
On top of that it feels strange raising my daughter in a country where her father will always be an "alien" and discriminated against. More than anything that is something that I will always find hard to come to terms with.
Arghh, that's better!!
The trouble with Thailand.....
posted by Life Out East at 17:49
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