Tsunami By Choice

Four years ago, on December 26th 2004, at around noon, one of the worst weeks in my life started in Villa Market with some free degustation of Blue Ice Beer, the probably worst beer in the world. While attempting to spew the terrible brew, my mother-in-law called. There’d been some big wave down in Phuket, she said. A few hours later, still dizzy from that indefinable brew, I was in my car heading down to Phuket.

Arriving there with next day’s sunrise, most coastal roads were still impassable, inundated with dead bodies and debris. Couldn’t count the bloated bodies of the dead along the road anymore even after the first day, not to mention the following days. Thailand and the tsunami-affected Indian Ocean suffered tremendous pain. But togetherness and solidarity were strong in those days.

An unseen wave of worldwide solidarity swept the disaster region. Help from everywhere arrived. Schoolchildren and housewives in faraway countries collected money for the tsunami victims. This time around, with Thailand’s political crisis, damage is of completely different nature. But not less devastating – and completely preventable, if common sense could prevail.

Thailand again suffers great pain and we witness no worldwide solidarity whatsoever. On the contrary. Hotels report the lowest monthly occupancy rates they’ve experienced in history. Don’t blame the old government. Don’t blame the protesters. Blame the whole nation that a minority of supremacist do-gooders was able to take their chance.

Nobody can number the damage Thailand suffers in the wake of the chaos campaign. We’re talking billions of baht mainly affecting the tourism sector, which accounts for over six percent of the kingdom’s economy and directly employs some 1.8 million people with many more depending on it.

As a consequence, by having scared off foreigners, a key sector of an economy already reeling from slowing exports due to the global downturn, Thailand suffers another tsunami. The human toll back then was unspeakable, but actually brought tons of money and goodwill into the country and showed the outside world a kingdom Thais can still be proud of.

The damages of then and now differ in nature, but not in real life. Thailand’s politics of impunity with the worst slump in Thai tourism since decades put the December 2004 tsunami, bird flu and SARS in the shade.

Back then Thailand treated foreigners with utmost dignity and respect. Just now, under the pretext of higher morals and ethics, foreigners were held hostage by cheering and smiling, indoctrinated radicals in disguise who enjoyed a lot of fun and excellent food and music at the airport.

With the main reason for the overthrow of the old governments being that they bought elections. Now chief buyers of that old government sit in pole positions of the new government, while none of the principal agitators is in serious danger of persecution.

I know, you heard it all before a thousand times and are tired of the same old outrage. It’s just … Thailand suffers another tsunami and nobody in the outside world really cares. Tough luck. Serves ‘em right.

Ridiculed politics and kangaroo courts and empty beaches and such? Well, who doesn’t love empty beaches. But this sense of freedom comes with a hefty price tag attached.

Once you were proud of living here. Now you’re plain embarrassed or just sad for the country suffering these not only partially self-inflicted pains. Maybe you’re even slightly worried.




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December 26, 2008 | Filed Under Being Farang, History, Society, Travel & Tourism 

Comments

9 Responses to “Tsunami By Choice”

  1. malaysian explorer on December 26th, 2008 1.36 pm

    Thanks for a very good review of the situation in Thailand.

    Cheers!

  2. thy on December 26th, 2008 5.34 pm

    Absolutely embarrassed.

  3. David Brown on December 26th, 2008 6.09 pm

    I was always a bit worried how the rich in Thailand seemed to be surrounded by people they could give a few baht to get them to do things …

    It never seemed really healthy that these poor people were always just there, waiting for a few baht.

    But everyone seemed to be smiling, and everyone seemed to revere the king and queen, the food is always a nice, tasty surprise and accomodation, clothing and food are cheap … everything must be alright.

    What a change in the last few months … I have learnt so much I did not want to know about rich families and the military.

    Also, I think, the ordinary Thai people have changed, they are not smiling, they don’t respect the institution so much, they think their country and their Thai hero is being badly treated by a madman and his mates acting for the military and the rich families.

    The ordinary people are not smiling and when the military try to put pressure on them to conform, like they did in 2007 … this time the pressure will be resisted.

    The rich families, for their own benefit, should put the PAD back in their box and knuckle under to real full voting democracy.

  4. Sceptic on December 27th, 2008 1.08 pm

    If there was another natural disaster like the 2004 tsunami, I wonder if Thailand has a government and prime minister capable of acting as swiftly, decisively and effectively as was certainly the case four years ago.

  5. martin on December 28th, 2008 6.18 am

    David Brown you are correct and we are looking at some pretty big trouble.

    The one event that wll trigger this and change thailand forever is comeing in 2009 I feel.

  6. Mark Lamerton on December 28th, 2008 1.45 pm

    Great post and very interesting comparison. I also agree with martin above. I think what will happen in 2009 – in a country in a state of denial and political turmoil, unable and unwilling to discuss the facts about anything and rapidly falling into recession – will change Thailand in a very bad way. No manufactured, unelected government will be able to cope with this.

  7. stefan on December 28th, 2008 5.10 pm

    350,000-stem grapevine. It’s hard to comment on Thailand without sounding like a headline for NotTheNation, which despite it’s name, is more accurate than The Nation. The memories of 350,000 travelers who were held hostage by a bunch of spoilt children will not fade fast, and each individual acts as an indepenent advertizing agency, with more proliferation and viral spread of negative information on this country and some of its people. Some Thais choose to have short memory, while many a victim of the airport seizure will not.

  8. Charles Frith on December 31st, 2008 4.16 pm

    The myopic and solipsistic content of the post are in part responsible for the demise of Thailand.

    Take a look at the wider world and the macro problems are evident. You can still pick a mango off the tree in Thailand. Not the same as 3 days food supply in most American cities.

  9. whoopla on December 31st, 2008 5.02 pm

    What’s a mango got to do with 3 days food supply in U.S.? Rather a solipsistic comment, old chap.

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