Little old uninformed me
on My Thai (Thailand), 26/Jan/2011 11:46, 34 days ago
I was going to start on my usual depressing ramble but instead I’d like to point something out:I am painfully aware that all I seem to do in this blog is moan about how tragic my life is here.I’m sort of uncomfortable with the whole blog thing too as I know it’s total self-indulgent narcissism and I’m generally not one for sharing!Having said that, it’s quite cathartic in a way – like I imagine screaming into a pillow would be. Only with more punctuation.So I want to apologise to those who actually make the effort to read through all the drivel– you deserve much praise!VSO had asked a few of us volunteers here to write blogs as, believe it or not, they find it difficult to fill posts in Thailand. People apparently view it as a holiday destination rather than a country with needs such as those where volunteers are placed in Africa, for example. I believe in part it’s down to the power of television – with the profile and publicity garnered by events like Comic Relief and Live Aid, it’s little surprise that a lot of people are ignorant to the plights of those in other parts of the world. And I wholly count myself in that number too: I’m not generally one for following the minutiae of politics when at home (I have no faith in those deemed worthy to lead our country) and, before accepting my placement in Thailand and barring a few sightings of Aung San Suu Kyi on the BBC, was largely unaware of either the historical or current situation in Burma.Today I stumbled across a LIFE article about Burmese workers in Mahachai and I think the pictures perfectly capture what life in‘the armpit’ is like for many migrants. You can check them out here:http://www.life.com/search/?q0=mahachaiAnd I would also thoroughly recommend the filmBurma VJwhich, very movingly, relates the events of Burma’s latest uprising - the ‘Saffron Revolution’ of 2007. In a (hopefully correct) nutshell, the Burmese junta suddenly decided to lift fuel subsidies and, with market prices having already tripled within the previous year, fuel prices then rose by as much as 500%. As a result, the price of foodand most other basic goods became massively inflated almost overnight and many families were left unable to pay for necessities such as food or travel.In protest at the situation, Buddhist monks from across the country marched peacefully in Burma’s major cities with Rangoon itself seeing 100,000 supporters. The junta, responding with the violence they are renowned for, raided dozens of monasteries across the country while ordering soldiers to open fire on the gathered crowds.Despite the junta’s best efforts to beat out their dissent and determination, the courage, pride and hope of those involved remain a true inspiration. You can watch the film, split into 10 minutes sections, on Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6DfCLqLVUgI think our situation here as volunteers is an interesting one.Thailand would class itself as a developed country and, as such, life here is mostly comfortable. If I want to, I can walk to the small supermarket a minute or two from my flat and buy milk, bread, pasta, extortionately priced cheese, even slightly wrong tasting Dairy Milk. Go into Mahachai and there’s a KFC (great for vegetarians like me!), Swansen’s ice cream parlour and bakeries. Further afield there’s Bangers with everything you could ever think you’d want and more (for example, I managed to find two ukulele shops in the same day). In Mecca (AKA ‘Siam Paragon’) there are shoppers dressed to the nines and shoes that cost more than my yearly volunteer allowance.Having said all that, Thailand’s proximity to countries such as Burma has resulted in a great influx of need which many in Thailand are unable or unwilling to accept responsibility for.I’m told that in Mahachai it’s perfectly normal for about 20 workers to share a bedsit the same size as mine. Working in shifts, they also sleep in shifts and that way manage to exist on their extremely low wages. At 14 or 15 it’s expected that children will join the workforce and, working sixdays out of seven, there’s little time or energy left for life outside the factory. Visiting a fellow volunteer’s organisation yesterday, I was told about the Sunday classes they run for young adults in the community. These students dedicate their only day off to education in the hopes of a better future but it proves to be a real challenge. After years of these classes some of the students might be able to apply for university but the demands of work and study can often prove too much.I should wake up every day feeling blessed to have been born into the life I have.I moan about not having money, about work, about a million and one other things but I could turn around tomorrow and walk away: pursue a different career, take a different path.I have choices.I have options.With all the pressures placed on the migrant community here, I’m not sure they can say the same.