Living In Thailand Blog
Thursday 4th September 2008
I have to admit to feeling a little depressed lately whenever I look to see what is going on in the world. What has been obvious for a long time is that every depressing story is driven by the same thing. Greed.
The financial markets have been in turmoil for over a year now because of greed. Greedy people wanted to live in houses they couldn't afford and greedy bankers were willing to lend them money (while choosing not to carry out any risk assessment) in an attempt to make even more easy money from mortgage deals.
Even when the markets started to collapse there were greedy traders selling short to make a fast buck. Their method involved selling shares they didn't own for one price, starting rumours in the markets to lower the price of those shares, buying them back for a lower price, and then pocketing the difference.
For several years before I left the UK there was a ridiculous situation where unsolicited invitations for credit cards would arrive almost every day through my letter box. These companies knew nothing about me but were willing to give me lots of credit.
Why? Because they were greedy, and charging high interest rates for credit card loans was an easy way to make money. And why were they successful? Because it was an opportunity for greedy people to buy things they couldn't really afford.
I've been following the horrendous story about UK businessman Christopher Foster who executed his wife and daughter before destroying all his worldly possessions and then killing himself.
It seems that he wanted it all: the millionaire lifestyle, the expensively furnished country mansion, luxury performance cars, stables and horses. The reality though was that when his company failed he couldn't afford that lifestyle.
Rather than be content with reverting to a lifestyle he could afford, he decided to end everything in the most tragic of ways. It seems he was driven by greed and in the end he broke down completely.
The political problems in Thailand have all been caused by the greed of a few people. Thaksin and his wife are very greedy people but the situation with them in Thailand was no different to what has been seen in the past in Indonesia, the Philippines, and elsewhere.
The traditionally working class pastime of English football is now all about money, agents and big business. Greed. I cannot believe the American intervention in Iraq was for any other reason than greed. Stories about Thai women killing their husbands for money. Greed. Natural environments being destroyed for commercial gain. Greed.
I'm not a religious person at all but the current state of the world with all this unbridled greed is starting to look just like bible prophecies finally being realised. And if the prophecies are correct, there is much worse to come.
It is also interesting that many people (based largely on beliefs about the Mayan calendar) believe that 2012 will be an apocalyptic year. 2012 isn't far away now.
Our so-called leaders definitely haven't helped in recent times with many politicians being involved in big business. This conflict of interest cannot possibly be healthy. Perhaps these are the 'false teachers' that the prophecies warn about? John Major was chairman of the Carlyle Group, an investment firm which also has many prominent US politicians among its members.
The Bush family's connections to the Saudi oil industry are well documented, as are Thaksin's business interests. Halliburton, the company awarded huge contracts to rebuild Iraq after the US invasion was once led by Dick Cheney. Tony Blair and his wife are not poor people these days. The list goes on and on. Business politics and conflict of interest are not confined to Thailand.
As to where this is all leading, I don't think anyone really knows the answer but the chances are that things will get a lot worse yet before they get any better. Of the Seven Deadly Sins, greed is the one that will eventually destroy everything we have.
Wednesday 3rd September 2008
The Nation published an interesting statistic today. This year's revenue target from tourism was a staggering Bt700 billion. It has been revised now due to the ongoing political crisis that has resulted in tourists cancelling bookings.
There is a myth that Thailand is a poor country. Thailand has huge agricultural and fisheries resources; manufacturing, assembly and service industries; and a tourism industry that other countries can only envy. It is certainly not a poor country; just an unfair one in the way the wealth is distributed.
With regard to tourists cancelling their trips to Thailand, this is completely unnecessary. I had a flight booked to Bangkok the day after the 2006 coup. I was a bit apprehensive at first but when I arrived in Bangkok it was exactly the same as it always is.
I went along to take photos of the tanks and soldiers in what was a very peaceful atmosphere. Thais have their own unique way of doing things and whereas a coup elsewhere might indicate a serious problem it is just a normal event in Thailand.
The only people who are going to get harmed now are those who get directly involved with these protests in a confrontational manner. Innocent bystanders aren't at risk, and certainly not foreign tourists. If you meet any protesters they will probably want to give you a drink and have their photo taken with you, but causing you any harm will be the last thing on their minds.
They aren't thugs. They are ordinary Thais who genuinely believe they are doing the right thing for themselves and their country in what is an honourable cause.
With the PAD blocking regional airports, there might be some inconvenience involved with travelling around but in the tourist resorts the only problems you will see in Thailand will be on TV.
I have always taken the view that times like this are the best times to visit a country. One of the best vacations I ever had was in Egypt shortly after the Luxor massacre. I got a bargain deal in a fabulous hotel on the Red Sea and it was like having the place to myself.
There were no crowds anywhere and the locals went out of their way to be helpful because they were so grateful that a few tourists were still arriving. If I was in the UK now watching what was going on in Thailand, I would probably be straight on the phone to Trailfinders booking a flight to Bangkok.
There is a saying in English that 'no news is good news' but in Thailand, it is the opposite. Thais don't like telling people things they don't want to hear so when you are expecting to hear something, but come up against a wall of silence, it normally means bad news.
This is also one of the reasons why Thais sometimes lie. There are deceitful lies, but there also face-saving lies. Thais won't want to tell you they don't know something - or don't have something - because that's not what you want to hear, and also they will lose face.
To get around this, they will just make up an answer they think you want to hear but it isn't true. It is not done to deliberately deceive you but to make you happy!
I have run into problems many times asking Thais for directions. If they don't know, they don't want to tell you they don't know, so what they do is make out they know and send you off on a wild goose chase.
There was a last-ditch effort yesterday to save my job. The people who are trying to help me went to speak to someone in the 'Policy Department'. Since then, nothing has been said so I assume the decision did not go in my favour. If it had been positive news, I suspect I would have heard by now.
The person in the 'Policy Department' was apparently going through my CV with a fine-tooth comb. There was some concern about 'zero-levels' that resulted in a phone call. What they actually wanted to know about was my 'O' levels.
For readers outside of the UK, 'O' levels are secondary school exams taken at the age of 16. I found it quite unbelievable that they were looking at school exams I completed over 30 years ago.
What they really need instead of a 'Policy Department' is a 'Common Sense Department' and for someone to ask the question, "Can he do the job?" Unfortunately, that is very unlikely to happen in a system where policies override common sense.
I am really past caring now. And anyway, I think it is time for a break.
Tuesday 2nd September 2008
What a horrible, horrible mess. Bangkok under state of emergency. As I predicted might happen, the protests in Bangkok that started off as a bit of a day out and a picnic have turned nasty. At least one person has been killed, lots more have been injured, and the situation is looking very tense with Samak refusing to go.
This was no great act of foresight on my part but just a case of looking at recent history. The student uprising of 1973 saw many people lose their lives. The Wikipedia article on this subject gives a figure of 1,577 lives lost.
Students at Thammasat university were massacred on October 6, 1976. As they tried to escape they were gunned down or lynched and hung from trees. It is not clear how many students died. Maybe around 50, maybe hundreds, but when Samak attempted to rewrite history recently he said it was only one. Samak played a key role in the events of that day.
In Black May of 1992 more people lost their lives in violent clashes. This is the ugly side of Thailand once again. There is a tendency not to do anything about problems for a long time, followed by a big overreaction.
Who is to blame?
According to my southern Thai friends and colleagues, the blame lies entirely with Samak and they say that if he were to leave office everything will be OK. I disagree. If that happens, Thaksin's latest reincarnation of the Thai Ruk Thai party will only come to power if another election is held and Thailand will be in exactly the same position as it is now. But I don't blame Thaksin either.
Many years ago, the acclaimed Thai social critic Sulak Sivaraksa wrote a piece called 'The Privileged Elite Versus The Common Man' where he talks about the huge divide between Thailand's 'haves' and 'have-nots'. It's worth reading, all the more so because it was written by a Thai.
Thais born into privileged families have a great life. There is a massive peasant workforce out there providing them with cheap food and cheap labour. If they have businesses where they deal with foreigners, they get the best of both worlds.
They charge foreigners international rates but pay for everything at local rates. The privileged owners do very well but the poor Thais who build their hotels and offices, and who staff their businesses earn a pittance.
You only have to look around in Thailand to see that there is a massive amount of wealth but that it is very unevenly divided.
When Thaksin came to power he tapped into the hearts and minds of the rural poor electorate to secure his power base. Securing his power base was his only motive but as a result Thailand's poor suddenly found a person who was actually doing something for them.
The clashes in Bangkok have nothing to do with so-called democracy even if the protesters march under the banner of The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The last thing privileged Thais want in Thailand is a system of Western-style democracy because the rural poor, who make up the majority of the electorate, will win every time.
What we are seeing in Thailand now is a massive power struggle between Thailand's old elite who want things to remain as they have always done and the new type of politics Thaksin instigated that has given the poor something to feel optimistic about.
The Thais have only themselves to blame for creating such a horribly unfair and divided society where life is fantastic for a minority but a real hardship for the vast majority.
What is at stake is huge and for certain people there is a lot to be lost. They will not give up what they have without a fight and this doesn't bode at all well for Thailand. Each side in this struggle is using ordinary Thais from different sections of society to fight their cause. Unfortunately, I believe these ordinary people are only being used and that they are a bit misguided in their actions and beliefs.
What it all comes down to is greed. Even when Thais have a lot already, some can never have enough. That was what brought about Thaksin's downfall and if you analyse the current problems to a very low level, it is all about greed again.
The really worrying thing - as we have seen with Thai women who murder their foreign husbands for money - is that when it comes to greed there are no limits to what greedy Thais are capable of doing.
This has to be the quote of the day from Real president Ramon Calderon, regarding Robinho's move from Real Madrid to Man City:
"The fact that he has accepted an offer from Manchester City says that he is not going for sporting reasons."
City fans will love that one. Of course, the fans won't care that Thaksin has gone. Football supporters only care about success on the field and with the money that will be made available by the new megarich owners, success will surely come.
It's actually a very sad indictment as to what professional football has become these days. It's just about big business and huge amounts of money. Both Kevin Keegan and Harry Redknapp have stated recently that teams without rich owners will never compete with the top four (plus now possibly Man City), and they are right. And to think it used to be a working man's game. Jumpers for goalposts, etc., etc.
Monday 1st September 2008
The following quotes are from 25th August 2008, one week ago. Thaksin still focused on Man City
"Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has no intentions of selling up and remains committed to the club."
"This is his love, and he wants to show people he is committed," Cook told BBC Radio Manchester. "I asked the question as well as everyone else - 'is the club for sale?' and he is quite adamant this club is not for sale and he is here for the long haul."
And now, just one week later (not exactly the long haul):
This is why Thais refer to Thaksin as being kee gong, which means someone who can't be trusted.
Anyone who has followed Thaksin over the years will know that nothing he says can ever be believed. He says one thing - in this case he was 'adamant' he wasn't going to sell Man City - and five minutes later does exactly the opposite. The man lies so much that I'm not even sure he realises he does it.
The lunatic is getting ready to leave the asylum. Or is he?
After three-and-a-half years working for my current employer, certain people who I have never met - and who don't know me - have decided I am not qualified enough to teach English to students who, for the most part, have very poor English skills.
This decision has nothing to do with my performance, and completely ignores the relevant skills and qualifications I have. The decision is based on the level I studied an entirely unrelated discipline to 30 years ago. Of course, having studied Mechanical and Production Engineering to HNC level - and not degree level - 30 years ago makes no difference at all to my ability to teach English now, but that isn't how Thai minds think.
Lots of factors are taken into consideration when assigning individuals to their position in the strictly hierarchical structure of Thai society and meaningless bits of paper count for a lot here. As I mentioned recently, the country is saturated with graduates holding useless degrees. Bachelor's degrees are becoming so worthless that students are now automatically going on to study Master's degrees immediately after graduating.
It is beyond useless trying to talk sense or to explain the education system in 1970's Britain to most Thais. To narrow-minded Thais, degree = good but anything called a certificate or diploma = bad. Anyway, I have known this was coming for some time. It was good while it lasted but nothing lasts forever.
For a while now, I have been preparing for this and planning what I will do next. The latest news, however, is that someone who does actually know me would like me to continue teaching. He is a senior figure at the university but I don't know how successful he will be in fighting the faceless bureaucrats.
With my visa and work permit about to expire in a few weeks, time is ticking away. It's not a particularly good feeling not knowing where I will be or what I will be doing after this month so I am having to develop two sets of plans. It's a massive headache.
Thailand is a wonderful place for a vacation or to retire but working here isn't always easy. Dealing with Thai logic, Thai time scales, the Thai way of doing things, and with people who seem to have no idea what foreigners have to go through in order to work in the country legally is trying at the best of times.
I've had problems elsewhere trying to get employers to do the necessary paperwork in order to get my work permit updated. They don't want to do anything to help and make unhelpful comments such as, "It isn't necessary with part-time work." YES, IT IS.
If they have students and require a native speaking teacher, they want native speakers to be on demand whenever the need arises to suit them, but many employers don't want to help foreigners with the necessary paperwork. It's quite a selfish attitude really.
The bottom line is that at this very moment I don't have a clue where I will be next month. On the basis that predictable lives are boring ones perhaps this is a good thing, but on this particular occasion I would actually appreciate knowing a little more about my immediate future.
Last year, the decision about my contract extension was left right until the last minute but this year the situation is even less predictable. I should be getting used to this by now but there are certain things in Thailand - such as the way Thais drive - that I never get used to no matter how long I stay here.