Letters to The Editors of Bangkok Newspapers

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A PLAN TO ROOT OUT
BRIBE TAKERS

Just for fun, imagine if Thai authorities were serious about exposing bribe takers.

PM THAKSIN IS BUILDING A POLITICAL HIERARCHY THAT WILL SPAN DECADES

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THAI IMMIGRATION SPEAKS WITH FORKED TONGUE

The rules vary widely depending whether you're Chinese, dark-skinned hill tribe, or freckled farang

TO BE BRAVE TO ASSIST
A CHILD IN NEED

If strangers don't protect children from abuse by their nimble fingered relatives, who will?

ONE HIGHWAY DEATH
PER DAY - OK

It's always someone else's problem. That is, until it hits close to home.

FOR THOSE WITH
NO NATIONALITY

Being born in the 'No-Man's-land' in Central SE Asia can be a life-long hassle

CHARITY AND STICKY FINGERS

How needy hill tribe Christians are being cut off from donations earmarked for them

PM Thaksin is setting the foundation stones for a political hierarchy that will span decades. His son will be first in line to fill his father’s shoes. If the son doesn’t warm to the task, there will be plenty other family members standing in the wings - and they won’t be standing on the corner shaking a donation can.

Thais may not be enamored to the PM’s family, but enough will continue to vote them in to power. The effective political tool; ‘promise them personal financial gain” will suffice to keep the masses voting their way. The peoples’ high regard for all things to do with big money will gild their allegiance - however reluctant.

As far as playing the political game, the opposition is not in the same ballpark.
Just by looking at the one facet of 'political posters' in the previous national
election; TRT’s posters had better graphics, were posted everywhere, and probably out-numbering opposition posters 5,000 to 1. The PM and his entourage won’t mess with what works. They’ll continue to tell the common people what they want to hear, and their campaigns will continue to outspend and out-smart the opposition like King Kong stomping on Bambi.

THAI IMMIGRATION SPEAKS WITH FORKED TONGUE

A few words for the millions of disenfranchised people in Thailand who have no voice. A baby is born in a remote Thai village. For one reason or another, his/her parents can't get it together to travel hours down a dirt road to the provincial government seat - to officially register the child's birth. Should that child therefore be stigmatized for the rest of its life as being essentially a non-person?

As that boy or girl matures he/she may, if lucky, get a hill tribe ID card, but the possibility of obtaining a Thai ID is costly and remote at best. One thing the Post's editorial failed to mention was the bribery that's built-in to the system. Every hill tribe has its headman (never a woman) who will mandate a fee for the possibility (not guarantee) of getting an ID. The going rate is between 30 and 80 thousand Baht. How much of that extortive fee goes in the headman's pocket, and how much gets passed on to Thai bureaucrats? Only they know, and they ain't tellin'. Plus, who's to say whether it's a bona fide ID or a good fake?

Some of my friends here in the Chiang Rai region have no ID. Technically, I'm breaking the law just by talking with them or giving them a ride on my motorbike. Once in awhile one will get grabbed by a policeman who will demand a high payment on the spot - or haul him to jail. The frightened non-person will frantically borrow a large sum to pay the cop, but will receive no receipt - therefore another cop could force a similar shake-down around the next corner.

Though they've been barred from getting an education beyond grammar school, their handle on English is generally good. Indeed their conversational English is often much better than my Thai acquaintances, whether they be bank officers, top brass police/military, politicians or business owners - all with top-notch university degrees. People without ID aren't allowed to travel from town to town and aren't allowed to hold any type of real job. On the other hand, I have a friend who came to Thailand from Yunnan, China seven years ago - and, though he's a laborer by trade and had no family ties in Thailand, was able to get a legal Thai ID. He's just one of millions of Chinese immigrants who - besides never having to hassle with required 30-day visa trips like farang - stand to gain Thai citizenship in an easy, albeit clandestine manner. Imagine a freckled farang getting Thai citizenship in seven years (or any amount of years) - impossible!

Anyone who's spent time in northern Thailand realizes that a great many of its residents are of Chinese descent. Certainly most businesses there are owned by people who came to Thailand from China between one and three generations earlier. Nothing against Chinese immigrants, but there are inequities with the way Thai immigration authorities deal with (a) immigrants from China, (b) immigrant laborers from other Asian countries, (c) resident farang, and (c) Thai-born hill tribe people.

One explanation why Chinese immigrants are so easily able to gain Thai citizenship is behind-the-scenes assistance from strong Chinese-boosting organizations - plus biased support at all levels of Thai bureaucracy. Though it may have little bearing to the issue of immigration in Thailand, it's worth noting that two Chinese families, Wei and Pao, essentially control Burma. They control most of its commerce, its public transport, own its airports & airlines, and own much of Burma's choicest real estate. It's no secret that a large measure of their operating capital comes via dealing illegal drugs.

Regarding immigration inequities in Thailand: bureaucrats can continue to sweep the issue under the carpet, or even issue flat denials (as they did with the SARS debacle), but the issue of non-people residing here won't go away. Indeed, The problem will only grow larger until dealt with in a dynamic, timely and fair manner - with an emphasis on 'fair'.

Charity and Sticky Fingers

There's a connection between some folks in Colorado Springs and some in northern Thailand. I'm not an investigative reporter, but I have pieced together a few bits of a story from my Thai friends that may be of interest. Actually, they're marginally Thai, most being immigrants from Thai/Burmese hill region, members of the Karien hill tribe who've recently converted to Christianity. Last night, four of them came to my house to express their concerns.

Listening to their halting English, I endeavored to piece together the following: A Baptist charity based in Colorado Springs apparently gives donations via a "Compassion Program". The donations appear to be earmarked for needy people in such places as this impoverished community in northernmost Thailand. As with most charities, there are middle people through whom funds are channeled, and human nature being what it is, those channels are sticky.

Chiang Mai, a large Thai city four hour's drive away, is apparently the hub through which these well intentioned funds must go through in order to get dispersed. I'm told that, up until recently, the charity office was a modest affair being administered by a fellow Karien who handled his duties responsibly. Recently, a group of Thai nationals took over and things have changed markedly. The office has become a $5,000/month extravagance with fat salaries to boot. When Compassion Program meetings are arranged in outlying towns, charity staff travel in planes and stay at up-market hotels. Interested common folk come by bus and stay at $1/night places.

The charity funds are (apparently) earmarked for things that will benefit the small Christian enclaves in northern Thailand. My local friends inform me that such things as a few musical instruments for a music class and an allowance to stock some kid's books at a community center were deemed unworthy by the big city charity staff. A few sacks of cement to stucco the bare-brick walls of a modest community room was also considered an inappropriate expenditure.

Last year, the village's Christian community began building a large two story church (non-charity funded). The foundation footings, each large enough to dwarf a VW bug, were hand dug. Rather than resort to the extravagance of a cement truck from the nearby town, the locals created a bucket brigade to pour hand-mixed cement in the gaping holes. On rainy days, there would be a like number of workers standing alongside with umbrellas. Grannies and grandkids worked side by side, sometimes singing their Karien folk songs. The church construction ran out of funds (needs $20,000 to complete), but the project has relegated the former church building to becoming a one room community center.

Currently, that would-be community hall is empty, save for a corner being used to store a farmer's dried corn. Maybe tables, chairs and shelving are forthcoming. Heck, maybe someday some revenue for arts & crafts, games and educational material will materialize. Given the current sticky fingers running the charity conveyor, the prospects are dim.

Another dynamic of the charity seems to be connections between the generous folks in Colorado and recipients here in Thailand. My Karien/Thai friends convey that lines of communication are not open. Apparently, the charity staff are not enabling direct communication (with photos, greetings) between the two groups.

A modest amount of funding can go a long way in a region where a laborer is lucky to earn $600/year and some villagers resort to rooting for beetle larvae to survive from day to day.

A PLAN TO ROOT OUT BRIBE TAKERS

        The Thai government's Excise Tax Department recently raised concerns regarding how much tax it may have been cheated out of by businesses in red-light districts of Bangkok. The Department devised a plan to interview masseuses and other low rank-workers to see whether their work load coincided with the business managers' reports of revenue coming in (Dept. investigators also plan to receive two-hour massages in the course of their investigation, but that's beside the point). The Tax Dept. kindly forewarned of their interview strategy - which allowed business owners ample time to coach their workers on what - or what not to say.

        By their own admission, the Excise Tax Dept. got motivated when they realized that red-light district businesses' bribes to police may have exceeded tax revenue. The Dept. also made clear that any businesses found delinquent would be compelled to pay tax in arrears.

        Which brings us to the main point of this letter: If the government is serious about rooting out as much evidence of police & CID bribe-taking as possible - the new Excise Tax Dept. activity offers a golden opportunity. For starters, it's obvious that business people who pay bribes don't like doing so, but are adverse to speaking out. The Tax Dept. could offer an amnesty (for arrears owed) to all businessmen who come clean. In other words, all business owners who come forth with specific & detailed bribe information would not be investigated for tax evasion and would be cleared of having to pay their past-due excise taxes.

        Moreover, high ranking government officials would have us believe that bribe taking is a two way street with blame falling equally on the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker. Not so! Those who pay bribes are compelled to do so by serious threats. Those who take bribes are often public servants who have taken an oath to uphold the law. Among the losers are (a) low-tier workers who are virtual slaves devoid of government oversight/protection, (b) consumers who suffer inflated prices for products & services, and (c) the tarnished reputation of government authorities.

        Sure, police should get better pay, but so should doctors, teachers, and many other hard workers. Should we reward police sooner, with better salaries, because they're the baddest boys on the block? And what about the weekly plethora of police and government people who get assigned to 'inactive posts'? Are some of those posts in your neighborhood? If the top banana really ran the government like a corporation, he would fire the bad apples, and reward good workers with better pay.

BE BRAVE TO ASSIST A CHILD IN NEED

        True scenario: A foreign man (me) is walking down the street. It's a lazy soi where I live and most people recognize me, but that doesn't really matter in this case. I stroll by two people. One is a Thai man about 20 years old, the other a girl 7 or 8 years old. The man is sitting on the edge of the tall curb with legs apart, the girl leaning backward, her back to his front. His arms are wrapped in front of her body, hands near her groin, pressing the girl flush against the inside of his thighs. He greets me with a loopy grin. The young girl also has a forced grin, yet she ordinarily greets me with a beaming smile. She likes this farang who says silly things in his broken Thai.

         I'm in a dilemma. I don't know whether or not the man is aroused, but regardless, I know it's wrong for a man to press a kid against his loins. I'm led to believe there's a family connection of some sort between the two and that he lives (maybe temporarily) in the same house as she. I also know the girl shares the house with her mother, grandparents and little sister. Major factors in my dilemma are my almost non-existent handle on the Thai language at the time, and the knowledge that 'face' is of paramount importance for Asians. If I compel (with force, if necessary) the man to release the girl, I know that a lot of 'face' will be at stake. The likelihood that resentment and possibly anger will erupt from the man concerns me a bit, as it would have repercussions upon my good relationships in the neighborhood. However, my overwhelming concern is for the well-being of the child. I think 'if that man can be so intimate with a girl in daylight on a public street - how much more invasive can he be in the darkness of her bedroom at night?'

        I regret to say I did nothing beyond offering a disapproving scowl at the man. In hindsight, I wish I had done two things: (1) disengaged the two people at that moment, and (2) gone back later with a Thai interpreter to speak with the girl's mother. I'm quite sure that discussing the delicate matter with the mother would have brought forth vast amounts of face-losing for all parties. Along with heated denials of wrongdoing by the man, there would probably have been just as heated protectionism from the mother/aunt - for her family member (younger brother, nephew, whomever). A confrontation would surely polarize me as the uppity farang. But again, my prime concern was the well-being of the girl and her younger sister.

        Regarding sexual abuse of children; there are several dynamics that come in to play - factors that cross cultural and time lines. One is that the majority of abuse is never reported. Next is that mothers who suspect or are informed of abuse are inclined to dismiss it. The main reason for their 'sweeping it under the rug' is: nearly all sexual abuse of little children is perpetrated by family members. Again, saving face takes precedence over confrontation. It's tough for a female (most likely a single mother) to confront a male family member (most likely a boyfriend, husband, nephew, uncle or brother) about a prickly and possibly criminal affair.

        Overall, it's an especially rotten mix for the child who's robbed of innocence and scarred for life. That child's main defense is brave adults - and more often than not, adults let her down. I wish I'd been brave that day.

ONE HIGHWAY DEATH PER DAY - OK

A small northeastern Thai provice was showcased in July '03 as having significantly lowered their road death rate - down to an average of just one per day. Is one death per day commendable?

Every Songkran, as deaths and injuries pile up, there is always debate about how to improve the situation. Fatalities happen every day on Thai roads, it's just that the increased drunkenness and mayhem of Songkran fuels public concern. This past holiday season was another record setter and it was proposed that a government commission be appointed to try to lessen the problem. I think it was that same commission that commemorated the outlying province for bringing their death toll down to a fathomable one--per-day average.

I'd like to do what I could in an advisory capacity to help lessen bad driving habits in Thailand. However, I doubt the esteemed commission would want a person like me on their committee. My unflattering descriptions of Thai driving habits would infuse too much reality into the debate. Furthermore, my suggestions for improvements would likely be scoffed at as too outlandish. Such things as (1) driving on the correct side of the road, (2) tangible penalties for driving while drunk, and (3) being courteous to other drivers and pedestrians. Whether I'd agree to cops handing out gold chain rewards for drivers honoring the speed limit is in doubt.

True story: On a busy 2-lane road, six monks in robes and two elder women were stuck standing on the middle line, having crossed one lane and waiting uncomfortably to cross the other. Not one of a whole stream of slow moving vehicles stopped to allow the group to pass. Granted, common courtesy can't be legislated, but perhaps it can improve by example and gentle persuasion.

FOR THOSE WITH NO NATIONALITY

Many people in Thailand cannot get an ID. It's unfortunate and unfair that people of all ages who were born (and some whose parents were born) in Thailand, have scant chance of being legal.

        Just as irresponsibility is endemic among fathers who offer no support to inconvenient offspring, similarly Thai government policy is sloughing their responsibility to certain inconvenient people. I wonder if the government would continue to ignore those tens of thousands of able-bodied folks if it needed added manpower to conduct a war.

        The current system requires people to pay hefty bribes to village headmen in order to gain the possibility (but not guarantee) of getting an ID card. And that doesn't count the tedious, humiliating and drawn-out processes involved. ID cards should cost no more than Bt.400 ($10) to cover photo, card material and processing. In a fair society an ID card, along with primary education for all kids, would be free and readily accessible - but now I'm in Fantasyland.

        Perhaps the U.N. Office of Refugees could take up the slack. They could declare; "citizenship is a basic right for all people" and add some teeth to that declaration by giving a free passport to any disenfranchised person. It could be called a "Terran Passport" - from the word 'Terra' for 'Earth'.

        The applicant would have to claim they were denied citizenship in their rightful country - but even if that weren't entirely true it wouldn't much matter. Just as dual-citizenship for two countries is already prevalent, so too dual citizenship with a Terran Passport would be viable. Aliens from other planets would not be eligible.

...some letters to The Nation and The Bangkok Post newspapers