Massacre at Yala

Two days ago a van full of people were killed in the south. The van was acting as a bus and was chosen at random. The aggressors put a tree trunk across the road, as the van tried to U -turn the attackers came out with machine guns and killed them all bar one who escaped seriously injured.


The government did little except to confirm that it will continue its peaceful policy but will also impose a curfew in the area.

Something has snapped though. In several provinces, peaceful demonstrations against the attack took place with some demanding that the government take stronger action against these people. Patience is beginning to reach breaking point and this does not bode well.

Surayud's problem - apart from the aging and inept government surrounding him - is that like troops in Iraq, he is up against a cowardly enemy he can't see. How can he use peaceful means with an invisible opponent? I'm also predicting right here that villagers will grow antagonised by a curfew and quite possibly they will be manipulated to use this as a reason for further skirmishes with authorities.

I'm stepping things up in this area. Like most Thais, I'm tired of seeing innocents slaughtered every day. The greatest excuse apologists make for them is that they are a corrupted few or they are fighting for restoration of historical justice.

Both arguments are starting to display their hollowness. First, the latest Muslim militant tactic has been to send hundreds of woman and children to protest for the release of any captured militants. At least one hundred woman and children for each protest! The gang that beat poor teacher Juling Kamphongmoon into a coma numbered at least one hundred. (I repeatedly mention this assault because its sheer brutality and evilness sums up the situation in the south so accurately.) Nearly every activity in the south smacks of gangs that number well above "a corrupted few".

As for historical injustice, that may be so but somehow I don't see justice in the eyes of men who shoot teachers in class, behead rubber farmers, behead a man in front of his nineteen year old daughter, kill a man leaving a note that reads: "You arrest innocent people so we murder one in revenge" or walk out and kill a van load of people. Do you?

Unlike many, I'm choosing to educate myself. I've nearly finished my study of the Islamic scriptures and what I have learned has changed my perception of the world. I'm planning to visit local mosques and discuss the situation with scholars and ask for their insight into problems that affect the entire world.


I have several questions I will be looking to ask from connected and knowledgeable people. I believe I have answers to some of them already but I will ask again:
(Obviously I won't go charging in with aggressive and impolite questions, but these are the ultimate answers I'm searching for)

1. Why is there not clear and public condemnation of the attacks from prominent Thai Muslims?
2. Why are villagers not turning in or exposing Muslim militants?
3. What are the motives of the attackers? Do they have full knowledge of the history of the region? How often do they study and read Islamic scriptures?
4. Why are the victims of the attacks almost exclusively Buddhists? (Its a pop fact to point out that as many Muslims have died in the area. This fact misleads, since the area is about eighty percent Muslim and the victims of specific attacks are nearly always Buddhist)
5. Most importantly, how can we stop innocents dying?

I want to go into great depth here but I will wait until I have completed further studies. I will say this much: right now, I stand alarmed, shocked and scared about this situation. We seem to be competing with people whose rule book tells them to ruthlessly murder anyone who takes land they perceive to be their own. Morality, innocence and respect for life have no part to play for them.

Feel free to challenge, debate or question me on this.

Oh by the way, another man was shot in an unprovoked attack yesterday too. Guess that was just in case they hadn't made their point by removing enough woman and children from their husband and fathers yet.



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On lighter notes:
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Last week, I got the usual bus down a well known main road to return from one of my houses to the other. I noticed that the bus actually stopped well past the bus stop and forced me to run a bit. Nothing unusual there. As I tried to pull myself on, the bus tried to speed away and lose me. gain, nothing unusual there. Then as I sat down I noticed an unusual sign on the front of the bus "Lady Bus". I looked around , no I was OK, there were plenty of guys here! No, wait a minute..........they were girls dressed as guys. The bus I was on was a lesbian bus!!!!!!! They tried to lose me most likely because they didn't have the English to explain I couldn't get on and as my keen students will recall, no Thai expects any farang to understand Thai!!!

I'm not making this up. I got on a lesbian bus. If anyone else has experienced this please let me know.


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We had a great little break in Cha-Am this week. The town is changing. With Pattaya sinking further into decadence, Cha-am is becoming more popular with "family" farangs. During the week it's easy to find a good value place near the beach. The area is cheap and the beach is OK, be prepared to fight off vendors every ten seconds though they are not too pushy.

The weekend is still the regular time spot for the Thai-Chinese invasion though.
On the way back, we got lost. We drove through minute villages and black country roads looking for Bangkok signs to no avail. No less than four times we stopped and asked for directions. Three times we were given misinformation. Thais are always keen to help their countrymen (and shotgun farangs!) but like many other nationalities, they would soon as give you false directions rather than admit they don't know!

Music in Thailand - the entertainment black hole

One of the strange quarks about living out here is the flow of fashion from the entertainment world. I've lost count of the numbers of times friends in the UK have asked me "So what do you think of movie/singer/celebrity/band then?" only to be met by my blank stare. I miss my days of being on the cutting edge of the metal and heavy rock scene. These days I have to collect my information from kerrang.com and my friends in the UK. That's not to say that Thailand doesn't have its own thriving entertainment scene, indeed it does, but not as we know it...............

Entertainment in Thailand is a mixture of home grown, Japanese and western talent (I use that final word loosely).



Movies

Some western movies can arrive in Thailand more than a year after their release, others can be shown here before they screen in the US. "Madagascar" and "Garfield" are examples of the former , "Collateral" the later.

Japanese and Korean movies and TV soaps can be a big hit over here. Thais seem to find such movies attractive since they have only a minor cultural bridge to cross, appeal to many of the same ideals and are more professionally done. Western (both geographically and thematically!) movies are also a big hit.

And how about the home grown "big screen" affairs? Well, from a foreigner's point of view they can be very hit or miss, but - forgive my harshness - far more "misses". To be fair , the Thai movie making industry is far less mature and financed than even their Asian counterparts. However, the plain truth is that a huge proportion of Thai movies are appalling. So many local movies display signs of professional naivety. Often, the films will try to be all things to all people - featuring terrifying zombie who suddenly starts doing a hilarious dance, followed by the entrance of a kung fu teenager who will perform all kinds of stunts and then be courted by a pretty young girl, followed by the entrance of another hilarious fat ladyboy. Such a heterogeneous mix would challenge even the greatest directors,let alone the local producers.

Whilst awareness seem to be improving, the number of howlers is not dropping. Thai comedies continue to turn out endless tripe, usually full of the same repeated gags : ladyboy jokes, Laos and Isaan tribes behaving stupidly, and fat men falling over. Action films strain to emulate their American contemporaries but lack the funding. I recall one movie last year that featured a gang of Thais saving the world from a Burmese(Thailand's traditional enemy, as opposed to the Laos who provide comical gaffs) terrorist squad armed with a nuclear missile. The "missile" in question was clearly a piece of painted over car meal.


There is one hope on the action scene: a young start known in English as Tony Jaa. This young kid has tremendous martial arts talent and carries off the Jet Li style "innocent but dangerous" character very well. Sadly, Tony (pictured right) seems unable to speak English and all too often has to carry the inept performances of his peers on his shoulders. The hit "Tom Yanng Goong" is a perfect example. Switching between Thailand and Australia, the movie was designed for Tony Jaa to produce action that would open western eyes to his potential. Sadly the producers clearly didn't realise that their usual cast (nearly all Thai films use the same very limited draft pool of actors) couldn't actually speak the language of the script. thus an unintelligible scrip coupled with inept performances produced another disappointment that didn't achieve the US success it wanted.

There are some noted exceptions. "Fan Chan" ("My love") is a good movie. It features the childhood memories of a Thai man and draws some wonderful nostalgic feelings amongst Thais. Too bad they don't make more movies based around their own culture. Historical movies are something the Thai industry can do well, and some of the romantic movies can tug on the heart strings nicely. "Warrior of Ayuddhaya" , "The Letter" and "Dear Dakanda" are my recommendations.

Music
The music world runs along similar lines. Whilst certain western bands have become rooted in local psyche - you'll be hard pressed to escape The Eagles, The Scorpions or Santana over here - more modern bands tend to come and go, but some can miss out altogether.

Japanese pop, known as 'J pop' is popular - again the cute Asian look appeals to the Thais for obvious reasons - and the Thais provide plentiful talent in their own right.

Like many countries, Thailand's cultural development and idiosyncrasies can be seen in its music (and TV). Thai folk will readily acknowledge that traditional Thai music can be hard for foreigners to appreciate, it consists of highlighted singing with subtle changes of tone that can sound to untrained ears like mine as endless wailing. Since bus drivers , restaurant staff and village headmen will happily share this music at full volume with all and sundry, it can be a little trying, even for fellow countrymen.

Modern pop music is comparable to the west. The biggest Thai star is Tata Young. Tata is marketed on her half Thai roots and thus her white skin and ability to sing in English. Whilst paying lip service to Thailand's culture and values, Tata sings about subjects such as sex and boyfriends ala Britney Spears and Chsritina Aguilera. Whilst such topics would be almost expected in the west, they are still controversial enough to make more publicity for the local star. On the rock scene, Thailand has many local bands , of which a fair number can produce some quality tracks. My personal favourites are Ebola (picture left), Silly Fools and Endorpine.

There are plenty of local concert venues, and international stars do play in Bangkok on occasion. Usually this is done when more fashionable venues have already been played. The exception to this was the big festival last year featuring Placebo, Oasis and Franz Ferdinand. Whilst all the above turned out a good gig, frequent reports cited great upset amongst fans and musicians alike at the unprofessionalism of the concert organisers. Lack of stage management, lack of scheduling and lighting exposed organisers' inexperience at handling a true music concert. No further festivals have been announced.

Television
As for the TV, well don't expect too much variety. On the plus side, there is quantifiable news coverage and good sports shows. However, with all but one of the channels owned by the government and the army, it's very much big brother (the 1984 version) on the box. All channels turn out endless soap operas featuring innocent women, wicked parents, a bad boyfriend, a kind boyfriend, an utterly incorruptible police man and a hilarious ladyboy. Most shows consist of the characters screaming at each other inside their large houses complete with swimming pools at the back. In the end the bad person dies and the girl ends up with the kind guy, thanks to assistance from the lovely policeman. Then next week, the same actors take up different characters and do it all again. Don't believe me? You don't live in Thailand.

The light of hope is in ITV, having been hit with a huge fine for illegally cutting its own concessions (courtesy of the Thaksin government who wanted to control the independent station), ITV faces an uncertain future but one hopes to see some media reform set in place.


So all the above sounded negative right? Well I'm just being realistic..There are bright points: some good movies , talented bands, good sports coverage. It's also a massive plus that all these things are cheaper ere. A trip to the newest cinema to see the newest movie won't set you back than 150 baht (about five dollars or two pounds) , music CDs and movie DVDs are half the price they are in the west , even cheaper if you choose to be bad and buy on the ubiquitous and immensely popular black market.

Entertainment in Thailand is a developing industry and it's difficult for a westerner not to compare it against standards they have already known, I've no doubt that Thai music and movies will continue to improve and will turn out some excellent examples of local culture mixed in to excellent art in its own right. I just hope I'll still be lucky enough to live in the land of smiles when that happens.

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I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Personally, I had a great time letting Dylan play with his new toys. Blog wise, I'm planning to write a piece on controlling and reconciling with difficult students in the classroom. I'm also planning to write a piece on the western sponsorship of the Khmer Rouge on my political blog. That's all to come i the next couple of weeks I hope.

Manage the flow

Sorry for the disappearance. Due to personal reasons, I've had to go through my blog and take down any posts with direct references to my old school. If I've missed any, let me know. Sad to see the blog deleted as it had some good stuff on there I felt, but at least it wasn't too old and I have motivation to write some more useful posts.



Thailand has suffered yet another test of fortitude. The last few weeks have bought floods. That's nothing new of course, many traditional Thai houses are built on raised stakes (or stilts, I don't know what to call them!). But perhaps due to the inability to deal with change, urban areas have suffered floods once again. His Majesty has offered a temporary solution, release the water from overflowing rivers into farm fields to soak it up, and then compensate the farmers. Such actions have saved Bangkok from disaster.

It amazes me that somebody in the government could not see this coming and taken measures. Then again, it's the kind of event that "might not happen" , so money would be wasted and flak would be taken. If the events do happen, well you just blame somebody else, right?
Tell that to the poor people fleeing their homes right now.