Öhrn Life Management

We had dinner with some friends tonight.

In the group of people we were one Italian, two Thais and two Swedes.

We had pizza. The best pizza in Bangkok actually.

We came to talk about Burma, the disaster with the cyclone. Dr Joe had some colleges that had gone to volunteer for the Red Cross. We said that it is difficult for anyone to say how many people have really died or been effected.

First of course because we don’t trust the authorities, secondly because maybe they cannot keep count of the people, not everyone is registered and so on.

We say that it is amazing that they go through with a referendum in a state of disaster, the worst disaster in Burma in hundreds of years – Natural Disaster that is.

So the discussion switched to voting and eventually democracy.

Yes they went through with the referendum, they had an amazing 99% actually voting and out of those, 96% voted ‘yes’.

Fantastic!

No point in doing the election, the vote, the referendum really is it? It is a joke. The idea of democracy in this region at this time, is ‘as long as there is a chance of voting we’re fine.’

So knowing this, the question why they still went through with the referendum in this state of chaos in the country, becomes even more clear.

One of our Thai friends – who I must say, must belong to the top layer in this country in terms of logic, reason and intellect in general – says that people don’t understand that democracy does not work in this part of the world. It has to be a customized version of democracy.

Customized?

Furthermore he explained that democracy in China is totally impossible since the Chinese are so egoistic by nature that democracy will not work. Not now not ever.

Am I just being very very Scandinavian here not understanding the reason behind this, in my opinion silly and scary view on SEA?

Can democracy be customized?

Tags: Thailand, Burma, Cyclone, Democracy

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There are some extra tough times in Asia these days.

Cyclone in Burma and earthquake in China. Thousands and thousands of people are dead. Even more are homeless.

Millions could be without drinking water, not to mention proper food.

Helpers recommended by the UN can’t get visa to enter Burma.

Are media in general covering Burma if there is not a monk uproar or a cyclone? Could there be more coverage at times when people rather easily can get visas to enter the country and actually take pictures, observe, talk to people. During a crisis like the one in September last year and now during the cyclone, it is more difficult to enter the country.

We can only wish for them to recover soon.

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It has been a while and I think that maybe I just write here when I get upset about Asia, Thailand, Asians or Thais.

I will try to change that, but this one I have to tell you about.

There is a petition in Thailand that is waiting to be signed by "the government" saying that all students in international schools in Thailand have to be able to read, write and speak Thai.

Have to.

Same goes for the teachers and the minutes from meetings in these same schools have to be written in Thai as well…

So what good will this do?

Foreigners with kids will not come to Thailand, teachers from other countries will not make Thailand their first choice.

Sometimes you wonder how they reason, why they cannot understand that a country like Thailand needs the support from the outside.

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