Staffan

... "with 69,628 cases alone in August, "...

Richard Coleman wrote above:

"Absolutely farcical closing ALL school for that kind of death rate.

More healthy kids dying on the roads in one day that in the entire pandemic ! Crazy closure."

Not so fast Richard. As others have indicated, it's the danger of children, who may be less at risk themselves, infecting us adults. I have a 15 yr old son, I am at high risk age and only had one vaccine shot so far. My son has learned online for the past several weeks, and I was hoping for him to get back to school now. But the school, the biggest school in Chiang Mai, gives the option from next week. I will now wait, past his holiday and see the next  September stats. and for my second shot, due end October.

Probably very good, but very 'wordy' so may miss its effect.

Best to start simply by getting them to know where Thailand is first.

Very few could point Thailand out on a blank map, try it for yourselves.

Once they know where they are and have some idea of its size....

...then other countries can be introduced one by one, until all ASEAN members are covered.

Might take a while

I agree partly with you. Of course, it's part of a basic knowledge. As usual in Thailand, it's a problem of education and wisdom and money. Understanding the neighbours is more than knowledge about geography.

To understand neighbours you also need some knowledge about their culture, history, economy, leaving aside the fact to be informed about these sectors of your own country. And of course, you learn the most about your neighbours if you are (financially) able to go, work or to stay there.

I read here so many arrogant posts. Everybody should remember that all countries have a special percentage of people who are not able to get a place in Harvard, Cambridge or Sorbonne.

That said, for instance I wouldn't recommend a certain Mrs. Palin of Al.... (seeing Russia) for a teacher's job in Thailand. And believe me not all Thais are stupid. In our remote village there is a disabled Lizhu lady who has got a foreign education here in Thailand. I'm sure she would beat a lot of TV members, concerning their knowledge.

To the money aspect of the problem. If they have to work 6 or 7 days a week to earn their living then the Thais are happy to do their homework and take care for the children or family. There is no time for learning about the neighbours. A soft way to learn about the countries in the Thai neighbourhood would be regular unbiased reports in TV.

Agree with all these posts that talk aboout the need to change the mindset of Thais. Education as well as TV could be key. I was shocked to knowe that my stepdaughter who just graduated from high school did not know the basic onformation about Malaysia f.inst. So, it is not only about teachers, it's about the school books! Much of what is taught about Thai culture could be reduced to make room for basic - and interestingly presented - information about its noe ASEAN neighbours. But his would be a central eduction policy change, a long roads to travel. But worth starting.

To solve the Deep South problem, Thai should first learn their History, which unfortunately is biased in Thai school book. How many Thai people (and Thai general), know and accept to recognize than the early years of the XX century around 1902 - 1906, then Siam just annexed the Sultanat of Patani. With the internationalization and radicalization of the Islam around the World, Thailand will have no other choice, but to give independence to Patani, as did the Indonesian to Christian Timor Este.
Regarding History, it is only about 25 years ago, that Thai recognized that the Angkor Empire, 1000 years ago covered most of today Thai territory. In the middle of the 80, information displayed on board at Temple such Prasat Phnom Rung in Buriram was written as: "Antic Indu temple built in Lop Buri style" ( as at that time 500 Bath note displayed the Khmer temple of Lop Buri), without a single word that the temple was built by the Khmer.
The deep nationalism of Thai is the main obstacle to present situation in the South, and the recent wave of Nationalism is not going to help. How many more hundred of death and how many more years of fighting are needed before wisdom will prevail.

Very good summary! Regretably, by the Thai leadership now (again) completely ruling out any form of autonomy on key issues such as local governance, education and language, the insurgency is only becoming hardened. And it has plenty of international examples to draw encouragement from. Talking to the local leadership and also to insurgents is a must!

I find the editorial in the Nation a lot more thoughtful and constructive than many/most of the subsequent comments. There are real grievances, historic and more recent ones, among the population in the 'Deep South'. These are not purely based on religion. They have never been dealt with adquately, and to do so is very difficult. But if a new intitive to do so is now possible, so much the better.

There is a need for a mentality change for many in the Thai leadership. To qoute from the article: "Den Tohmena, adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who is in charge of dealing with violence in the deep South, said he believed further peace dialogue with the BRN would be fruitless, because both sides saw things differently."

Of course both sides see things differently, and presumably very differently! If not, there would be no need for negotiations. Fortunately in South-East Asia - and elsewhere - solutions have been reached in situations where indeed the two sides have seen very, very differently! Painstaking and often long-drawn-out negotiations have played a key role.

The Thai leadership and the Thai population should be ready for possibly a long road ahead, and for chaning some concepts and views! Including not viewing the other side as bandits.