The last few decades have seen an explosion in the number of half western half Thai children being raised in Thailand.

 

My 2 sons are half Thai, but even though they are being raised in Thailand and are fluently bilingual etc. they are far more Western in looks, personality, culture, social etc. They could easily pass for being Persian or even Spanish. Their friends etc are mostly fully western or half western. 

 

Their future relationships and children will likely be with a Westerner, making their children 1/4 Thai, but will have Thai ID cards and passports. 

 

A generation after this, the children could well be 1/8th Thai, perhaps have no links to Thailand whatsoever, other than coming here to get a Thai ID card and passport. They could look like the blonde members of Abba.

 

But they would enjoy the full advantages of having a Thai ID card and passport, and being fully Thai legally. Owning land. Owning businesses. Working as anything with no restrictions or work permit.

 

How do you think the native Thais that have never left the country will deal with this situation, in terms of the average Thai on the street, and the Thais in bureaucratic offices? 

Given the world demographics I would be more concerned about African-Thais.

 

 

3 minutes ago, zhounan said:

more concerned about African-Thais.

 

What do you find concerning about them?

I wonder how many of them will see it as an advantage to have a Thai passport and how many will want to live in Thailand.

 

For many expats Thailand is nice, and we like to live here.

I am pretty sure if I would have been born in Thailand, maybe half Thai, I would want to live and work in Europe or other places outside of Thailand. 

14 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

For many expats Thailand is nice, and we like to live here.

 

Do you think more would come here if they happened to be 1/8th Thai, have a Thai passport and ID card, and could do any work they want, open any business they want, buy any land they want? 

2 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

Do you think more would come here if they happened to be 1/8th Thai, have a Thai passport and ID card, and could do any work they want, open any business they want, buy any land they want? 

Not really.

I think relative speaking the people who want to buy a lot of land or open a big business are few.

People who just want to build a house or have a small company find ways around those rules. 

10 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Not really.

 

IMHO. Average thais don't care about it. I haven't seen any ethnic or racial issues. However luk-kruang is often pretty sad being - not full scale farang and yet not khun thai.
Exactly ลูกครึ่ง

13 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

I haven't seen any ethnic or racial issues.

 

Interesting. 

 

How many 7/8ths westerner 1/8th Thai have you met with Thai passports and ID cards? 

2 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

 

Interesting. 

 

How many 7/8ths westerner 1/8th Thai have you met with Thai passports and ID cards? 

Per year or per location or ____________ ?

PS: I ment first offspring half-thai, a.k.a. luk-kruang ลูกครึ่ง
Not further breeding 

4 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

 

What do you find concerning about them?

 

I don't worry about it. The OP is referring to the Thai people, and society in general, reaction.

 

Maybe should be the 'pure' Thai people to be worried, and I would suggest to them not to worry about the farangs, because we are slowly dying out, instead in Africa they are bang bang like rabbits and having more children than Genghis Khan, so maybe most of the mixed children in the near future will be African-Thai.

To flip it around, I know some mixed young people who were raised in the States, but prefer Thailand.

 

I def see them a lot as front people in Ganga-stores and their western ways-savvy is welcome. They know to put on Pink Floyd when an old whitie comes in. As per the OP, they seem to couple up with their own kind.

 

Real Estate also seems to mop up a few transplants by choice. 

23 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

How do you think the native Thais that have never left the country will deal with this situation,

 

Not necessarily a given that half western half Thai children have left Thailand. Much as many mixed race children throughout the world have never left their countries. 

 

There is a negative side. A know of a half western half Thai child who can't write Thai very well. 

2 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

A know of a half western half Thai child who can't write Thai very well. 

 

Especially if not raised in Thailand.

 

If they go on to have a child with a westerner in the west, the child will be 3/4 western have no Thai ability, but if coming to Thailand can get a Thai ID card, Thai passport, own land, work any job they wish to, despite not speaking a word of Thai, having no idea of the culture etc, and perhaps looking 100% blonde Western. 

 

As this happens more and more over the next 2 or 3 generations, how will 100% Thais born and raised in Thailand feel and deal about it?

^ I don't think they will make up a substantial number of the population. Many foreigners gain Thai citizenship and can do all the things mentioned. I know at least 2 individuals. I don't think they rate highly on Thai radar.

 

As long as the OP doesn't think that some form of cultural imperialism will infer a sense of superiority or entitlement I think mixed-race children will get on OK.

 

I don't have any mixed-race children but I think I would try to get them into the most expensive Thai school I could afford and not an International school. That way they would have Thai friends/contacts for life. The international bit they can assimilate from me.

5 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

I don't think they will make up a substantial number of the population.

 

Yes, many Thais will be surprised to see a 7/8th Westerner that cannot speak Thai, just arrived the day before, that has a Thai passport, go to buy land, work any job they want to etc.

 

6 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Many foreigners gain Thai citizenship and can do all the things mentioned.

 

Actually, there are tests and requirements etc. to show assimilation required for that. 🙂 

23 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

 

Do you think more would come here if they happened to be 1/8th Thai, have a Thai passport and ID card, and could do any work they want, open any business they want, buy any land they want? 

lol - for what.....

On 2/18/2024 at 1:38 PM, PJ71 said:

for what

 

A UK-Thai friend got in touch this morning as he landed back in Samui. Thai mother but born and raised in London. Nearly 40 and arrived back to buy land and build his house and business here. 1/5th of the price of doing it in London he said, and a damn sight nicer.

 

It got me thinking to the number of Western raised half Thais that I've met and been friends with here. They typically came here after university while traveling the World, then stayed on. Some worked in hotel and resort management, being fluent English speakers and half western, but having the work freedom of a native Thai was a massive pull to both employers and employee. One girl was a teacher in an English Program and the agency told her to tell the Thai teachers that she is Filipina, as they would have ripped her to shreds if they found out that she was a half-Thai working as a Westerner getting the western salary and benefits.  One girl bought some land in the hills and almost went off-grid, and uses it to host yoga and heath events. Another used his training as a mechanic to first be a go-between consultant between expats and local mechanics, then saw how in demand his service was and opened up his own mechanic shop, all he does is sit in the office and communicate with the western customers, while the Thais he hires do all the work. 

 

None of these people would have stayed here if they didn't have complete freedom of work, business, land ownership and movement.