Thai Community In The Uk

[coxhoedave]

Anybody who has spent any time in LOS will be aware of the many discriminations against foreigners. There are many examples, land ownership, dual pricing, not getting access to the higher interest bank accounts, etc. etc. etc. The Thai Visa forum is full of examples.

It would appear there are 2 options,

1) Fight it and lose.

2) Accept the negatives and the many positives and have a happy life.

The descriminations exist simply because they are popular with the Thai people. The wealthy classes of Thai society are happy to keep things this way, while the poorer and lesser educated members of Thai society are still under the impression that all ferrang are so hugely wealthy that all the land in the kingdom would be bought by foreigners.

As for the dual pricing, mai pen rai Thai poor Ferrang rich.

As for the lack of access to the higher rate interest accounts, any ferrang living in the LOS is obviously going to send the interest back to Farrangland despite the fact that they live in Thailand!!???

All this I understand and obviously disagree with.

What I do not understand is members of the Thai community in the UK (and, I suspect, everywhere else) still going along with these desciminationary policies.

When I've raised the subject to Thais in the UK they still try and justify anti foreigner laws, despite some of them being married to Foreigners themselves.

I've met Thais who have been receiving state benefits and still see no double standards.

I never mention this to any Thais in the UK anymore as it seems to be a great way to lose friends in their community but I thought I would put it to you all before I take the "What the hel_l" attitude and put this to bed.

Hope this doesn't sound like a racist rant but I genuinely cannot understand their viewpoint.

[OdeTheBear]

I don't like many of those things either but what are you gonna do? It's politics, internal politics of Thailand.

I'm a foregner living in UK and have noticed that if I disagree too much on some things I'll soon be told, by natives, to "Go back home" or they ask "If you don't like it here why did you come?"

No country is perfect, believe me. Best thing, I think, is to not to let the items you don't agree with get in your head too much. Try to see the good things in the country you're living. I see lots of them in Thailand (where I hope to live in not too distant future).

[tw25rw]

I support their rules on foreign land ownership 100%. I wish Australia would follow suit.

[coxhoedave]

I support their rules on foreign land ownership 100%. I wish Australia would follow suit.

I'd be quite happy for the UK to follow suit as well, but the point I'm getting at is the reaction that comes from the Thais in the UK when you suggest this.

[cophen]

The Thais I know in the UK think many of the things you mention are hugely unfair and should be changed to give farangs equal rights. They've lived in the UK for ~20 years so it may be that it takes a while for them to reach this position.

[Maizefarmer]

Anybody who has spent any time in LOS will be aware of the many discriminations against foreigners. There are many examples, land ownership, dual pricing, not getting access to the higher interest bank accounts, etc. etc. etc. The Thai Visa forum is full of examples.

It would appear there are 2 options,

1) Fight it and lose.

2) Accept the negatives and the many positives and have a happy life.

The descriminations exist simply because they are popular with the Thai people. The wealthy classes of Thai society are happy to keep things this way, while the poorer and lesser educated members of Thai society are still under the impression that all ferrang are so hugely wealthy that all the land in the kingdom would be bought by foreigners.

As for the dual pricing, mai pen rai Thai poor Ferrang rich.

As for the lack of access to the higher rate interest accounts, any ferrang living in the LOS is obviously going to send the interest back to Farrangland despite the fact that they live in Thailand!!???

All this I understand and obviously disagree with.

What I do not understand is members of the Thai community in the UK (and, I suspect, everywhere else) still going along with these desciminationary policies.

When I've raised the subject to Thais in the UK they still try and justify anti foreigner laws, despite some of them being married to Foreigners themselves.

I've met Thais who have been receiving state benefits and still see no double standards.

I never mention this to any Thais in the UK anymore as it seems to be a great way to lose friends in their community but I thought I would put it to you all before I take the "What the hel_l" attitude and put this to bed.

Hope this doesn't sound like a racist rant but I genuinely cannot understand their viewpoint.

You raise some interesting points ...........

The economic/banking "discrimination" is a common practise in 3rd countries - and they in place as a national interest/safegaurd from economies that are far stronger than Thailand. As the country developes they will become less and less restrictive. Remember when the UK you to charge high import duties as as well for the importation of cars, and there were foreign ex-cahnge control regulations controlling how much you could bring in and take out of the UK. These policies are enacted not so much to discriminate, but because they have a role in protecting the economy - just as simialr controls used to be in place in many European countries that now enjoy economic freedom.

It'll come to pass in Thailand in due course.

......... and there is one other thing: DOHA - while ex-pats moan like hel_l at the discriminations they encounter in Thailand and other South East Asian countries, lets be mindful of just how discriminatory Western trade, labour, economic and agriculturale polices are towards Thailand and other 3rd world countries.

I take you point, but be under no illusion, the West is guilty of far far greater discriminations at a much larger and more siginificant level.........

Edited August 4, 2008 by Maizefarmer