Thailand : "unemployed Abandon Cities For Their Village"

[orang37]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/world/asia/28asean.html

In Southeast Asia, Unemployed Abandon Cities for Their Villages

By THOMAS FULLER

imho, well-written. made me think about the poignant luk theung ballad "Sang Ngarn" (as sung by Mongsit Kamsoi) where a young lover about to depart for the big city to make money he/she can't possibly make at home talks to the beloved, revealing the feelings of sadness, anxiety, fears of loss of the relationship, all "back-lit" by the great Thai ability to give the comedic its due. i'm sure a "new wave" of luk theung ballads will soon express the "return to the village."

i would note that the essay uses this quote : "“In the water, there are fish; in the field, there is rice" without attributing it to its source, the inscription on the famous "13th. century CE" King Ramkamhaeng's stone stele ... personally "discovered" by the future King Mongkut (Rama IV), while he was still a Monk, near Sukhothai in 1833 CE or so ... which is now believed by many scholars (Thai and western) to have been uhhh ... created ... by King Mongkut himself for ... well ... let's just say, diplomatically, "reasons of state."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramkhamhaeng_...khamhaeng_stele

Perhaps some of you reading this remember when several years ago Dr. Krairksh dared publish his research on the stele in Thai, that 5000 residents of Sukhothai marched in protest and had a "black magic" ritual performed to curse him ?

~o:37;

[londonthai]

same subject, general forum, yestarday

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Southeast-As...&hl=abandon

[Greenside]

Thanks for posting the link. Suddenly pushed a lot closer to the limit of what the authorities here deem one must have to live in Thailand by downturns in investments and exchange rates, many retired expats must also be considering returning home to their villages. Sadly not much fish and rice available for the harvesting where I come from (and it's blooming cold too)!