Why Ning Is Going To Bangkok Tonight In Her Red Shirt

[dominique355]

My wife is 43 years old. She was the 3rd child in a poor family with 7 children. She remembers vividly the days when there was not enough food for all of them and hardly any rice. Her parents were and are farmers. They lived in a hut in the jungle. She had to walk to school, cross a river, which sometimes was impassible. She studied hard and was best in class. When she was 12, her parents sent her to her auntie and uncle far away where she could go on with school while being treated like a slave and do all the house work for her auntie's family. But she survived and finished High School.

Upon returning to her family, her mother refused to let her go to college (girls need no education), so an uncle in Bangkok took her away and financed her college. With 18 she was alone in Bangkok, looking for a job and a roof. She found both, worked hard, improved her life and her situation, together with her younger sister, who joined her in Bangkok. They worked hard and saved money to buy a small Town House.

At that time my wife worked for Shinawatra Telecommunication and adored her boss. At the same time she studied at Ramkhamhaeng University and graduated in Political Science.

Then we met and got married within 3 months. That was 12 years ago.

Now, after having lived 8 years in Europe, she has a broader view of things in Thailand and no longer adores her former boss. As a matter of fact, she hates him. They say in her province that the Thaksin family bought all the land along the coast and on Kho Chang and don't do anything with it, just hoard it. Local people have no chance to buy this land for farming. It's just empty land. Back in 2005, just after Thaksin had bought all the land, the government had announced plans to develop that area. The 2006 coup changed all that...

Including our moving to Thailand.

And the moral of the story? Not all people of poor or modest origin love Thaksin. Some actually wake up and use their brain.

[kikoman]

A sad and touching story, sound much like my life in the US, for the major portion of my life in a country that the dominate society in the 1960s were forced to change with the Equal Rights Act, of 1964.

The red-shirt march is not the answer, Thaksin is not the answer, The leaders of the red shirt movement are only using the poor. Thaksin could have greatly helped the poor by paying his 26 billion baht in taxes which he refused to do. Using the poor to keep your money is not the answer or a good reason for continued division in Thailand.

The Democratic Party had the chance of destroying Thaksin/red-shirt power base by implementing program to aid the poor in Thailand, But they could not see the simple answer to the Thaksin power base problems.

The poor and disenfranchised, who are a majority in this country are not being served by the ruling class in this country, leaving a very volatile segment of the population , that have been easily exploited by the red-shirt elite, to gain power for themselves.

The Red Shirts are not the answer to Thailand's problems, The ruling class is at fault, whatever color of shirt they wear.

The poor are the ones that will be the major victims of any violence!

Edited March 12, 2010 by kikoman

[robblok]

Nelson Mandella is a convicted terrorist and people all over the world look up to him.

Arafat got a Nobel price for peace. But stole from his people and was a real bloody terrorist.

Anyway nice story but it does not convince me one bit there will always be people who are of badly. This is a normal thing of life and can't be changed. We have seen how good it worked in the Soviet Union where there was no incentive to achieve.

I am not saying that some things need to be changed here i am saying there will always be differences. Thaksin did wel in manipulating the poor and stole a lot he is a criminal nothing more nothing less.

In this country the politicians always look out for themselves it does not really matter what color their shirt is they all steal.

[flying]

If this is an original piece please make that clear, if it is lifted from somewhere else please accredit, cheers

I would think it is original & easy to check.

Paste a paragraph into google & it has one hit ....this post.

If it was lifted there would be hits.

It is a nice story thanks for posting it.

[parryhandy]

I understand all that but the only way you achieve basic human rights and opportunities for the "poor" is through education and THE RULE OF JUST AND FAIR LAWS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH LAWS WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND FAVOUR.

Everything else is irrelevant.

Where are the grassroots political parties demanding/promising the end of corruption and the changes needed in the legal system and their so called guardians to achieve this ?

Edited March 12, 2010 by parryhandy

[lannarebirth]

I understand all that but the only way you achieve basic human rights and opportunities for the "poor" is through education and THE RULE OF JUST AND FAIR LAWS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH LAWS WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND FAVOUR.

Everything else is irrelevant.

Where are the grassroots political parties demanding/promising the end of corruption and the changes needed in the legal system and their so called guardians to achieve this ?

[rick75]

Someone went to a lot of trouble to write a piece with that many clichés, I just don't buy the story.

[whistleblower]

Just been watching the Thai news with reporters at various muster points for the reds. They seem to be falling way short of the 1 million mark so far.

[whistleblower]

I understand all that but the only way you achieve basic human rights and opportunities for the "poor" is through education and THE RULE OF JUST AND FAIR LAWS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH LAWS WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND FAVOUR.

Everything else is irrelevant.

Where are the grassroots political parties demanding/promising the end of corruption and the changes needed in the legal system and their so called guardians to achieve this ?

Because the grassroots people dont want anything changed. They just want to be one of the ones that can be corrupt and thus become rich.

[thaihome]

The red shirt recruiters came through my mother-in-law’s village earlier this week. They were offering 1,000 baht for the weekend, but you had to give them your ID card, returned when you got back. This did not go over well.

They had no takers in the MIL’s village, but rumor is a few in the neighboring village took the deal. The low response is not unexpected as this is Sanoh country and he has been very silent on this demonstration.

On a personal note, my wife is also from a very poor upcountry background, but now leads a very middle class life in a predominately Thai Bangkok neighborhood. She has never expressed any feelings of being looked down on for either being from a poor background or being married to a farang. In fact, she is a well treated local businesswoman that enjoys good relations with everyone on the Soi and they patronize her business quite a lot. Most of the people on the Soi would be considered supporters of the current Democrat lead government. Several actually participated in the occupation of the airport in 2008. They are very apprehensive of what might happen this weekend.

TH

[basjke]

Is the OP a cover for steven spielberg?

[yabaaaa]

PROPOGANDA pure and simple!

[quiksilva]

I feel for Ning, and many like her. Sincerely.

Most of all I feel sad that the (imaginative?) author of this post does not see that the reform of the education system, which the Democrats are trying to bring in, will do so much more for her cause than the few crumbs that were tossed from the over spilling plates of Thaksin's table, only served to put rice in bowls for a week or two.

The irony is that perhaps Ning and others like her can not see that truth because the education was missing in the first place.

Edited March 12, 2010 by quiksilva

[ukfool]

What a load of <deleted>.

Ning is going to Bangkok because she id being paid to do so.

She was told that poor Mr Thaksin has a lot of his money stolen by this bad government, and Mr Thaksin loves all the people from Rural Thailand.

Ning cannot understand the complexities of the Court ruling that was handed down the other day, and how it showed that Thaksin has not legally earned all of the money that he has.

Ning cannot understand this because of the Standard of education she recieved.

The education system that was set up by Thaksin and others who have led this country.

This whole thing is about a greedy man in Dubai who wants his money back at any cost.

If ning and others get hurt, Mr Thaksin will not be there to wipe the blood off.

Maybe Ning does understand though, that the present government was not voted in and elected by the Thai people, and possibly knows they will all now have better cars, homes, kids education, foreign holidays due to the money seized from Mr T.

Maybe she also realises the majority of the cash will in no way benefit the Thai people, as it should in any morally intact democratic country.

[yabaaaa]

My wife was bruught up in a family of ten in Loei, her Mothers first husband died suddenly when quite young he was a good man, her second husband was a total Bastar* and stole the Mother's life savings whislt screwing his way thru as many other women and drinking away her money. As a young child she used to go out in the evenings looking for insects and frogs to eat they had very little, they had no electric or running water, her Mother sometimes ate only salt and had a thyroid problem which later killed her due to heart failure (Hypothyroidism)whislt only in her early 60's.

She came to Bangkok at 14 years old with her Brother where she worked hard for 8 years and put herself thru University with her own money to get a degree to better herself. She taught herself English thru books and free lessons at the local temple.

She got a resonable job at a Chemical company and saved enough money 200000 baht to repair her Mothers derelict house in Loei (her Mothers dying wish).

I married her 4 years ago.

She does not support the REDS or YELLOWS, she sees them both as stupid!

Her view Thaksin did some good things and some bad things.

[hawthorne]

Can you blame the poor people feeling they have no hope to prosper or have the same rights as the elite? Rise up and take from those that have taken from you. That have kept you down and refuse to give you the same rights they had growing wign up like a good education. Eveyone should be given a good education no matter what it cost to the elite. A better infrastructure.

[ukfool]

The red shirt recruiters came through my mother-in-law's village earlier this week. They were offering 1,000 baht for the weekend, but you had to give them your ID card, returned when you got back. This did not go over well.

They had no takers in the MIL's village, but rumor is a few in the neighboring village took the deal. The low response is not unexpected as this is Sanoh country and he has been very silent on this demonstration.

On a personal note, my wife is also from a very poor upcountry background, but now leads a very middle class life in a predominately Thai Bangkok neighborhood. She has never expressed any feelings of being looked down on for either being from a poor background or being married to a farang. In fact, she is a well treated local businesswoman that enjoys good relations with everyone on the Soi and they patronize her business quite a lot. Most of the people on the Soi would be considered supporters of the current Democrat lead government. Several actually participated in the occupation of the airport in 2008. They are very apprehensive of what might happen this weekend.

TH

I am a foreigner with no particular political views, however I do know the present government was not voted for by the Thai people, so can understand some resentment. Especially when they will never learn about the usage of Mr T's money (T money) particularly the siphoned off interest accrued.

[yabaaaa]

I feel for Ning, and many like her. Sincerely.

Most of all I feel sad that the (imaginative?) author of this post does not see that the reform of the education system, which the Democrats are trying to bring in, will do so much more for her cause than the few crumbs that were tossed from the over spilling plates of Thaksin's table, only served to put rice in bowls for a week or two.

The irony is that perhaps Ning and others like her can not see that truth because the education was missing in the first place.

And due to teaching methods and hierarchical society where to " question" is not done................... any questions???? no, good.

[quiksilva]

What a load of <deleted>.

Ning is going to Bangkok because she id being paid to do so.

She was told that poor Mr Thaksin has a lot of his money stolen by this bad government, and Mr Thaksin loves all the people from Rural Thailand.

Ning cannot understand the complexities of the Court ruling that was handed down the other day, and how it showed that Thaksin has not legally earned all of the money that he has.

Ning cannot understand this because of the Standard of education she recieved.

The education system that was set up by Thaksin and others who have led this country.

This whole thing is about a greedy man in Dubai who wants his money back at any cost.

If ning and others get hurt, Mr Thaksin will not be there to wipe the blood off.

Maybe Ning does understand though, that the present government was not voted in and elected by the Thai people, and possibly knows they will all now have better cars, homes, kids education, foreign holidays due to the money seized from Mr T.

Maybe she also realises the majority of the cash will in no way benefit the Thai people, as it should in any morally intact democratic country.

Mr Fool, I suggest you conduct a search on "the legitimacy of the current Thai government", read around a bit and learn some facts. Before the usual diatribe they didn't vote for him consider this, the UK never voted for Gordon Brown yet he is PM of the UK, how then can he be legitimate? (but he is)

Recall that PPP (who won the last election) were disbanded due to electoral fraud. So a coalition government was legitimately formed with Abhisit (an elected MP) nominated by the coalition parties as their PM.

Edited March 12, 2010 by quiksilva

[thaihome]

I am a foreigner with no particular political views, however I do know the present government was not voted for by the Thai people, so can understand some resentment. Especially when they will never learn about the usage of Mr T's money (T money) particularly the siphoned off interest accrued.

You are also a foreigner with absolutely no knowledge of the current political situation except what you think you have heard from the BBC.

Suggest you stop posting unitl you get a few facts straight.

TH

[cdb11]

Now, after having lived 8 years in Europe, she has a broader view of things in Thailand and no longer adores her former boss. As a matter of fact, she hates him. They say in her province that the Thaksin family bought all the land along the coast and on Kho Chang and don't do anything with it, just hoard it. Local people have no chance to buy this land for farming. It's just empty land. Back in 2005, just after Thaksin had bought all the land, the government had announced plans to develop that area. The 2006 coup changed all that...

Including our moving to Thailand.

And the moral of the story? Not all people of poor or modest origin love Thaksin. Some actually wake up and use their brain.

Thank you very much for your obviously real accounts on life.

It's much better than the bad fictional account of the OP, who I've noticed has not replied to Admin's request for clarification as to its authenticity.

[Sabre]

An excellent post. Well done.

This story perfectly illustrates a point I have been making for a long time now - the red shirt movement isn't about Thaksin. It isn't about his money. Until the red shirts are allowed to voice their grievances and are taken seriously the problem will not go away.

[Sabre]

What a load of <deleted>.

Ning is going to Bangkok because she id being paid to do so.

She was told that poor Mr Thaksin has a lot of his money stolen by this bad government, and Mr Thaksin loves all the people from Rural Thailand.

Ning cannot understand the complexities of the Court ruling that was handed down the other day, and how it showed that Thaksin has not legally earned all of the money that he has.

Ning cannot understand this because of the Standard of education she recieved.

The education system that was set up by Thaksin and others who have led this country.

This whole thing is about a greedy man in Dubai who wants his money back at any cost.

If ning and others get hurt, Mr Thaksin will not be there to wipe the blood off.

As Chris Rock would say, that's just 'ignant'.

You think Thaksin set up the education system in Thailand? Think again.

Do YOU understand the court ruling?

This isn't about Thaksin. If it wasn't Thaksin, it would be someone else.

[philw]

The rights and freedoms we enjoy in my country (UK) were not given to us by the ruling classes. They were taken from them.

I had not thought about that for a while BUT you are dead right !!!!

Perfectly true.

Phil

[Sabre]

Mr Fool, I suggest you conduct a search on "the legitimacy of the current Thai government", read around a bit and learn some facts. Before the usual diatribe they didn't vote for him consider this, the UK never voted for Gordon Brown yet he is PM of the UK, how then can he be legitimate? (but he is)

Recall that PPP (who won the last election) were disbanded due to electoral fraud. So a coalition government was legitimately formed with Abhisit (an elected MP) nominated by the coalition parties as their PM.

Your argument rings rather hollow.

The truth of the matter is that electoral fraud, vote buying and so forth are ubiquitous in Thai politics. Were the PPP guilty? Of course. Were they more guilty than the democrats? Of course not. But nobody has disbanded the democrats.

Samak, the then Prime Minister was fired for doing a cooking show for crying out loud. A cooking show.

[Lancelot]

Yeah, good story. The catch phrase for me was "I love my country but my country not love me..." Pretty much says it all.

As a foreigner, I'm neutral and its not my problem. However, if I were "Ning" I'd probably be donning my red shirt and heading off to Bangkok too. If I were a member of the priveledged elite, I'd probably do everything I could to preserve the status quo.

In Thailand, the elites do pretty much as they please and dam_n the consequences. The poor pretty much have to accept things as they are and pretend to be happy and smile.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that change is on the way. IMHO, this has moved way beyond Thaksin; now its about social justice...

Edited March 12, 2010 by Lancelot

[cdb11]

This isn't about Thaksin. If it wasn't Thaksin, it would be someone else.

Too bad for the reds, they didn't choose that "someone else."

They've failed miserably because of that choice.

[bubba]

Here's a little ditty from a a few years back, Now that I think about it, it seems oddly relevant. I wonder whether "Ning" or her ghostwriter have ever heard it?

--------------------------

You say you want a revolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

You tell me that it's evolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction

Don't you know that you can count me out?

Don't you know it's going to be alright?

You say you got a real solution

Well, you know

We'd all love to see the plan

You ask me for a contribution

Well, you know

We're doing what we can

But if you want money for people with minds that hate

All I can tell you is brother, you have to wait

Don't you know it's going to be alright?

You say you'll change the constitution

Well, you know

We don't love to change your head

You tell me it's the institution

Well, you know

You better free your mind instead

But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao

You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow

[IanForbes]

I like ladies in red. Especially if it's silk, short and tight.

[quiksilva]

What a load of <deleted>.

Ning is going to Bangkok because she id being paid to do so.

She was told that poor Mr Thaksin has a lot of his money stolen by this bad government, and Mr Thaksin loves all the people from Rural Thailand.

Ning cannot understand the complexities of the Court ruling that was handed down the other day, and how it showed that Thaksin has not legally earned all of the money that he has.

Ning cannot understand this because of the Standard of education she recieved.

The education system that was set up by Thaksin and others who have led this country.

This whole thing is about a greedy man in Dubai who wants his money back at any cost.

If ning and others get hurt, Mr Thaksin will not be there to wipe the blood off.

As Chris Rock would say, that's just 'ignant'.

You think Thaksin set up the education system in Thailand? Think again.

Do YOU understand the court ruling?

This isn't about Thaksin. If it wasn't Thaksin, it would be someone else.

The court ruling is not hard to understand. He cheated the Thai people out of vast sums of money by abusing his position of power.

Now part of what he cheated out of the country has been seized, and what he made before entering politics (when he was required by law not to have a controlling interest in any firm) was (very generously) left untouched.

So lets assume that somehow the Reds are cool with that, if this weekend its not all about Thaksin, (and I seriously doubt that) then what pray tell do they want?