From Disaster, A New Breed Of Thai Heroes Emerges

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

From disaster, a new breed of heroes emerges

By The Nation

Among them a pro-active media proving it can be a force for good

The on-going flood crisis has seen, or generated, a strange phenomenon. It is refreshing to see media organisations assume pro-active roles in getting immediate help to victims. TV channels and popular programme hosts were at the centre, or so it seems, of relief efforts. And the more active they were, the more the government looked befuddled. The contrast peaked last week when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was forced to respond to suggestions that a popular TV personality would surely defeat him in an election.

Abhisit reacted to that the only way he should, saying he had no comment on any individual working to help flood-hit villagers. But as Thailand lurches from one flood disaster in a province to the next, perhaps the time has come for us to address the issue a bit more seriously. Why was Abhisit compared to that famous TV host? Apparently because the government has been perceived as far less than efficient in relief and rescue operations. The media, however, has its own lessons to learn.

One of them is how to resist the going-with-the-flow temptation. When a major broadcaster focused on a particular "hard-hit" area, naturally it would receive intense coverage. That is not a problem if devastation and suffering are limited to a certain province or cluster of provinces. When people's ordeals are widespread and yet scattered, covering some parts where TV cameras have not yet reached, we are in danger of having a situation where something is given too much attention and others not enough interest.

Make no mistake. The media has played an instrumental role in alleviating the plight of flood sufferers. It could have been a lot worse without TV stations raising awareness about the national emergency. The overwhelming donations and public voluntary activities were mainly due to the broadcast media's assertive approach, while the social media also played a remarkable role in drumming a sense of national urgency and togetherness.

It could have been better, though. The large scale of flood devastation requires expansive and well-coordinated coverage. Inaccessibility to many areas means a lot of suffering went unreported. It emerged only a couple of days ago that many flood victims had to starve for days because they were stranded in areas outside everyone's attention. The Thai flood disaster has its fair share of stories of heroism. Most remarkable is the death of an assistant district chief in Songkhla. Watcharat Boonlert drowned while on an unpublicised, off-camera mission to help stranded people in Chana district. He was going where and when few or no-one was going, and went missing for a couple of days before his body surfaced.

Unsung heroes dealt with the crisis in their own ways and capacity. Hundreds of smiling, tireless students cooked and packed food for starving villagers. Some students even took part in the strenuous delivery themselves. Meanwhile, soldiers kept on their flood-relief tasks in a quiet yet fairly efficient manner, winning heart-felt gratitude even from areas that are politically hostile to the state.

Heroism is something that can't really be measured, let alone compared with similar, or "bigger", or "smaller" acts. A school student tweeted that she saw a street sweeper donate Bt20 to the flood relief pool and that act of sharing/giving lifted her feelings enormously. That man, to her, was a big hero because he wasn't aware someone was watching, and neither would he have cared.

The media has established a good presence in the face of this natural disaster. That is partly because the crisis was of an unseen magnitude, and also probably because the government fell short of expectations. A hard part has been all but overcome - the media has proved its worth when it comes to mobilisation, public relations when calls for help were coming from left, right and centre. The harder part, for some at least, is to repeat the noble acts while keeping their eyes firmly on the ball and feet on the ground.

-- The Nation 2010-11-08

[Robby nz]

The on-going flood crisis has seen, or generated, a strange phenomenon. It is refreshing to see media organisations assume pro-active roles in getting immediate help to victims. TV channels and popular programme hosts were at the centre, or so it seems, of relief efforts. And the more active they were, the more the government looked befuddled. The contrast peaked last week when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was forced to respond to suggestions that a popular TV personality would surely defeat him in an election.

I am sure the media helped a lot in some areas but they were in a position to be able to publisise themselves doing it.

The made very sure that what they did was there for everyone to see with everything they gave in bags with their name on.

We saw a couple of TV cameras here but no truck loads of goodies.

With flooding so widespread it must have been impossible to quickly get help out to everyone who needed it.

I can only talk of where I am and what I saw.

I posted on that somewhere else and the bottom line is that the authorities, the army and the locals did a great job and their efforts saved many houses and businesses.

Although the river has dropped more then a metre and a half there are still many here living on the side of the road and they are getting the help they need.

For instance a couple of days ago a mobile health unit went round and checked everyone dispencing medicine and help where needed.

[Krungbin]

If the media helped a lot in some areas and in a position to publisise themselves, many others did their share "with no logo on the bags".

For the last 6 days,at Nokair Cargo, they were hundreds of people helping to prepare, and load, emergency aid packages for the flood-hit villagers.

Most of the office staff spent his week end there. Anonymous bags, tons of bottles of water... everything being flown down south "gratis pro Deo" by the little airline.

Tought it is worth being brought to attention...

[phaethon]

Even more heroic would be if the media were to pursue the reasons why this flooding happens.

[asiawatcher]

Media can be influential if the Producer has the intelligence to portray assistance required rather than an ego trip for a reporter to sensationalise the issue at hand or continue to promote 'their name' on location. But as an associate to media professionals, it could also be concluded there are ways for the public to appeal to the media presence to assist and once the directive is given from the Producer the ground crews will be more than willing. Just setting the pecking order in place to make things work.

[siamjj]

Even more heroic would be if the media were to pursue the reasons why this flooding happens.

why is this flood happening?curious comment.

[TPI]

Even more heroic would be if the media were to pursue the reasons why this flooding happens.

why is this flood happening?curious comment.

It's not so "curious" if you were to read the "broken tooth" site

The floods have even been reported in the media in Oz!

[robenroute]

Even more heroic would be if the media were to pursue the reasons why this flooding happens.

The nail on the proverbial head!

[robenroute]

Even more heroic would be if the media were to pursue the reasons why this flooding happens.

why is this flood happening?curious comment.

To name but a few (in no particular order):

- cutting trees

- building more infrastructure

- the Three Gorges Dam

[tw25rw]

How does the Three Gorges Dam come into it?

[ableguy]

Media can be influential if the Producer has the intelligence to portray assistance required rather than an ego trip for a reporter to sensationalise the issue at hand or continue to promote 'their name' on location. But as an associate to media professionals, it could also be concluded there are ways for the public to appeal to the media presence to assist and once the directive is given from the Producer the ground crews will be more than willing. Just setting the pecking order in place to make things work.

Which ever way you look at the relief effort from the media, the public and the army it is wonderful to see Thai people helping their neighbours and fellow countrymen, we read so many negative comments on this forum about Thais and yes I have posted negative thinga about corruption etc, but lets take our hats off to the many unsung heroes. They deserve our admiration. And please no negative comments about the scumbags who come around asking for denotions I had them at my house and gave them short thrift. This kind of behaviour goes on all over the world and is not just a Thai problem.