Floods Divide On-Edge Thai Capital

[webfact]

Floods divide on-edge Thai capital

by Amelie Bottollier-Depois

BANGKOK, November 2, 2011 (AFP) - Standing waist-deep in brown floodwater outside her Bangkok home, Saisunee Sontana is short of food and getting desperate, while a short drive away air-conditioned restaurants serve well-heeled diners.

As a slow-moving mass of runoff water from the north creeps into the sprawling Thai capital, a stark divide is emerging in the metropolis of 12 million people, between the submerged suburbs and the bone-dry city centre.

Residents in affected areas complain their homes are being sacrificed to save downtown Bangkok's gleaming shopping malls, luxury hotels and the homes of the wealthy elite, triggering protests and the destruction of some dykes.

Saisunee's Bang Phlat district, on the western side of Bangkok's main Chao Phraya river, is one of the areas in the capital that is worst-hit by the floods, which have killed more than 400 people around the kingdom.

Filthy water has submerged roads and inundated the neighbourhood's small wooden houses for more than a week.

"The help didn't reach us because we are too far away," she said. "In two or three days, I will be out of rice, and I don't know how to get more food."

Trucks delivering emergency supplies do arrive daily at a bridge that connects Bang Phlat to the heart of Bangkok.

But to reach the trucks, locals have to trek through hundreds of metres (yards) of dirty water, dodging floating trash, dead fish and the occasional flip-flop or jerrycan.

And since the aid delivery hours are random, many residents in cut-off, inundated streets are struggling to stock up on essential goods.

Pramet Deerad, 47, wearing an orange life-vest, said the quality of life in Bang Phlat was "getting really bad".

"They are happy on the other side of the bridge, while here we are in a terrible situation. We want the authorities to know about us," he said, calling on authorities to clear the rubbish in the near-stagnant water.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Chao Phraya River, the biggest inconvenience for most residents in the city centre has been shortages of drinking water in the supermarkets after a flurry of panic buying.

Local officials blame a lack of funding, boats and staff for not reaching all those in need in flooded areas.

It is "an impossible mission" to hand out food and water three times a day to people who have refused to move to emergency shelters, said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman Jate Sopitpongstorn.

He defended efforts to spare Bangkok's economic and political "heart" by diverting the brunt of the runoff water to other, poorer parts of the capital, effectively sacrificing the homes of some to keep others dry.

"You can cut your hand but you have to save your heart," he said.

The growing tensions are a reminder of the fault line that runs through Thai society, more than a year after about 90 people died in an army crackdown on mass street protests demanding more democracy and equality.

The "Red Shirt" demonstrators were mostly loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister Yingluck is now the prime minister.

Ironically, the people who voted for her Puea Thai party are suffering the most.

The crisis has again highlighted the class divide, with "the more wealthy established areas being protected at the expense of the outskirts," said political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

But the authorities are not abandoning poorer city-dwellers deliberately, he said, blaming Thailand's "slow-moving and ineffective" bureaucracy for the lack of assistance.

There is little hope of immediate relief for the struggling residents of Bang Phlat, where life has become unrecognisable from just a few days ago.

Saisunee's brother Manus Sontana, who needs to go the hospital regularly for kidney dialysis, is stuck in his house as his health problems prevent him from wading through the floodwaters.

"Have you found me a boat yet?" the 62-year-old yelled anxiously out the window to his sister.

But while resentment was growing among some, others said they understood efforts to save the centre.

"It's good that inner Bangkok is not flooded, that way they can still find food for us," said Sombat Chansawang, 42, who returns to his inundated house every day to feed his chickens, a rooster and a rabbit.

"Will you take my rabbit?" he pleaded with an AFP reporter, holding up the fluffy white creature. "There is no more grass to feed him."

Despite trying to put on a brave face, the father-of-three admitted the situation was growing increasingly dire.

"If you need anything, you have to leave. Medicine, food -- you have to go out and get it. If you stay here, you're just going to die."

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-11-02

[Soutpeel]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

[ratcatcher]

Symbolically, Mr.Thaksin's house in Charansanitwong Soi 69 and Mr.Chalerm's Bang Bon house are both in the Thonburi "flood zones".

However, when one is mega rich, one just moves over to one's other home (s) to avoid any messy inconvenience. Just leave the maid and the gardener to cope. No wet shoes here.

In Thaksin's case, of course, he's home and dry while in Dubai.:jap:

[DocN]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

+1

...and they can't do without the "you made your bed, now lie in it"-peace about the poor, voting PTT and now being "left out"!

[wintermute]

Local officials blame a lack of funding, boats and staff for not reaching all those in need in flooded areas.

I heard there was a nuclear super carrier somewhere capable of providing logistics over thousands of KM and capable of airlifting tons of supplies at a time over a radius the size of Thailand. I also heard this carrier was capable of evacuating hundreds of people at a time with a large fleet of aircraft and providing medical care equivalent to that of Thailand's best hospitals.

Hmm, I wonder what happened to that carrier.

:jap:

[mortenaa]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

+1

[letitbe]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

+1

...and they can't do without the "you made your bed, now lie in it"-peace about the poor, voting PTT and now being "left out"!

so truth hurts they were warned but decided to believe the saviour and while Thailand sinks the shinawatis laugh all way to bank

[pimay11]

Local officials blame a lack of funding, boats and staff for not reaching all those in need in flooded areas.

I heard there was a nuclear super carrier somewhere capable of providing logistics over thousands of KM and capable of airlifting tons of supplies at a time over a radius the size of Thailand. I also heard this carrier was capable of evacuating hundreds of people at a time with a large fleet of aircraft and providing medical care equivalent to that of Thailand's best hospitals.

Hmm, I wonder what happened to that carrier.

:jap:

We don't need no education. We dont need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. And above all we don't need no help from no nuclear super carrier! Pink Floyd would be proud.

[Soutpeel]

Local officials blame a lack of funding, boats and staff for not reaching all those in need in flooded areas.

I heard there was a nuclear super carrier somewhere capable of providing logistics over thousands of KM and capable of airlifting tons of supplies at a time over a radius the size of Thailand. I also heard this carrier was capable of evacuating hundreds of people at a time with a large fleet of aircraft and providing medical care equivalent to that of Thailand's best hospitals.

Hmm, I wonder what happened to that carrier.

:jap:

We don't need no education. We dont need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. And above all we don't need no help from no nuclear super carrier! Pink Floyd would be proud.

Would suspect Richard Wright would be turning in his grave after reading your lyrical contribution to one of their songs... LOL....

[DocN]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

+1

...and they can't do without the "you made your bed, now lie in it"-peace about the poor, voting PTT and now being "left out"!

so truth hurts they were warned but decided to believe the saviour and while Thailand sinks the shinawatis laugh all way to bank

Leitbe...let it be!

Laughing about other peoples misfortune (even IF they made a wrong decission in your eyes) is really pretty low!

[Misterwhisper]

I somehow dislike this sort of sensationalist reporting. Even the opening paragraph irks me:

"Standing waist-deep in brown floodwater outside her Bangkok home, Saisunee Sontana is short of food and getting desperate, while a short drive away air-conditioned restaurants serve well-heeled diners."

It implies that only poor people are inundated and that ALL 'well-heeled' people are high and dry and safe.

The floods do not discriminate between 'well-heeled' and 'less well-heeled' and 'downright poor' people. If your 100-million-Baht villa is located in an inundated Bangkok district, it will be just as much affected as a 'pauper's corrugated iron shed' down the road. Unfortunately, this is what makes the news abroad.

I was recently contacted by a major European news agency to deliver a feature story on 'European vacationers being stranded in Bangkok's nightlife districts because of the flooding of the capital'. I had to decline and it took me several email exchanges to explain that Patpong (or Nana or Soi Cowboy) is/are as of yet NOT flooded, which surprised them a lot. 600 euros down the... uhm... drain, but I cannot lie and make something up for the sake of delivering a sensationalist piece now, can I?

[givenall]

I say "you choose the government live with it"

[Gweiloman]

I say "you choose the government live with it"

I say, "you choose the country, live in it"

[farang000999]

so if they voted for the Democrats than Central Bangkok would be flooded already?

[furyrider]

I somehow dislike this sort of sensationalist reporting. Even the opening paragraph irks me:

"Standing waist-deep in brown floodwater outside her Bangkok home, Saisunee Sontana is short of food and getting desperate, while a short drive away air-conditioned restaurants serve well-heeled diners."

It implies that only poor people are inundated and that ALL 'well-heeled' people are high and dry and safe.

The floods do not discriminate between 'well-heeled' and 'less well-heeled' and 'downright poor' people. If your 100-million-Baht villa is located in an inundated Bangkok district, it will be just as much affected as a 'pauper's corrugated iron shed' down the road. Unfortunately, this is what makes the news abroad.

I was recently contacted by a major European news agency to deliver a feature story on 'European vacationers being stranded in Bangkok's nightlife districts because of the flooding of the capital'. I had to decline and it took me several email exchanges to explain that Patpong (or Nana or Soi Cowboy) is/are as of yet NOT flooded, which surprised them a lot. 600 euros down the... uhm... drain, but I cannot lie and make something up for the sake of delivering a sensationalist piece now, can I?

At one time reporting the news meant researching the facts and reporting the truth. However it seems now days stretching the facts and sometimes down right lies are becoming common in reporting if it sales. Sure Nana is not flooded but the area around Bangkok are. You just need to make it sound like they are cut off from the rest of Bangkok and in a horrible predicament and none of the Bar Girls can make it to Nana. I'm sure you could get some ideas from some of the Nation reporters.

[Misterwhisper]

I say "you choose the government live with it"

Simple-minded people, for whom 'status', 'face' and 'pretense' counts, choose a simple-minded government.

I remember a private boat tour through Bangkok's 'khlongs' many, many years ago (early 80s). I asked the steerman why a lot of people seemed to live in comparatively poor housing and yet every roof had a TV antenna. He said: "Don't be fooled. Most of them cannot afford a TV set. They buy a second-hand rooftop TV antenna for 100 Baht and put it up, so their neighbours can envy them because they seemingly can afford a TV set., hence their 'status' in the community rises."

Same question when I drove past ugly concrete housing blocks, of which I was aware that they provided single-room apartments at around 1,500 Baht a month (nowadays perhaps more). yet a lot of big cars were parked underneath those stilts on which they invariably would stand. My guide said: "Don't fool yourself. Those people take out loans from loan sharks so they can buy a Mercedes in which they can drive around impressing the ladies. None of them knows the owner lives in a shitty apartment and they would never take them back here. If they wanna ****, they'll take them to a cheap hour-motel."

Pretenses, pretense, face, face. And if I don't like it here because of that, I can go return to my home country, right? That is what I expect to hear from the kneejerk, do-gooder, naive and blind 'foreign residents' who have yet to get rid of their pink glasses. It takes about 10 years to see behind the charade.

[Misterwhisper]

I somehow dislike this sort of sensationalist reporting. Even the opening paragraph irks me:

"Standing waist-deep in brown floodwater outside her Bangkok home, Saisunee Sontana is short of food and getting desperate, while a short drive away air-conditioned restaurants serve well-heeled diners."

It implies that only poor people are inundated and that ALL 'well-heeled' people are high and dry and safe.

The floods do not discriminate between 'well-heeled' and 'less well-heeled' and 'downright poor' people. If your 100-million-Baht villa is located in an inundated Bangkok district, it will be just as much affected as a 'pauper's corrugated iron shed' down the road. Unfortunately, this is what makes the news abroad.

I was recently contacted by a major European news agency to deliver a feature story on 'European vacationers being stranded in Bangkok's nightlife districts because of the flooding of the capital'. I had to decline and it took me several email exchanges to explain that Patpong (or Nana or Soi Cowboy) is/are as of yet NOT flooded, which surprised them a lot. 600 euros down the... uhm... drain, but I cannot lie and make something up for the sake of delivering a sensationalist piece now, can I?

At one time reporting the news meant researching the facts and reporting the truth. However it seems now days stretching the facts and sometimes down right lies are becoming common in reporting if it sales. Sure Nana is not flooded but the area around Bangkok are. You just need to make it sound like they are cut off from the rest of Bangkok and in a horrible predicament and none of the Bar Girls can make it to Nana. I'm sure you could get some ideas from some of the Nation reporters.

Unlike 'other' journalists, I turned down the offer. As you so correctly mention, journalism is not about writing up a fanciful story, but to present researched facts. More and more (international) news agencies rely on freelance contributors (whom they pay a pittance, by the way) to get their stories. That is lamentable. It puts much more expensive journalists like myself (expensive because of the time and money invested) in a weak spot and elevates would-be journalists, who simply step outside their house to "report" on a situation, in favour. The difference in money is substantial. Several hundred dollars for a story by an experienced journalist as compared to $100 or less for the trifle a hobby writer housewife (or backpacker) shells out. Journalists are a dying breed in a world where everybody seems to be everywhere and maintains their own blog. I sometimes wish 'politicians' wuld be a dying breed, but that's not going to happen anytime soon.

[MEL1]

Piece of sensationlist trash...the first line says it all....

+1

...and they can't do without the "you made your bed, now lie in it"-peace about the poor, voting PTT and now being "left out"!

so truth hurts they were warned but decided to believe the saviour and while Thailand sinks the shinawatis laugh all way to bank

Agreed with the last post. What is she now offering to the devastated? - loans...... YES, LOANS!

If your house or land or developments are destroyed you can take an Yingunluck loan from a 300Billion Bht kitty.

I guess interest rates will start at 15%, as Thaksin quietly siphons off a mere 1% of those repayments, unbeknown to all, as previously unknown.

When Officer Yingunlucky then reduces the interest rates to a normal 5-6%, Esanland, to whom have already been raped, will suddenly cry for joy for their HEROINE, and vote her back in continuously.

A wonderous plot from a deviant, but albeit, Brian Cant.

-m.

[Gonsalviz]

so if they voted for the Democrats than Central Bangkok would be flooded already?

+2

[thrilled]

I believe in the next few days,or a week or so people will start dying cause of no water and food.