Charity groups estimate that 200 to 300 foreigners living on the streets in Thailand

[marcusd]

I mentioned this several times, they can go live at a temple, free food and room. They can even get paid to teach English, no work permit neded if living at the temple. They don't even need to become a monk. Also they will meet many Thais who will help them with a new start by giving them work for helping at the temple. Then they can leave the temple after a year or so and have a new start. I did it so why can't they, I guess they are too lazy or just drunks.

 

Randy

I think this is very good information as I am quite a lucky person by many standards and if I fell on hard times I would NOT have known I could do this.

So I guess there are many who know. You educated us thank you but kets how now if US dowell not bad.

Sent from my GT-N7000B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[marcusd]

Now I understand why Thai Visa can only run excerps fron crap papers...free. because its the ivy waycrap papers get a story followed..doh!

Sent from my GT-N7000B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[skippybangkok]

Sorry- having difficulty finding sympathy .

"Financial Consultant", bet u be never had a day of education in finance other than oiler room 101

Get regular calls and mails from these scammers - low life's trying to steal hard earned money

[ABCer]

Generally speaking on the same issue I believe it is not Thai Gov't problem.

Regarding particular problem with Chris:

There are many doubts and questions on my mind, like

- A Financial Advisor would have a paper protecting his income and position;

- A Financial Advisor usually draws not only retainer but a 'stream' income;

- A Financial Advisor with 'conscience' is a rare thing indeed;

- The 'stream' income should be coming from his home country unless he became a Financial Advisor here in Thailand (would be a very risky move for a Farang);

- No reporter or financier should mistake 1 M bt for 10 M bt, - even I know the difference and this isn't my currency;

- By the time his Pension Fund matures he may become a wreck or even not live long enough to see/use the money; his lifestyle is not conducive to health;

Sorry, I do not buy this story...

Regardless of the above - good luck and best wishes for the guy and all others in same boat.

Edited September 28, 2013 by ABCer

[Time Traveller]

Actually there are laws already in place to deal with this problem. With no valid visa they are here illegally so why don't the BIB round them up and deport them ?

Simply put there is no money in it for Thai police to round up penniless illegals. Better to shake down foreigners with money like tourists or expats building boats at their own homes.

[dru2]

Juarawee Kittisilpa is presumably writing about "Farang" or White Westerners of European descent. There are a lot more than 200-300 "foreigners" living on the streets in Thailand if Burmese, Cambodians and so on are included. Moreover, 200,000 pounds is around 10 million Baht.

The standards of reporting at The Nation are so amateurish that it has become a complete joke.

I agree with regard to The Nation. However it, in common with all old-style print news media worldwide, is caught in the trap of a catastrophic drop in readership and hence advertising revenue. Simply put, they cannot afford native speakers to write their stories, nor it seems professional Thai journalists that are able to think a story through. Even English native subs to copy read and edit before going to press seems beyond their means these days. Who would buy a newspaper that publishes such poorly-written, half-baked articles? It's a vicious spiral leading towards eventual oblivion, I suspect.

Well, you are spot on of course. I wrote for them on a regular basis until 1997, at which point they told me that they could no longer afford to pay me. If I remember correctly, they suggested a drop from THB5,000 per feature article to THB1,200.

[easybullet3]

in 7 years in Thailand I have only ever seen ONE western homeless (around sukhumvit, bangkok) a few years ago.

i did see a few people during the Tsunami time too,, (but they were short-lived).

maybe I saw a westerner selling something from the street once in pattaya.

but thats it.

I find this story hard to believe.

also: 200,000 pounds is 10 million baht... (not 1 million).

maybe this is ONE guy they found... but i dont believe there are 200 - 300. (not at all).

[spectre324]

What a strange story..... Sounds like your typical Euro freeloader. Whats he going to do ? Come back to Thailand with 10 million baht.?

I'd give him 3 years in Thailand and all his 10 million baht will have gone on Issan wives ,cheap suits , useless name cards and stupid business ideas.

He's way out of his depth here.

Well said. He might as well bring Paul Daniels back with him. Its VANISHED....

I have absolutely no sympthy for foreigners who sponge off poor Thai's, let them stay home if they don't have the money for a round trip ticket. and for the stupid ones that got taken by the Thai bar girls, better you than me! the Thai Gov't should dump these dead beats on the doors of their embassies and let them pay for their coach plane trip back home where they can spunge off their own government! I'm talking about europeans and americans!

[Artisi]

_{Just sounds like more ongoing crap from the Nation. After 12 years in LOS, 2 in Bangkok and the rest elsewhere I have only run across 1 Westerner who looked like he might be sleeping rough. Was approached exiting a BigC store and asked for money - usual story spun about hard times etc, told him to "F- off" and head for the local western church about 1 km away - sure they could do some good for a change instead of praying on the Thai kids with all their bull-sh1t stories and manipulation - all in the name of Jesus.}

_{As one of the previous posters pointed out- the local wat is usually a good place to start if your homeless/ hungry etc.}

[Jdietz]

Anyone considered he probably meant 20.000 pounds?

Or '200.000 Pounds, that will buy you a MILLION BAHT in Thai Stocks!' was what he promised his 'investors'

[thaidiver]

You may call them homeless, but I prefer budget tourists. What better way to get to know the country and get some fresh air while your at it; sleeping under the bright Thailand stars! Cultural immersion at it's best.......

[MarkCyr]

The best charity you could give one of these "homeless" foreigners is a ticket back to the homeland. The only reason these guys are still here is an addiction to the fantasy life they've built in their mind about Thailand.

A guy I knew very well lived way above his means till his Baht ran out. Next came "borrowing" from friends and family. Next was being involved in any wacky business he could find to try and finance the bottle-keeps on Soi 33. Next was jail and finally, deportation. He'd have been much better off if somebody had just thrown him on a plane back to London after his money ran out.

[Emdog]

"Of every 10 homeless foreigners, five will say they have been cheated by their Thai wives or families, three would put it down to business partners, while the rest would offer other reasons," said Natee Saraval, secretary-general of the Issarachon Foundation."

I always budgeted the amount I would allow my (now ex) Thai wife to cheat me out of. That is one of the items a financial planner of any worth should factor in. So I still have money. As far as "other reasons" my guess is that means substance abuse. I know and have known some of these guys here in Jomtien, and that was a big contributor to their downfall.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Emdog

[umbanda]

I mentioned this several times, they can go live at a temple, free food and room. They can even get paid to teach English, no work permit neded if living at the temple. They don't even need to become a monk. Also they will meet many Thais who will help them with a new start by giving them work for helping at the temple. Then they can leave the temple after a year or so and have a new start. I did it so why can't they, I guess they are too lazy or just drunks.

Randy

You are right! In Thailand nobody needs to live on the streets or suffer hunger...

In California....more precise in the "finest city" San Diego...the city is giving small igloo tends to homeless people to live on the streets from 8 PM to 8AM...because shelters are full......

[robertson468]

If this had been me, I would have seen the writing on the wall when the money was rapidly dwindling away. I would have squirreled away the last £1,000 to make sure I could get myself back to the land of doom and gloom (the good old UK) where at least I could sign on for housing and government support. I assume the convertion rate was a typo, otherwise Chris my Friend hardly surprising you are in the dilemma you now find yourself. According to the Journalist, you sound almost contented with your lot, if so fine, if not, it is time you started sorting your life out yourself. The other thought is, and I am no financial consultant, can you actually reclaim all the money in one go out of your pension pot? Anyway, good luck to you Brother.

[klubex99]

I think it is disgraceful to be displaying such a lack of compassion for your fellow human.

I have been reading through the comments and most of them are way too negative for my liking.

Why do so many people not seem to believe Chris' story? I think it is very probable that he is telling the truth. Besides that, why are most of you DEMANDING that he ship off back home? What has it got to do with anyone here what he derides to do? Maybe, just maybe he loves Thailand, maybe he finds life on the street preferable to life back in the UK where he probably has given everything up to come here for a new life?

Has anyone ever walked into the UK at the age of 52 to rebuild a life from scratch? Let me tell you, without money, it is not easy. OK he gets state handouts, and possibly stuck in a seedy bedsit or resettlement shelter rubbing shoulders with junkies, pissheads and generally the lowlifes of society. Struggling to get a decent job at his age, trying to get back into a decent position in UK society would take a few years, and maybe he knows this and with only 3 years to early retirement maybe just maybe he has thought it is probably not worth all the hardship getting there.

Whatever his reasons, it is purely his choice, it is his life and nobody else's. If he was picked up by the immigration authorities and locked up for the next 3 years in a hell hole immigration detention center, I think many people on this thread would be very smugly happy about it. That is how I view many posters on this forum. They seem to enjoy seeing another foreigner taking a fall. Or allow themselves to get pissed off by another's misfortune. Need to get a life I think.

Anyone can take a fall here, if the circumstances are right. Everyone lives under different circumstances and some are more vulnerable to others. This fall can come from nowhere and come very fast without warning, we read it all the time. So why is Chris's story so strange.

Also, while I am at it. Chris is a financial expert. So he understands his pension, and when a financial expert talks in terms of the value of a pension fund, they use the capital value and also the annual worth, and as Chris correctly points out.... His £200,000 pension could be worth around £20,000 per annum in 3 years time...... which is 1 million baht.

People on here make me laugh with their opinionated assessments of other people's lives, and whether or not they are bullshitters, pissheads or whatever. The confidence in which they post just tells me, they are probably not even as clever as Chris.

Beware...... A message to most of you..... You just may find yourself in a similar situation one day, because your existence here compared to your home country is very very fragile by comparison.

[rafish]

Why does this bogus story keep comning up? I don't know of one single destitute foreigner (Western type) living on the streets of Thailand. I've seen a few from time to time but nothing akin to 200-300.

This must be a slam at foreigners purported to be superior to Asians and makes some feel good with articles proclaiming such nonsense. T.V. should be more careful when they continually harp on such rubbish!

[tijnebijn]

I think it is disgraceful to be displaying such a lack of compassion for your fellow human.

I have been reading through the comments and most of them are way too negative for my liking.

Why do so many people not seem to believe Chris' story? I think it is very probable that he is telling the truth. Besides that, why are most of you DEMANDING that he ship off back home? What has it got to do with anyone here what he derides to do? Maybe, just maybe he loves Thailand, maybe he finds life on the street preferable to life back in the UK where he probably has given everything up to come here for a new life?

Has anyone ever walked into the UK at the age of 52 to rebuild a life from scratch? Let me tell you, without money, it is not easy. OK he gets state handouts, and possibly stuck in a seedy bedsit or resettlement shelter rubbing shoulders with junkies, pissheads and generally the lowlifes of society. Struggling to get a decent job at his age, trying to get back into a decent position in UK society would take a few years, and maybe he knows this and with only 3 years to early retirement maybe just maybe he has thought it is probably not worth all the hardship getting there.

Whatever his reasons, it is purely his choice, it is his life and nobody else's. If he was picked up by the immigration authorities and locked up for the next 3 years in a hell hole immigration detention center, I think many people on this thread would be very smugly happy about it. That is how I view many posters on this forum. They seem to enjoy seeing another foreigner taking a fall. Or allow themselves to get pissed off by another's misfortune. Need to get a life I think.

Anyone can take a fall here, if the circumstances are right. Everyone lives under different circumstances and some are more vulnerable to others. This fall can come from nowhere and come very fast without warning, we read it all the time. So why is Chris's story so strange.

Also, while I am at it. Chris is a financial expert. So he understands his pension, and when a financial expert talks in terms of the value of a pension fund, they use the capital value and also the annual worth, and as Chris correctly points out.... His £200,000 pension could be worth around £20,000 per annum in 3 years time...... which is 1 million baht.

People on here make me laugh with their opinionated assessments of other people's lives, and whether or not they are bullshitters, pissheads or whatever. The confidence in which they post just tells me, they are probably not even as clever as Chris.

Beware...... A message to most of you..... You just may find yourself in a similar situation one day, because your existence here compared to your home country is very very fragile by comparison.

very well spoken Klubex , many are too much focused on the ' me ' and fail to see there is much more to consider than what the 'until now' life experiences have brought them . Put in other words , judging others with their misfortunes is really judging yourself to be a ignorant , even if one individual might think they are such a success , many other happenings in life can make any individual wake up rapidly , and learn accordingly . That's the point ain't it.....

[MegaRanter]

3 years to retirement......? What is retiring from, pissing it off in Bangers?

[klubex99]

3 years to retirement......? What is retiring from, pissing it off in Bangers?

I don't know.... I wouldn't say he is pissing it up in Bangers considering alcohol costs money and he has none.

But you seem to be an expert on the guy, can you tell everyone the story in a bit more detail.

[Farma]

It appears a number of news agencies picked up on the story. They all stem from information provided by this charity. I saw a short news clip on Sky news about a week ago that had interviews with a few homeless farang in Jomtien.

The independent newspaper also has a more comprehensive article with interviews with Steve and Paul.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/why-are-so-many-westerners-homeless-in-thailand-8830302.html

[johnj]

Hi Chris, sorry your down on your luck, might be a good idea to get a new calculator! 200,000GBP =1,000,000 THB? By my reckoning it's about 10,000,000 THB Good luck, nice to hear someone who doesn't go with the corrupt flow and has a conscience.

[koto]

Do you really expect anyone to believe this Bull Shit from Chris. He is probably another drunk with such

a wonderful conscience. This guy will piss away his 200K pound pension and be back on the streets in

less than a year.......Really people, such rubbish....

Who made you judge and jury on the whys and how comes of the pitfalls, heaven or hells of another, once one is homeless, they sometimes find their cesspool, hell, some die there, some get smart, some kill their dragons of booze, drugs, become wise, giving back, humans...

Addictions does not always mean people are bad, their just stuck in their hell...

It seems to be quite obvious you have never hit your bottom and that's OK, but don't be so critical of others, having no idea of what put them there...

May health, happiness and inner-wealth be with all...

[Local Drunk]

How many Thais are living on the streets? How many Thais are alcoholic and institutionally insane. How many are stepped over daily while lying on pavement begging for drinks or avoided by all for barking at their reflection in a storefront window. TAT boasts 20 million tourists or so this year and how many millions and millions in years past? So a few hundred of them decided to stay and lost the plot. It's a minuscule margin. Look at yourself first Thailand!

[martman]

I'm one of those homeless foreigners. Stayed in

Thailand till my money ran out and slept on benches.

Really seen the generosity of the Thai people helping

me thru that difficult time. Back home working and

will return to Thailand again.

[adjustedpete]

I'm one of those homeless foreigners. Stayed in

Thailand till my money ran out and slept on benches.

Really seen the generosity of the Thai people helping

me thru that difficult time. Back home working and

will return to Thailand again.

.

Tell us your story. I, for one am interested

[Bpuumike]

What a strange story..... Sounds like your typical Euro freeloader. Whats he going to do ? Come back to Thailand with 10 million baht.?

I'd give him 3 years in Thailand and all his 10 million baht will have gone on Issan wives ,cheap suits , useless name cards and stupid business ideas.

He's way out of his depth here.

If you want 10 million Baht then start out with 50 million.

[F4UCorsair]

Chris has bigger problems than being homeless. If, as he claims, he was in the finance industry and calculates 200,000 quid to be only a million baht, he's in real trouble.

I'm interested in your story too martman. Put pen to paper.

Edited September 29, 2013 by F4UCorsair

[BookMan]

Woke up today with a sense of deja vu, like the movie, Groundhog Day. They ran this same story just a couple of weeks ago. Albeit without Chris' insightful input and telling us what a decent bloke he is. I guess if you are on a good story stick to it. Whatever sells.

What you have posted here is quite true. But it is not just those of the 90s Gen. I had a similar instance of this last Xmas, a middle aged sex tourist who is on welfare in Australia saving up all year to do a 'sex and alcohol run' to the LOS. Blowing all of his $5500 wad in 14 days and still having another two weeks to go before he was booked to fly out. Then turned up at my door asking me to put him up. How can anyone be so totally irresponsible?

I understand shit happens and you can, through no fault of your own, fall on hard times, and I would normally be tempted to say something like.. 'There but for the grace of god go I' - But no I would never allow my self to get that low. Never!

I think you're as weak as piss 'Chris', take charge of yourself man!

Did you put the guy up for two weeks?

[NomadJoe]

I mentioned this several times, they can go live at a temple, free food and room. They can even get paid to teach English, no work permit neded if living at the temple. They don't even need to become a monk. Also they will meet many Thais who will help them with a new start by giving them work for helping at the temple. Then they can leave the temple after a year or so and have a new start. I did it so why can't they, I guess they are too lazy or just drunks.

Randy

sounds to me like something about this tale sucks.... well, at least for a year or so....

Maybe they can teach you some English.