A shot in the dark: More than 1 million people in Thailand will celebrate Christmas in darkness
By Ana Salv


A Tak province villager living in darkness. Photo: Ana Salvá

THAILAND -- Christmas has come to town and since late November, Bangkok has been increasingly filled with lights of all shapes and colors as part of decorations adorning balconies, streets and shopping centers. Many families and friends will also meet this Friday to celebrate the holiday over Christmas dinner.

So it is a good moment to remember the more than one million people in Thailand who will celebrate this time in darkness, without access to the electricity grid.

Tak province, where many ethnic Karen Christians live, is one of the most affected, followed by the province of Mae Hong Son, both located close to the Burmese border.

Full Story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/12/23/shot-dark-more-1-million-people-thailand-will-celebrate-christmas-darkness

-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-12-23

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

Is a sad fact, They have built a shopping mall, in Bangkok.That consumes more electricity. Than the whole of Mae Hong Son province.! They have wrong goals in this country?

Is a sad fact, They have built a shopping mall, in Bangkok.That consumes more electricity. Than the whole of Mae Hong Son province.! They have wrong goals in this country?

The malls in Bangkok probably generate more hard currency from tourists than that entire province adds to Thai GDP, too.

It's also a sad fact that I used up more fuel flying to Thailand than an entire 3rd world family may use in a lifetime. So I'm just as guilty as this country. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure most of us flew in.

So we live in pretty glass houses...

The current Pm will only bring happiness to the elites of Bangkok,every body else can go beg for scraps,sorry they got a song for New Year and the promise of elections in 2017, How generous is this man to the Thai people

And these people are Thais?

My friend is also Thai christian but she has to work during christmas, just like all her collegues. It's a daytime officejob. We have plenty of huge christmastree's in BKK though, almost every mall has one (or more).

Didn't realise that there are 1 million Christians living without electricity in Thailand.

dear snoop, mind, please.

A) Karen people don't celebrate Christmas, it is none of their holidays.

B ) their village has been without electricity for decades, they are used to it and they use candles and headlamps.

C) muslims do not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ - you must have fallen for a myth. They recognize him, and mention him in the Quaran, but muslims do not celebrate Christmas.

D) what is your post about ? Electrifying every part of this country? Some islands resorts out there still go by Diesel generators.

last but not least, WHY is this a problem? Mankind has lived without electricity for thousands of successful years

just let THAT slowly dissipate into your mind . . .

even in sleep, there is never no dark

shoot yourself in your own knee and wake up . . . . . . .

Edited December 23, 201510 yr by crazygreg44

Unfortunately many, many Thais live in the dark these days.

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

dear snoop, mind, please.

A) Karen people don't celebrate Christmas, it is none of their holidays.

B ) their village has been without electricity for decades, they are used to it and they use candles and headlamps.

C) muslims do not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ - you must have fallen for a myth. They recognize him, and mention him in the Quaran, but muslims do not celebrate Christmas.

D) what is your post about ? Electrifying every part of this country? Some islands resorts out there still go by Diesel generators.

last but not least, WHY is this a problem? Mankind has lived without electricity for thousands of successful years

just let THAT slowly dissipate into your mind . . .

even in sleep, there is never no dark

shoot yourself in your own knee and wake up . . . . . . .

Many Karen are Christians and celibate Christmas, Easter and all the other Christian holidays!

I have about 300 former students that are ethnic Karen and about 150 of them are Christian and celibate Sunday mass when they are home in their villages, 50 are Buddhists and the rest are following their own old tradition of praying to the spirits of the forest. Even those who are Christian pray to the forest spirits so it's their version of Christianity just like Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Mormons ad so on.

It's about time Thailand got into Solar Power in a big way,given the the hours of sunshine.

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

dear snoop, mind, please.

A) Karen people don't celebrate Christmas, it is none of their holidays.

B ) their village has been without electricity for decades, they are used to it and they use candles and headlamps.

C) muslims do not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ - you must have fallen for a myth. They recognize him, and mention him in the Quaran, but muslims do not celebrate Christmas.

D) what is your post about ? Electrifying every part of this country? Some islands resorts out there still go by Diesel generators.

last but not least, WHY is this a problem? Mankind has lived without electricity for thousands of successful years

just let THAT slowly dissipate into your mind . . .

even in sleep, there is never no dark

shoot yourself in your own knee and wake up . . . . . . .

Many Karen are Christians and celibate Christmas, Easter and all the other Christian holidays!

I have about 300 former students that are ethnic Karen and about 150 of them are Christian and celibate Sunday mass when they are home in their villages, 50 are Buddhists and the rest are following their own old tradition of praying to the spirits of the forest. Even those who are Christian pray to the forest spirits so it's their version of Christianity just like Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Mormons ad so on.

wow, that was unbeknownst to me. Thank you for lightening me up !

It's called the "sufficiency economy".

Wonderful for the top 1%, not so much for the rest!

Ah, so the real topic is Christmas and Christianity, not darkness. Otherwise, why not mourn for all of the world's people who must live without electricity all year long?

It's about time Thailand got into Solar Power in a big way,given the the hours of sunshine.

Yeah, they can buy one of the new Tesla batteries for when it ain't shining, only $15,000 each.

So instead of wasting a day selling bikes and tshirts how about take ALL the money donated and sort out subjects who still dont have leccy in the 21st century if its such an embarressment, I know what I think and wont hold my breath.

1 million in Thailand in 2015 this age really inexcusable. lucky it never really gets cold here or a good 30% of the population would freeze to death the first winter.

Oh well least no one has ever starved in Thailand nor ever likely to.

send em lots of rechargeable batteries or better still a permanent solution... sometime before next century would be good.

Edited December 23, 201510 yr by englishoak

Many Karen are Christians and celibate ...

The darkness might have something to do with that.

There are 3 cultures in Thailand, the filthy rich, the average struggling but getting by poor, then the dirt poor that any of us rarely see, the people that the government and the average folk prefer to keep at a distance and forget about. An image of the country that the Thais prefer hidden from view, because they illustrate just how much Thailand is still very much a third world country.

It's about time Thailand got into Solar Power in a big way,given the the hours of sunshine.

Yeah, they can buy one of the new Tesla batteries for when it ain't shining, only $15,000 each.

Solar power in the UK is at such a level of developement,that it supplies power needs,and then contributes surplus energy to the National Grid,which they get paid for the surplus.

So hours of sunlight is a major advantage for Thailand!

Edited December 23, 201510 yr by MAJIC

Quote: In 2004 the Thai government invested US$250m to install solar panels to bring electricity to households off the national grid.....In 2007 .... 80% of the panels had stopped working because no one was taking care of them.

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

Don't forget the family "Ham" Dinner...

It's about time Thailand got into Solar Power in a big way,given the the hours of sunshine.

Yeah, they can buy one of the new Tesla batteries for when it ain't shining, only $15,000 each.

A Tesla Battery may have it's uses but it's hard to see how it's usable,in an area that has no power supply??? so the

Solar power would need to be up and running first!

Edited December 24, 201510 yr by MAJIC

I think the author was attempting to contrast the lack of rural electrification to the bright seasonal lighting that dazzles the cities this time of year. That's a nice lead-in, but he then blew it by confusing himself and everyone else by suggesting a religious dimension to the problem, then meandering through the shortcomings of solar projects. Then again, what do we expect from Coconuts?

The current Pm will only bring happiness to the elites of Bangkok,every body else can go beg for scraps,sorry they got a song for New Year and the promise of elections in 2017, How generous is this man to the Thai people

These people have been without electricity for longer than the current PM has been in power. As far as I'm aware the Army has been installing solar arrays in some of the villages.

Is a sad fact, They have built a shopping mall, in Bangkok.That consumes more electricity. Than the whole of Mae Hong Son province.! They have wrong goals in this country?

The malls in Bangkok probably generate more hard currency from tourists than that entire province adds to Thai GDP, too.

It's also a sad fact that I used up more fuel flying to Thailand than an entire 3rd world family may use in a lifetime. So I'm just as guilty as this country. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure most of us flew in.

So we live in pretty glass houses...

you miss the point. it's about the fair distribution of wealth to the benefit of the whole population.

it'd about prioritisation of resources to the benefit of all

it's about humanity and caring about those most vulnerable and needy in society

capital investment is required not quick fixes, sound bites and populist policies.

.....is it a reflection of being considered 'non-Thai'.....as someone asked....

....we know what that feels like.....

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

been on the sauce again eh? flash! muslims and Thai's do not celebrate the birth of christ! the christmas celebration in thailand is purely financial, plain and simple. if you ask the normal thai, they probably don't even know who Jesus Christ is or even care! they knowmore about santa clause than Jesus!

As the article says, many of the people who don't have access to electricity are hill-tribes, in border areas.

The same people who struggle to achieve proper recognition as being Thai, despite being born within the geographical-limits of the country, and often can't get ID-cards or permission to travel far from their villages.

IME there has been a concerted effort, by several governments, to extend electricity more-widely over the past couple of decades. This needs to continue !

I feel sorry for these people, when you think of all the Muslims in other countries celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ it is sad that some of Thailand's Buddhists have to be kept in the dark.

dear snoop, mind, please.

A) Karen people don't celebrate Christmas, it is none of their holidays.

Many Karen are Christians and celibate Christmas, Easter and all the other Christian holidays!

Thank you, Kasset Tak for responding to these two who didn't read the article but felt the need to comment.

My initial reaction was the same as crazygreg and ratcatcher, but I read the article, and found that the article is talking about Christian Karen.

Kasset and ratcahter's idea is right, that it's silly to apply Christian culture to non-Christians, but both of you guys gotta read the article first, rather than just commenting.

Edited December 24, 201510 yr by timmyp