What Do All The Africans Do In Thailand?

[meemiathai]

most whities have a heap of money to spend so they dont need a reason to be here as its obvious what they are doing.

africans dont have a lot of money and generally are not classed as tourist's so they look sussed hanging around.

What racist drivel

Pls cdnvic, why do you keep catergorizing things into racism? But fail to see when there really is racism?

What terry had said has nothing to do with racism. Simply pointing out differences between races is not racism.

If I say chinese are smaller than blacks, am I being racist?

[meemiathai]

A (Thai Police) friend of mine tells me that there are 2 main groups of immigrants/tourists that the police raid again and again.

Groups within the Russian communities and groups within the Nigerian communities.

2 main reasons:

Drugs and (passport and internet) scams.

This of course is very sad for the decent people in those communities.

(Just as it is for the decent brits that had to read all the brit bashing).

rgds

Sailor

What racist drivel

[alexth]

most whities have a heap of money to spend so they dont need a reason to be here as its obvious what they are doing.

africans dont have a lot of money and generally are not classed as tourist's so they look sussed hanging around.

What racist drivel

Pls cdnvic, why do you keep catergorizing things into racism? But fail to see when there really is racism?

What terry had said has nothing to do with racism. Simply pointing out differences between races is not racism.

If I say chinese are smaller than blacks, am I being racist?

YES

[jbowman1993]

No, you are stereotyping, which is almost as bad. And you're not even stereotyping very well. Ever seen Yao Ming?

[meemiathai]

No, you are stereotyping, which is almost as bad. And you're not even stereotyping very well. Ever seen Yao Ming?

I take it that u r joking.

[jbowman1993]

No, you are stereotyping, which is almost as bad. And you're not even stereotyping very well. Ever seen Yao Ming?

I take it that u r joking.

Take it any way you'd like...

[psychedelix47]

most whities have a heap of money to spend so they dont need a reason to be here as its obvious what they are doing.

africans dont have a lot of money and generally are not classed as tourist's so they look sussed hanging around.

What racist drivel

Pls cdnvic, why do you keep catergorizing things into racism? But fail to see when there really is racism?

What terry had said has nothing to do with racism. Simply pointing out differences between races is not racism.

If I say chinese are smaller than blacks, am I being racist?

Saying chinese are smaller than blacks is not a negative presumption nor denigrating on the basis of race, it's a comment regarding physical feature.

Terry's statements "..dont have a lot of money", "not classed as tourists" are negative, based on assumption rather than facts and, combined with the equally unfactual claims about "whities", imply judgement and affirm stereotypes as prejudice.

Very uncool, it creates suffering. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

travel 2003's comment is not racist drivel, it reports what police alledgedly do and why, at the same time emphasising how it affects "decent people". Stories like this can easily be used to make racist remarks and affirm stereotypes, dudes like Terry frequently do so.

So, you're wrong, back to the drawing board.

[John_Rambo]

There are more Nigerians in Bang Kwang than any other foreign nationality.

[taxi40]

i guess they are here for the same reason as white, yellow, brown, blue, purple & green - beacuse it's there!

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Never seen a blue, purple or green human being anywhere in the world unless they were dead.

[kayo]

you never been out on an extensive pub crawl then?

Purple, green, Violet and lighter shades of Fuschia all over the place.

edit: BOT:

I don't think that terry was being racist.

I think that his words are often how things are viewed by whites and thai alike.

It's not correct. I don't think it is correct, but nonetheless, situation as it is, I think often the world is seen like he points out.

Doesn't mean to say that it is accurate. It is the portrayal thrust upon folk.

So in that regard I don't think he is too far off, and perhaps being more straightforward than others.

Nonetheless, plenty of bums from all countries, plenty of entrepreneurial from all countries.

I echo the sentiment pointed out earlier, "When we we stop this racial profiling?"

And I echo another sentiment indicated earlier to the O.P

Hear no, See no, and speak no....

What I do not know should not bother me.

If a bear shits in the wood... No! Oops...

Kayo

Edited December 5, 2006 by kayo

[drummer]

i guess they are here for the same reason as white, yellow, brown, blue, purple & green - beacuse it's there!

Thats about the long and short of it, really!!!

Of course, there are a few things to consider.

First, you will almost NEVER see a black of any nationality in an visible job because they are black. In Thailand, skin color (financial status, good looks, etc) is often taken as an indicator of past merit... the whiter you are the better you were in the last life.

Another interesting bit about race and Africans... genetically speaking, Africans (excluding expats and imports) have 10 times as much genetic variation as the rest of the world put together. In other words the difference between Innuit, Sweedes, Thai, Greek, and Japanese is

@---@

The difference between the avrious ethnic groups in Africa - (the Zulu, Hutu, Bamileke, etc)

@------------------------------@

This would seem to indicate that making assumptions about Africans would be on tin ice. much easier to say that all English are this way or all Russians are this way. (or rather, all English and Russians and Japanese and Indian people are this way) than it would be to come to any sort of conclusion about African people.

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

That being said, there msot of Africa is poor, and that is a good indicator of a number of attributes. Thats not being racist, thats being - well, classist, I guess. There are a number of generalizations you can come to. A non african one that would be more illustrative is this one: "Most European expats are unqualified ESL teachers and whoremongers."

This isn't unfounded and to a certain degree it is indeed true. however, I would like to comment on the validity of any generalization you come to by using it. Afterall, there are very well qualified ESL teachers and there are many other professions that hire those in the world's oldest profession (such as George Bush's younger brother Niel).

You can draw some conclusions about what the Africans are doing here, but how useful would it be? They are mostly here "just because" ... like everyone else, doing whatever is available to them (like the ESL teachers)

[taxi40]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

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Where do you get that from?

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

[drummer]

That we evolved in Africa? uhhhh, I made that part up. The rest of it I got from

my fancy college education. Specifically from my collegiate study of Paleoanthropology.

I can get more detailed if you like, but if you think about it, it really makes a lot of sense.

Edited December 5, 2006 by drummer

[Travel2003]

A (Thai Police) friend of mine tells me that there are 2 main groups of immigrants/tourists that the police raid again and again.

Groups within the Russian communities and groups within the Nigerian communities.

2 main reasons:

Drugs and (passport and internet) scams.

This of course is very sad for the decent people in those communities.

(Just as it is for the decent brits that had to read all the brit bashing).

rgds

Sailor

What racist drivel

huh????

Racist?

Me? Or the Police?

As already mentioned here, this was an observation made.

And if you search in the Bangkok Post archives, you also find articles about this.

Seems to me that some people here just love to use the "racist card" whenever they disagree with someone.

Please enlighten me here.

If I said something bad about people from........ lets say Cork, Ireland. Is that racism?

Probably not.

I would just had been told to go f..... myself.

But, if I had said something bad about people from Zaire, well then I was a racist.

Is that the rule here?

Finally,

I choose not to believe the Police budget activities like this just to harass these people. That would have eaten up the budget very fast.

rgds

Sailor

[drummer]

I think the smiley means that post was a joke, mate

[Naam]

There are a bunch of Africans (not white South Africans) in BKK that are obviously not tourists. I never see them work. The Westerners are usually teachers or something of the like, but I can't seem to figure out what the Africans are doing here. Are they citizens like a lot of the Indians? Is there some kind of industry in Thailand which they work in? I'm just curious and none of my friends have a clue either, so I figured I'd see if any of you have a clue.

what do all the penguins do in southern Patagonia? just curious.

[terry57]

ok dudes,

here's the scoop ok.

i was'nt meaning to be racist as im a world traveller and have met hundreds of different people from different countries.

i was only making an observation and thats why i stay away from political discussions, religion and race threads as some people spit the dummy and draw the racist card.

any way punters that was my mistake for getting into this so its all fair play to me.

im out of here.

cheers friends.

[t.s]

the ones i have met are into fake ID and coke. And they all have really fat thai girlfriends.

[PeaceBlondie]

The only Black native of Africa that I've met so far in Thailand had two master's degree, taught in North America, and was a Fulbright Scholar. Does anybody remember Sidney Poitier's role as a doctor with the UN, in the classic movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Oh, and speaking of the United Nations - who's that pale skinned guy who's been Secretary General of the UN for a long time?

Thais are so short. I met one last week who stood almost two meters tall.

And for that matter, what are all those Asians doing here?

[kayo]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

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..............

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

That we evolved in Africa? uhhhh, I made that part up. The rest of it I got from

my fancy college education. Specifically from my collegiate study of Paleoanthropology.

(snip)

:D At leaast you are honest dude!

College degrees.. Once upon a time used to be valuable things...

Nowadays, brainwashing courses sponsored by the geo-political Corporate society we are repressed by.

Stay away from Colleges and Uni's I say. Their Curriculums only follow politics these days.

Once upon a time they used to influence the same.

Edited December 5, 2006 by kayo

[London Crocodile]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

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................................................................................

................................................................................

.............................................

Where do you get that from?

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.7 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, generally within the past 1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000 years, and to the Americas within the past 35,000 years. The beginnings of agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 10,000 years.

[LaReina]

How interesting... and how small minded some people are. At the same time it was a good question as the answers are broad and general and are enlightening to a degree.

people are people regardless of race.

Some are married to thai women, and they have set up shop here in thailand. Quite like a few westerners married to thai women.

Some are in the prostitution buisness and run semi brothels.. quite like some locals.

Some are merchants buying products and selling in their home countries.. quite like quite a few westerners..

Some are bums and drug mules, just like quite a few westerners here in bangkok who try and make easy money fast.

Some work for Chevron and other oil companies, are Marines or /and are DEA agents and work for the US govt. Much like other "white" westerners.

Ohh and quite few work for the UN, and WHO, and some NGO's and the World bank just brought in (an african) a new appointee to some ranking position here in Bangkok.

Yes there are "black people" with respectable jobs. Most of you might not know them because you just do not run in the same "expat" circles. How many of you hang out with bank presidents? or do your wives or gf's hang out with the wives of bank presidents and such?

Finally, just because a person is black, does not make them african. They could be from Europe, the US, Saudi Arabia... lets face it, any country that has ever engaged in a slave trade, can have people who are black in colour, and that does not make them "african". Just black.

It would appear that some of you judge books soley by the cover and never in your wildest dreams assume that you might have something in common with a person based on their skin colour. Who just might be as well versed or travelled as you and if not.. might just be as ignorant as some of your relatives who can't place a country on a map or think that africa is a country.

So maybe next time, you can strike up a conversation, and just flat out ask if they are on vacation and how they like it here, and then let them tell you what they are doing.

[Donz]

They probaly do what other humans do I think.

[cwilliam]

If you've ever been to the prison at Bang Kwan then you'll have seen a lot of them there...

Maybe they are visiting their mates in jail.Used to be bad before they changed their visa rules(must obtain in their country now) they would always try to start a conversation,I never talked to them but friends that did say they were always trying to get money.They were filling up the jails making it hard for other Farangs to get in.More room for you now.I don't see as many as before.

[cwilliam]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

................................................................................

................................................................................

................................................................................

.............................................

Where do you get that from?

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.7 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, generally within the past 1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000 years, and to the Americas within the past 35,000 years. The beginnings of agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 10,000 years.

I wonder why Africa is so backward with that big headstart?

[cwilliam]

There are more Nigerians in Bang Kwang than any other foreign nationality.

That is a fact and not racist.They can't get rid of them their countries won't take them.Maybe some of you screaming racism should adopt a few?

[cwilliam]

How interesting... and how small minded some people are. At the same time it was a good question as the answers are broad and general and are enlightening to a degree.

people are people regardless of race.

Some are married to thai women, and they have set up shop here in thailand. Quite like a few westerners married to thai women.

Some are in the prostitution buisness and run semi brothels.. quite like some locals.

Some are merchants buying products and selling in their home countries.. quite like quite a few westerners..

Some are bums and drug mules, just like quite a few westerners here in bangkok who try and make easy money fast.

Some work for Chevron and other oil companies, are Marines or /and are DEA agents and work for the US govt. Much like other "white" westerners.

Ohh and quite few work for the UN, and WHO, and some NGO's and the World bank just brought in (an african) a new appointee to some ranking position here in Bangkok.

Yes there are "black people" with respectable jobs. Most of you might not know them because you just do not run in the same "expat" circles. How many of you hang out with bank presidents? or do your wives or gf's hang out with the wives of bank presidents and such?

Finally, just because a person is black, does not make them african. They could be from Europe, the US, Saudi Arabia... lets face it, any country that has ever engaged in a slave trade, can have people who are black in colour, and that does not make them "african". Just black.

It would appear that some of you judge books soley by the cover and never in your wildest dreams assume that you might have something in common with a person based on their skin colour. Who just might be as well versed or travelled as you and if not.. might just be as ignorant as some of your relatives who can't place a country on a map or think that africa is a country.

So maybe next time, you can strike up a conversation, and just flat out ask if they are on vacation and how they like it here, and then let them tell you what they are doing.

But watch your wallet anyway.

[Ulysses G.]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

................................................................................

................................................................................

................................................................................

.............................................

Where do you get that from?

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.7 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, generally within the past 1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000 years, and to the Americas within the past 35,000 years. The beginnings of agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 10,000 years.

I wonder why Africa is so backward with that big headstart?

Racist, but funny!

[Heng]

We all evolved in Africa, and only tiny groups ever made it out! The rest of us are like the Siberian Tiger...

................................................................................

................................................................................

................................................................................

.............................................

Where do you get that from?

Please tell us more how you came to this conclusion?

Early humans first migrated out of Africa into Asia probably between 2 million and 1.7 million years ago. They entered Europe somewhat later, generally within the past 1 million years. Species of modern humans populated many parts of the world much later. For instance, people first came to Australia probably within the past 60,000 years, and to the Americas within the past 35,000 years. The beginnings of agriculture and the rise of the first civilizations occurred within the past 10,000 years.

I wonder why Africa is so backward with that big headstart?

The same reason why Spain, Britain, the Romans, Germans, Mongolians, Persians, etc. no longer have empires. It's not the head start that counts. It's keeping a steady pace.

[Rhodo]

lets face it, any country that has ever engaged in a slave trade, can have people who are black in colour

Wrong. Many countries who were never engaged in slave trade have people who are black. You seems to forget refugees, adopted people or immigrants who are later naturalized.