April 2005 112th Issue

Events in Hua Hin

What are we celebrating?

The 6th Chakri Day

This is a public holiday commemorating the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, Rama I. It's held on 6 April.

13th - 15th Songkhran Festival

The New Year's celebration of the lunar year in Thailand . The Buddha images are ‘bathed', monks and elders receive the respect of younger Thais by the sprinkling of water over their hands, and a lot of water is generously tossed about for fun. Songkhran generally gives everyone a chance to release their frustrations and literally cool off during the peak of the hot season. Hide out in your room or expect to be soaked; the latter is a lot more fun.

Held 13 to 15 April.

Hua Hin chosen for new rain-making centre

His Majesty the King has instructed the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to set up a rain-making centre in Hua Hin, and will be personally involved as Thailand battles against the severe drought affecting much of the country. The man who heads that department, Minister Newin Chidchob, revealed that His Majesty the King is deeply concerned about the situation, and was extremely pleased that the King was going to be involved. “No one else in the world knows rain- making better than His Majesty,'' he said.

The new centre will coordinate the efforts of the other 15 centres across the country, which have been using military and police aircraft to help in the operations. The drought has hit farmers hard, and with an estimated total farm land of 131 million rai in Thailand , only 22 million rai is irrigated, so the need for rain is pressing. His Majesty the King has a history of stepping in to ensure that the poorest people in Thailand get the necessary help, and is very aware of how important the farmers are in that respect, with so many families dependent on them. 

New Thai cabinet gather in Hua Hin

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his new cabinet were sworn in during March at the Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin, and were then addressed by His Majesty the King. The 35-strong cabinet were told to serve the nation with sincerity and honesty, and were also advised to remind themselves everyday that they must keep all their promises. In His Majesty the King's address he said that they should carry out their duties in this manner in order to make the country safe and prosperous despite the prevailing situation that was fraught with economic and political difficulties. His Majesty the King added that if the ministers could achieve all their objectives, then they should feel proud of themselves.

Prior to being sworn in the Prime Minister and his cabinet had several orientation meetings at the Dusit Resort and Polo Club in Phetchaburi's Cha-am district, just outside Hua Hin. They were also allowed a few hours of leisure time before being sworn in. Visitors and locals alike would have noticed the heavy police presence in the area that always accompanies visits by the Royal family and high ranking politicians.

After The Tsunami

I don't know what made me pick up the phone – God knows I'm busy enough here with helping at the Dog Rescue Centre and the Charity Shop, looking after 11 monster dogs, trying to sell my house and putting a tour together for later this year - but my mind would not rest. For nearly 3 weeks I'd been watching those awful news reports of people being swept away by the killer waves, I'd heard the screaming and seen the dreadful interviews of those poor survivors who'd had loved ones sucked out of their grasp by the force of the water. How could I stay at home? My husband was wonderfully supportive and said I should go – to what I had no idea – if it would make me feel better. So when Krabi Tsunami Disaster Centre said they no longer needed any help he phoned Phuket and was told “Yes please”.

I packed my bags, did the last minute washing and was on the 9.30 p.m. bus to Phuket that night full of trepidation. My nervous state was not helped much by the passenger in front of me who decided a full reclining position was the most comfortable for her mindless of the poor person behind her i.e. me. That was until I tapped her on the head – much to her indignation – to inform her that my knees were being crushed. She then pulled up her seat one notch as a goodwill gesture whilst muttering and grumbling. At 6.30 a.m. the following morning, as we pulled into Phuket bus terminal I was like a limp rag having hardly slept a wink, hardly able to walk and with no sign of my husband's friend to meet me as promised. I hadn't come here to feel sorry for myself so I picked up my bag, got into a tuktuk and arrived at the Provincial Hall where a few people were already milling around. The building was a quite beautiful example of true Colonial architecture very similar to the Sofitel Hotel but this building was totally authentic. I wondered what Hua-Hin local government would have done with a similar building – if you look around the town the answer's apparent!

Of course no-one knew about my husband's phone call the previous day and didn't know where to put me. A kindly lady led me from one department to another but no-one was interested in taking a baggy eyed, creased and crushed aging farang who looked like she needed a couple of days in the beauty shop. I was taken back to my starting point, the Social Development and Human Department ,and squeezed up to a desk full of files whilst people walked around me. There were Thais who came in to report the death of family members or loss of their businesses and large groups of Thais being briefed on the visits they were about to make out to the worst affected areas. I asked if I could go too but was told it would take too long to get there and back. By 3.00 p.m. I was punch drunk anyway and asked if someone could recommend a place for me to stay. An orphanage was the best they could come up with, it's official title being ‘Temporary Home for Troubled Children and Families' which seemed appropriate at the time not knowing anyone and feeling quite troubled. There, I shared a room with the Manageress who was a lovely lady and didn't seem to mind my intrusion into her life. I was up with her at 6.30 a.m. the next morning and transported to the Provincial Hall by 8.00 a.m. Back in the same room it became more apparent that, although people were very kind and thanked me for coming, there was nothing to do. By 9.00 a.m. I walked across to the Assistance Centre for victims From Tsunami Disaster- ACYTD – which was completely deserted. The Help Desk comprised 3 unmanned phones almost ringing themselves onto the floor in a futile effort to get answered. The people who emerged from a back office seemed completely unphased by the potential urgency of the situation as they sauntered back and forth. When I opened the door to leave, a very fraught lady rushed in and responded to my offer of help by pointing me in the direction of the phones saying “Sit there and answer those”. That was my induction – what I should say when people phoned, I had no idea. To add to my confusion one of the Hotline numbers was the same as the general emergency 199 number, something I had not been made aware of. As luck wouldn't have it, my first call was from a hysterical Thai lady saying her house was on fire to which I calmly told her this was the Tsunami Disaster Centre, for short, not the fire station. It was only after her fourth call in as many minutes that I handed the receiver over to a passing Thai who later informed me of the mix up and gave me the fire station's number for future hysterical callers. I hope her house hadn't burnt down by the time the fire engine arrived.

That first day in the Tsunami Disaster Centre unfolded into a pattern of things to come. There was a constant stream of Europeans and I quickly became the Centre's interpreter having to think on my feet and explain all manner of things. My Thai and my brain were being sorely tested but I managed to give the information needed. So many people had flown at their own expense from countries as far afield as South Africa , America and Canada as well as European countries including France , Greece , Holland , Sweden and the UK , and nearer to Asia from Australia and New Zealand all with the same goal in mind, to help. Their details were taken to contact later if they were needed but I felt these wonderful people who‘d traveled so far deserved greater support, surely someone must need their expertise. I told them to go to the worst affected areas and look for themselves. I'd heard many stories of Thais who were trying to help themselves and rebuild their houses or repair their boats without any money and I'd heard that some Europeans were independently financing the welfare of children and families in the worst hit areas. I also knew some volunteer organizations were operating in the worst hit areas.

The one thing every volunteer had in common was a love of Thailand . How could they sit at home and watch the disaster on TV whilst doing nothing, they had to come to help. I had done the same but my journey was some 700 kilometers up the road not halfway round the globe. There was the young American builder who came into the Centre weighed down by the building gear in his rucksack ready to start rebuilding homes immediately. The 3 Greek naval officers with their diving expertise wanting to help in the search for bodies or to clean up the seabed, the Welsh children's counselor, the Canadian landscape gardeners who helped erect a vast temporary marquee in Pangnga with some German builders from Pattaya and 2 lovely middle aged ladies who had flown first class from South Africa and arrived at the Center looking like they'd just stepped off a 50's Hollywood set. Desperate to help immediately they said they would do anything even clean toilets if needle. And there were the yachts owners who typically only stayed half the year in Phuket, They had been among the lucky survivors as the waves thundered along the seabed under them and they wanted to help using their yachts as transport for diving expeditions.

There were also those on official business like the Swedish policemen who'd been sent to collect the belongings of those killed in the Tsunami. The Japanese Embassy official who wanted permission to send a Japanese Rescue Team to Phi Phi island to look for the mother's body of a rescued Japanese boy. This boy had been having visions of where his mother was and it had become a big story in Japan . An Official from the British Embassy came to ask me to distribute notices requesting British citizens to contact the Embassy immediately. A Burmese Official who was concerned about the plight of migrant Burmese workers and wanted to know where the Employment Department was. And a retired Chief of Police from Osaka who spoke very broken English and told me about his holiday in England near my home………..I think.!

In the next issue Verity tells of her trip to the disaster areas of Kao Lak , Phangnga and Bang Nam Khem, coordinating the volunteers and local government, helping the bereaved and meeting Government Ministers.

ORPHAN SPONSORSHIP

Please sponsor one of the many children who were orphaned by the killer waves, children who come from poor families and now are being cared for by close relatives putting tremendous strain on the financial resources of those people.

Call me on 032 516500 or 09 0283789.

TOY DONATION

Cameron, Rick and Rod pictured with some of the toys they collected and donated to Phuket Child Watch, which is an orphanage/ halfway house for 19 children aged between one and a half to ten. The guys would like to thank all those who kindly donated, and would like to assure everyone that the toys went to very grateful recipients.

Bogus Lawyers

By Lawyer, Mr. Wichai Pannoi

After having been a lawyer and solicitor for more than 26 years and mostly dealing with foreign clients, I have come across a lot of problems faced by clients and the ignorant public about fake, falsified, crooked or con-men or women who act or impose themselves as lawyers, or those who imply or advertise to the public that they are lawyers, while most of them never went to law school and some did not even finish high school. In short, these are “Bogus Lawyers”, and you should beware of them, with certain facts & details as follows.

I write about these bogus lawyers as I have seen and heard the pain, suffering, and bitterness they cause, and the complaints as to why Thai law should condone these people. On top of that some lawyer and non-lawyer friends have also mentioned that now I am quite senior in both age and professionalism, I should write to enlighten the public and make the public aware of the potential dangers. I've finally yielded and agreed to do so.

From my own awareness and observation, I should like to categorize foreign lawyers in Thailand (as these are the most likely lawyers that foreigners will try first) into 5 groups as follows: -

(1) Starting from the real and super good ones as they are very dedicated not only to their ethics and honesty, but also to our country, Thailand . Some of them have even changed their names into Thai and Thai nationality plus being bestowed with royal decorations from the King. These are the knowledgeable lawyers from the old schools and are likely older and near retirement such as my former boss(es) at Tilleke & Gibbins.They have had work permits for more than 40 years and above and stating them as Legal Advisors. They are definitely good lawyers and good all around in a lot more ways than one.

(2) The second batch of lawyers are of much younger generations and they are truly lawyers from their respective countries and possess work permits stating them as Business Consultant or Councilors (some might be stated with legal advisor but probably few). These lawyers will work with big established law offices or team up with local (of the international level) Thai lawyers.The public is still very safe with the second group as they are real lawyers as well. The only big difference from real Thai lawyers of both the first and second groups is that they can not advocate or litigate in court, meaning that they can not try any cases in court as the litigation is by law reserved for only Thai national lawyers.

(3) Now comes the wishy-washy group but perhaps posing not too much danger yet, as this group are former lawyers from their respective countries but have been disbarred or expelled from their careers or even retired to Thailand. This group does not have work permits but seeing and seizing the opportunity to earn extra money by teaming up with their own nationals or some Thais or even with young Thai lawyers to ply and pray on the public and usually charging exorbitantly.

(4) Next comes a dangerous group of individuals, as these foreigners are crooks, cheaters, fraudsters and con men who may have other types of degrees of some sort but not law degrees. They are just purely opportunists who usually prey on their own kinds or of similar races. They have no shame, possessing no ethics or principles of any kind at all. They open up law offices with some Thai friends or friends of their own, surrounding and imposing or whispering to some people that they are lawyers or have law offices.

(5) Finally comes the most extreme and dangerous group. Actually this one is not much different from group 4, just as thick faced but worse as most of them did not even finish or go to high school, and also by being or acting as a ‘mafia' of some sort among their own foreign peers. This group is to be feared not only because they are not lawyers but also pure crooks that might resort to violence.

As mentioned above the first 2 groups are real lawyers from their respective countries and pose no harm at all to the Thai society or any clients.

Only the last 3 can and have caused problems of all kinds and are reported to the public from time to time. But when the chips are really down they will just disperse or flee the country. Most of these last 3 categories usually ply and prey on their alien victims in the areas of beach resorts, ranging from Pattaya to Hua Hin to Samui and now more in Phuket as this is the furthest from the central authorities. Some might roam and lurk around alien clients even in the city of angels, Krungthep or Bangkok .

What many people, both foreigners and Thais, do not know is that as of now Thailand does not have any direct law preventing any one to open a law office. This means any shameless and thick faced people including Thais who are not lawyers can open law offices, though they can not go to court as only Thai licensed lawyers can appear to conduct court cases. But certainly much damage can arise from the last 3 groups as you can imagine.

But the good news is that soon we will have laws, probably this year (2005) as already proposed by the Lawyer Society in an amendment to the Lawyer Act, and when this law comes into effect, Thai lawyers who are already licensed, must register their offices with the Thai Lawyer Society, and the foreign lawyers must also register and seek their work permits from the Thai Lawyer Society. Furthermore, in case of law offices desiring to open as a company, such company must be majority owned by Thai Lawyers both in shares and number of directors.

This law change will mean that Thailand can be rid of most of these bogus and unscrupulous lawyers, and also have better control of all lawyers. And the public can feel more confident and safer in the hands of Thai legal career people.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Now if any of you, the readers, should have to deal with or confront any of the people in groups 3-5, (especially 4 and 5) before the law changes, and are not sure whether one is a fake or not, just ask a direct question. If they squirm or squeal about and with many erh, ah you probably hit the bull's eye! If they act tough or bold and try to say that you are insulting him or them, then ask for some identity of some sort, or copies of degrees or photos of their graduation. If you are still not sure, then just leave and enquire with the real Thai Law Office nearby, they should be able to tell you even in their broken English if the bogus lawyer in question is likely a crooked one or not! Be very careful! You can also check with your respective embassy or the Thai Lawyer Society. Groups 4-5 are the super bad ones, it is like they do not even know the distance or difference between their mouths and their anuses, so what would they know about Thai law and legal procedures, legal culture, mentality and legal history? It has been so difficult enough for us, the real ones, to study and become proper lawyers and even harder to maintain a profession, so again what would these fake lawyers know or want except cheating you!

Hua Hin Music Society Unveils New Web Site

Schedules April and May Meetings

The Hua Hin Music Society continued its successful launch with a special presentation of Karen choral music at the February meeting, and the roll-out of the Society's web site. In addition, the presentation by Todd Tongdee on 28 March is expected to draw the largest crowd yet, necessitating moving the meeting from the Oyster Bar Restaurant to the somewhat larger Blue Station Country Pub.

The Karen Youth Choir of Huay Sat Yai village arrived, more than 20 strong, at the Oyster Bar dressed in colorful traditional garb. They delivered a performance that combined dances enacting the cycle of dry-land rice farming employed by the Karen with gospel-tinged choral singing, reminiscent of church music heard in many Western countries. The Karen of Huay Sat Yai are Christians, and their music clearly reflects the influence of missionary groups, and is quite unlike other traditional musics heard in Thailand . It was a rousing spectacle and a fitting launch for the Music Society's idea of monthly programs. The performance was followed by an open jam session that lasted into the evening.

“I'm very pleased with the response to the idea of a cross-cultural music-lovers group in Hua Hin” says society founder Gary Hall. “There are a lot of people here, both Thai and Farang, who play music or just love to listen, and there's a hunger for something beyond the nightly offerings in local restaurants and clubs.”

To serve the community of resident and visiting music lovers, the Society has launched its web site at www.huahinmusicsociety.com. The site features news about the Society and special events, and includes the first-ever guide to live music in and around Hua Hin.

“To keep the guide current, I need the help of everyone involved in presenting music around the area. If you have any kind of musical news whatsoever, please send it to info@huahinmusicsociety.com, or give me a call at 09 181 6328.”

Keeping with the schedule of meetings in the afternoon and early evening of the 4th Monday of each month, Music Society's meetings are scheduled for April 25 and May 23. Program and locations have yet to be determined.

SHADES OF EASTERN MADNESS

by Devanshoom

Book Review

Shades Of Eastern Madness, 2005, by devanshoom, published by Camelzback, Bangkok . 283 + additional pages.

Camelzback is a self publishing organisation apparently created to publish this book as “countless literary agents and publishers” were not interested- “not even one.” If you have this problem with publishing your own book the author has a website at www.artselfpublish.com that may be able to assist. The website can also sell you this book, as it's not available in bookshops outside Thailand . The website also sells clothing made to order from hemp, which the author says he gets direct from the Hmong hilltribes.

The book is a tale of the adventures of Paul and Zed, two young English backpackers travelling through (or perhaps lost in) Thailand and Cambodia . On their arrival in the kingdom they actually manage to get lost between Bangkok airport and the city and end up sleeping in a bus station (in the bus) on their first night. This is essentially because they have no idea where they're going and have even forgotten to change their cash into Thai baht, probably as a result of their frequent consumption of hash cookies brought with them on the plane from the U.K. The story essentially continues in this vein of “foolish abandon.”

Despite their brash ignorance of South East Asia and apparent irresponsible inability to organise their travel plans, they survive illegal border crossings, riverboat breakdowns, various rip-offs by both farangs and locals, and their own rip-offs of Thais and Khmers with hardly a scratch. Being incredibly stupid (and regularly stoned) but also incredibly lucky, they get befriended by various rich Thais and expats and end up working as a disco dancer and an English teacher in Bangkok .

In fact, most of the story appears to take place in the cities of Phnom Penh and Bangkok , getting ‘caned' on rooftops or meeting weird westerners in little bars.

Amusing anecdotes include meeting Danish Dr. Spock twins speaking ‘Clingon' and the pyramid-researching senile cyclist with links to NASA. Apart from an impulsive boat trip in Cambodia where they rescue a young brothel girl, and a weekend trip to Ko Samet where they rescue two rabbits from the pot, there's not really a lot of travel involved outside the big city. Though basically good hearted but fairly mindless and unemployable young Brits, often given to bum and poo humour, our travelling heroes end up leaving the girl pretty much to her own devices, and being poor pet carers, end up sending the rescued rabbits back to the cook pot. After a few amusing episodes demonstrating amateur English teaching techniques in Thailand, one of our heroes eventually flies home to his English Rose. Although he is “going to miss Thailand”, though not having seen much of it at all, it seems like it was basically too much for him.

Minor philosophical musings on Thailand, the globalization of world culture and music, the life of Evel Knievel and mini polemics on Mao Tse Tung, the Khmer Rouge and the corporately biased U.S banning of Hemp as a natural fibre are also added to this grab bag of impressions and raves with a largely unconnected few end pages of colour photos depicting Confucius, chimpanzees, Godzilla and Hitler. These are perhaps included to show the author/publisher can use Photoshop.

The rear cover proclaims you will “experience some of the most original humour ever put to print”. And there are indeed some “bizarre characters” in this novel/anecdotalised wishful diary(?). - Or is it all just a spoof?

For the youthful British backpacker who has rarely travelled far afield, and really enjoyed reading The Beach, (not just watching the movie) they will probably find a few laughs to help ease fanny fatigue on long bus trips. Other nationalities may notice expressions of a fairly strong young British mindset.

Many more widely educated readers or long term expats who have a few Thai yarns of their own to relate would probably dispute the originality of much of the humour. But as the rear cover says, “read a few pages before committing yourself.......'Nuff said.”

Asian news and current affairs

Thailand lights up anti-smoking drive 

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK - As one of Southeast Asia's leaders in the drive to snuff out smoking, Thailand has become a battleground to test how much longer cigarettes will be publicly available following an international anti-tobacco treaty that came into force on Sunday.

Leading anti-tobacco campaigners in the country are determined to use the newest weapon in their armor - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) - to drive home their advantage over the financially powerful tobacco multinationals.

They have in mind two initiatives that are set to shake up Thailand 's smoking culture. The first will go into effect on March 25, when cigarette packets sold in the country will begin displaying graphic pictures about the health hazards that come with tobacco addiction.

“These pictures will cover 50% of the cigarette packet,” Dr Hatai Chitannondh, a medical doctor who is president of the Thai Health Promotion Institute, told Inter Press Service. “They show what smoking does to your lungs, how it affects your teeth, how it leads to premature aging.”

This measure, more emphatic than what the FCTC expects - that graphic pictorial warnings should cover only 30% of a cigarette packet - makes Thailand the fourth country in the world to enforce such a picture policy. The other three are Canada , Brazil and Singapore .

Another change will come into effect on May 31, marked globally as the world's anti-smoking day. Beginning from that date, “retail shops and small stores [in Thailand ] will not be able to publicly display cigarette packets on their racks,” said Hatai. “The cigarettes will have to be hidden away in drawers or cupboards, away from sight.”

These measures come on top of Thai laws banning smoking in air-conditioned restaurants and bans on all forms of tobacco-related advertising. Furthermore, in December, the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned retailers that shops selling cigarettes to minors could be fined US$750 and could also face a three-month prison term.

In addition to placing curbs on smoking, the FCTC is also expected to strengthen the push by countries such as Thailand to crackdown on cigarette smuggling.

“The biggest advantage of the treaty is that it covers trans-boundary issues such as cross-border advertising and smuggling,” said Mary Assunta, head of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) - an umbrella group of more than 200 anti-smoking organizations from around the world.

The treaty will be a boon to Southeast Asian countries still lagging behind regional leaders such as Thailand and Singapore to achieve the “minimum standards” in tobacco control measures, said Assunta. “In countries such as Indonesia , Cambodia and Laos , where local legislation is lacking, this treaty will empower the governments to act.”

According to a World Bank study, cigarette smuggling is a “serious problem” and the global amount of cigarettes taken illegally across borders is estimated at 355 billion. “Most smuggled cigarettes are well-known international brands,” the Bank added.

Tobacco multinationals encourage the sale of these smuggled cigarettes, revealed an article in the December 2004 issue of Tobacco Control, a quarterly publication of the British Medical Journal.

“Smuggling operations were key to BAT's [British American Tobacco's] broader efforts to penetrate the huge Chinese market,” states the article. “Plans for Cambodia rested on its strategic value to regional contraband, and Laos seems to have been largely viewed in terms of its smuggling potential.”

According to available estimates, the highest number of smokers in Southeast Asia, the majority being men, are in Vietnam , Cambodia , Indonesia and the Philippines . Nearly 73% of the men in Vietnam smoke, while 70% of Cambodian men do so and 68% of Indonesians.

In Thailand , on the other hand, there are an estimated 12 million smokers out of a population of 64 million people. Of that number, nearly 1.2 million are teenagers.

The FCTC sets new global standards for countries to adhere to in the fight against tobacco consumption. The international law to protect people from the hazards of smoking calls for a slew of measures - including an increase in tobacco taxation - with no hint of compromise toward tobacco multinationals.

Currently, there are 1.3 billion smokers worldwide, of which some 650 million “will die prematurely due to tobacco”, states the World Health Organization (WHO). The Geneva-based UN agency estimates that nearly 5 million people die annually due to tobacco-related illnesses, a number that could rise to 10 million deaths every year by 2020 if prevailing smoking trends continue.

The push for the FCTC, the world's first public health treaty, was led by the WHO. More than 160 countries and the European Union have signed the treaty and 57 nations have ratified it, giving it the necessary support to become law.

The Southeast Asian nations that have ratified the FCTC are Brunei , Myanmar , Thailand , Singapore and Vietnam .

That Southeast Asia remains pivotal in the global campaign against smoking is reflected in the WHO's assessment that the region has the “second-highest annual per capita growth rate in tobacco consumption”.

Hatai, the Thai public health activist, is determined that Thailand helps buck this trend in Southeast Asia and emerge as a model for others to follow. “We want Thailand to be the gold standard in implementing the FCTC and controlling tobacco,” he said.

(Inter Press Service)

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