Postbag: Prejudiced nonsense

Postbag: Prejudiced nonsense

Re: “Leave childcare to Thais, doctor urges,” (BP, Aug 8).

The views expressed by Dr Duangporn Asvarachan are prejudiced and narrow minded. The quality of child care not the cultural background of the caregiver should be the only concern of parents.

The notion that children’s development is put at risk because caregivers are from another culture is nonsense. Where is the evidence that children exposed to another culture and language are at risk?

Allan


Leave it to the police

The letter “Predators among us” (PostBag, Aug 8) raised some very good points about the practicality of prosecuting paedophiles. However, there is no need for a witch hunt. In Thailand we are lucky that the police are usually highly competent at detective work. In case you have some suspicion about someone engaging in underage sex, there is no need to try to find proof. Just write down the details of your suspicions and take them to the police station covering the location. The police will normally not even ask your name and you need not be involved. They will usually assign a detective to investigate under cover. Of course there is no guarantee of success, as with everything in life. There is no need to feel uncomfortable about it. You will be helping society.

Geoff Simmons


Focus on family abuse

Whenever someone mentions paedophiles in Thailand, it is assumed that foreigners are the only problem. The truth is that paedophiles are inside many Thai families. I have known women who were moved to Bangkok because some member of their family — uncle, stepbrother, etc — made moves on them. According to a friend who has lived in Isan for decades and works with Thais, it is rife there. Perhaps it is time for the Thai press to investigate. Paedophiles come in all colours.

Dean Barrett


No such surrogate

Re: “9 surrogate babies found in city condo” (BP, Aug 7).

Surrogate means a substitute, or a person deputising for another. So are these substitute babies? No, they are real, live, flesh and blood human beings. You may call me pedantic, but you can have surrogate mothers or surrogate parents, but you cannot have surrogate babies. To call them this is to dehumanise them.

David Brown


Inhumane industry

Re: "Surrogacy clinics to face probe" (BP, Aug 5).

Surrogacy is one of the great developments in modern medical technology, but it is against the dignity of human beings. Human beings — babies — are absolutely not an industrial product. Surrogacy should be banned or at least controlled by strict rules limiting practice within an only very narrow range of blood relatives.

RH Suga


Back to the future

I am one of those described in the article “How far will Thai clock be turned back?” (Opinion, Aug 8). I accepted the coup in that it stopped the senseless killings of innocent people at, or near, anti-government rally sites in Bangkok. But on the other hand, I am still concerned about where the coup will take us.

My suggestion is for coup leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha to realise the importance of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to help us Thais attain the equitable democracy that we have been aspiring for during the past eight decades.

Vint Chavala


No service, no bill

It is reported that the NCPO will consolidate all consumer protection services into one organisation with broader powers to deal with complaints ("Consumers get one-stop advice shops", BP, 6 Aug). As a starter, I’d like to see TT&T stop billing customers in Prachin Buri for a full month when their telephone service has not operated for a week or more. Their lame clichés that they are “working on it” sort of falls on deaf ears after a while. Why should phone customers be held ransom to their terrible service? In North America and most of Europe, telephone operators are required to adjust their customer billing for times when services are down. You should not pay for what you do not receive. Hear that, TT&T?

Jack Gilead


Happy in Hua Hin

As an American retiree living in Hua Hin for eight years and happily married to a Thai, I feel I am living in one of the best seaside communities anywhere. I used to complain about traffic violations which went on unnoticed. Since the NCPO has been in service, things here have significantly improved in a relatively short time and whoever is in charge needs to be congratulated. I have now observed traffic tickets for red-zone parking and several other commendable acts by the police. This is a wonderful town. It will do nothing but get better with this enforcement.

Dave Nowlen


Corruption is the key

Re: "Keep a keen eye on the advisers, not just the NCPO" (Opinion, Aug 6).

Sawai Boonma hit the nail squarely on the head in proposing that the assessment of the NCPO’s work be based on “it’s ability to significantly reduce the rampant corruption that has been stifling progress in the country”.

Thus far, apart from embarrassing a few individuals involved in gambling and extortion, very little has actually been accomplished in this regard. A positive assessment would see literally thousands of individuals being investigated, arrested, prosecuted, and punished (not merely embarrassed). They would include organised crime and so called “influential” figures, members of the police and military as well as bureaucrats of all kinds.

I would ask the current leadership to quickly take up this challenge with great energy and determination. Failing in this will be utterly disastrous for the future of what is potentially a very great nation.

Michael Setter


Shady Sukhumvit

A walk down Sukhumvit between Asoke and Soi 1 during the day will reveal Viagra, sex toys and porn all available in broad daylight on the sidewalk. At night the sidewalk is then awash with after hours bars, African prostitutes and drug dealers. Of course we all know who is paid to allow this to happen. Is this what the authorities think the supposed quality foreigners want or is this just a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing?

A farang reader


No pursuit of peace

The dictionary description of peace is a "state of freedom from war and disorder, calm, tranquil”. Israel may be fighting for its theoretical right to exist but it’s not possible to fight for peace. The destruction of Gaza, however, is not theoretical, it is actual. Surely the Gazans also deserve a right to exist, to stay alive, to thrive and prosper. Instead their houses, hospitals and schools are bombed, shelled or mortared. Almost 9,000 people killed in 10 years. I sincerely hope that this sort of "peace" never descends on Thailand.

Lungstib


Time to boycott Israel

We all must be thankful for the ceasefire from the ongoing genocidal attacks on Palestinians living in the open air prison called Gaza. One of the reasons a ceasefire has been difficult to negotiate is Hamas demands Israel honour its commitment made in 2012 to lift the criminal siege of Gaza. Israel, in spite of agreeing to this, has never lifted a finger to end the siege. This has prevented the arrival of food, medicine, building materials to repair what Israel has destroyed, etc. The building of tunnels has been a godsend to Palestinians as necessities of living can only get in through the tunnels. That the tunnels have a dual purpose should surprise no one. Under international law Palestinians have a legal right to resist Israel’s occupation. Israel has also violated the 2012 ceasefire more than 190 times since 2012, while Palestinian violations number around 75.

It is past time for people to continue to remain silent in the face of this inhuman assault on humanity. Fortunately, we have a weapon to use and that weapon is the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions Movement (BDS). It is now the responsibility of people, companies and governments who still have a conscience to act.

People can boycott Israeli products, businesses, entertainers, and academics. Companies can divest from doing business with or in Israel. Most importantly, governments who are appalled at this brutality must immediately suspend relations with Israel. Israeli historian Tom Seger says: “It is not easy to understand why so many Israelis still believe that a large Israel without peace is better than a small Israel with peace.”

Mike Pirsch


Hamas promotes hate

What is going in Gaza makes me realise that while Israel uses its weapons to protect its population, Hamas uses its population to protect its weapons.

When a young Palestinian is abducted, tortured and burned by Israeli fanatics, all of Israel expressed their absolute horror and found the assassins within 72 hours. Khaled Mashal, leader of Hamas, meanwhile declared that he was kissing the hands of the “fighters” that killed the three young men who were the first victims of this confrontation. This is the difference between a society that promotes life above all and a sick philosophy of death and hatred.

Hamas is losing almost 500 million dollars in taxes that it charges on all imported goods travelling through the tunnels with Egypt. Egypt closed most of them and the border with Gaza after the killing of Egyptian soldiers and civilians by allies of the Muslims Brotherhood and its offshoot Hamas.

The blockade from Israel is just propaganda and an outright lie since millions of tonnes of goods, food, medicine, concrete (just see all the new buildings and hotels in Gaza) etc are going through border posts between Gaza and Israel (closed now since the beginning of the actual war) with a few exceptions, such as arms and ammunition. Why do you think that the first request from Hamas is the reopening of the borders? They are not talking about the Israeli borders that were always open to goods, but specifically the Egyptian borders from where they get all their weapons, ammunition and taxes.

I would like to remind you of a statement made 35 years ago by Mrs Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel: “We can forgive the Arabs when they kill our children but we will never forgive them when they force us to kill theirs. Peace will come the day the Arabs will love their children more than they hate the Jews.”

Maurice Fain


Civilian slaughter

JC Wilcox’s claim that Iran and Hamas call for the total destruction of Israel is taken out of context ("Israel fights for peace", PostBag, Aug 7). Both Iran and Hamas have supported UN resolution 242 which calls for Israel to withdraw from all occupied territory in exchange for recognition of its right to exist. The bottom line is that Israel’s number one priority is to steal land and they are willing to slaughter thousands of civilians to achieve that objective.

Eric Bahrt


Complicit in genocide

“The members of the Security Council call on the international community to support the government and people of Iraq and to do all it can to help alleviate the suffering of the population affected by the current conflict in Iraq,” said Mark Lyall Grant, UK ambassador to the UN after Thursday evening’s meeting condemning attacks by Iraqi jihadists on Christian communities in the north of Iraq. Why does the British government along with other Western governments refuse to condemn Israel for its current genocidal campaign against the Palestinian population of Gaza?

Edward B. Duhigg


Careful who you copy

Re: “Africa is on the brink of a new era” (Opinion, Aug 4).

The article, attributed to several African leaders, including Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, started off by arguing the need for African unity — no problem there. But it then miraculously points to the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement as positive examples in other areas. Perhaps Mr Kagame et al would like to take a look at the state of countries like Greece and Mexico before promoting such schemes in the future. The main “benefit” in the latter has come in the form of a proliferation of sweatshops that produce for the US market and the destruction of local agriculture. The results in the former are out in the open for all to see.

B. Dean


Frugal with the facts

I always enjoy reading the opinions of people who write into the Bangkok Post. Recently, however, we have been getting a lot of “facts” which are simply untrue. For example, the man who recently wrote eloquently about Thomas Jefferson writing the US Constitution, and then called Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha the “Thai Jefferson”. Unfortunately, Jefferson had nothing whatsoever to do with the constitution, because he was serving in France at the time as US ambassador (he wrote the Declaration of Independence years earlier).

Another writer tried to absolve the British of any responsibility for the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, claiming that only Americans are allowed to work on oil rigs. Simply untrue.

Lastly, we have examples of many writers trying to redefine the word “democracy”. You can choose your favourite dictionary, but the first one I saw said that democracy is “a system of government" typically involving "elected representatives”.

Words mean something. Facts mean something. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but no one should be allowed to invent new facts or redefine words.

Eric Rosenkranz


CONTACT: BANGKOK POST BUILDING
136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110
Fax: +02 6164000 email:
postbag@bangkokpost.co.th

All letter writers must provide full name and address.

All published correspondence is subject to editing at our discretion.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (6)