OPINION

Elderly have a role

The Sept 7 news report on the need for urgent measures to ease challenges posed by an ageing society identifies a number of important issues concerning the implications for the Thai economy.

However, the report is incomplete in that it only emphasises negative aspects of the growing number of the elderly. No mention is made of the changing characteristics of the future elderly or of the important indirect contributions they make to the family and societal economy.

The number of years that older Thais live in decent health has been steadily increasing and will likely continue to do so. Also, their levels of education will steadily increase as those entering old age in the future will have increased levels of schooling. Both of these changes bolster the recommendations to raise the retirement age.

Assuming that the elderly who no longer work is equivalent to being dependent is quite misleading. Many provide day care or even custodial care for grandchildren. This facilitates the parents’ ability to work locally or as migrants. In addition, older people typically own their home and provide housing for co-resident family members. They also help to take care of the household, freeing time for younger adults who live with them to be economically productive. On occasions when their adult children need significant financial help they often provide it.

In brief, it is important to recognise the mutual interdependence between the non-working older population and the younger working population when addressing the challenges of an ageing population. Older people are not just a burden but a resource as well.

John Knodel

I have some questions on the Bangkok bomb blast.

First, a big question arises about the Chinese government, their intelligence agencies and their secret motive when Uighurs sneaked out of China with Chinese passports. Don’t they have information about the move? Or do they easily allow Uighurs to leave China? The Chinese intelligence service is considered to be one the best spy agencies in the world as they can steal defence technologies from the USA and other Western defence organisations, and hunt down any anti-Chinese elements in China.

Second, Thai authorities know Uighurs have Muslim sympathy (and world sympathy), so why did it take them so long to identify the common and highly predictable escape routes — Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan? Why didn’t they alert these countries to look out for these criminals? How can a terrorist stay in one country for two weeks without local logistical support? Why didn't the Bangladeshi government take their own precautions to avoid losing face to the world?

Finally, the immigration police are part of the bombing plot because they allowed these guys to enter and exit illegally by accepting bribes. Why don't the Thai authorities arrest and bring them to the army camps? Why have no Thais been investigated over the plot?

Joynandan Haldar

Re “Growing surrogate pains”, (Think Box, Sept 9).

The writer stated that gay couples should not use surrogates because she is concerned about the psychological well-being of the child. We cannot stop surrogacy because a child could potentially have issues. It is how a parent deals with the problems that makes the difference.

All family structures can raise a well-adjusted child and they should have the same rights to undertake surrogacy to start their family.

The writer also stated that children who are born from a womb with no biological ties to one or both parents have problems because the surrogate is unknown. This is not true. The bonding takes place after the baby’s birth and that is where the attachment develops. Children need a loving environment and a couple who have that in place will do wonders for a child.

As a licensed marriage and family therapist from California, I have seen many family structures that work effectively. I have seen lesbian/gay couples, single parents, step families, and adopted families. The child adjusts if the parent/s are willing to make the effort to make it work. They should be communicating with the child when issues arise and continue to be there when the child has questions.

The writer’s argument is also flawed because there are many heterosexual couples who have biological children but are in relationships with conflict, abuse and affairs. Children will have difficulties in those set-ups, so it is not correct to say that a heterosexual couple would be a “better” fit for a child.

I am worried about a child’s psychological well-being in families where there is high conflict, lack of communication, and emotional/physical/sexual abuse.

Children need a loving environment, stability and honesty. Children need to be with parents who will listen and help them understand difficult situations. That means it could be a gay couple, lesbian couple, a single parent, and many other set-ups. Let’s focus our attention on better parenting skills!

Anita Barot

Earlier this year our family took my six-year-old grandson to a swimming coach in Chiang Mai.

A lot of the time, however, we have to travel as far as 20 kilometres for practice, and sometimes the public pool we regularly use is jam-packed, or closed down.

Our case is not the worst, though.

A few days back, while taking my grandson to practice, I noticed a dozen school kids led by a teacher whose printed shirt showed they were from another district 30-plus kilometres away, at the pool to practice for next month’s competition.

However, they had to turn back because our group was occupying the pool.

Kids who take up swimming must swim at least two hours a day, and for at least five days a week — to go through arduous practices and build up stamina.

Chiang Mai City currently needs at least three more standard-sized (50-metre long) public swimming pools, as well as six smaller-sized pools for young kids, and they must be situated around the city to help ease traffic congestion.

Australia is a country that ardently promotes swimming as a sport. Perth alone is reputed to have more swimming-pool areas per capita than any other city in the world.

Thailand should emulate Australia in supporting this sport.

How about more swimming pools across the country — for our children to use after class — Prime Minister Prayut?

Vint Chavala

It does not amaze me at all that so many outsiders, like reporters and other commentators, criticise the efforts of governments to find solutions for the migration problem.

They have no responsibility for the social structure and the population of the receiving countries, neither do they display any knowledge about the administrative and logistical challenges the receiving countries were (and still are) faced with.

Nobody really focuses on the root causes of the problem and possible solutions.

In principle, people who flee war and prosecution in their countries (the real refugees) must be helped wherever possible. But there are the economic migrants who seek a better future, benefiting from the social structure of the receiving countries, built up over generations by their inhabitants.

Nobody knows anything about the migrants. There may be future trouble-makers and IS sympathisers who will seriously disrupt a country's stability.

A large number of migrants originate from countries with (more or less) “normal” political stability. And let us agree that political stability cannot be measured against Western European standards.

Some, and maybe many, migrants know that they have to pretend they come from Syria and hence are given free access to EU countries. Control or checking of their background has become impossible, mainly due to the number of migrants and the pressure of press and influential “good-doers”.

The major problem will occur when migrants have to return to their countries because, after checking, they do not receive refugee or asylum-seeker status. The affected will of course not accept this deportation and will mobilise press and politics to avoid this by any means.

Are the migrants/refugees staying in the receiving country forever, or are they returning after the situation in their home countries goes back to normal? And will they integrate and adopt their incumbent environment?

Some countries fear that they will be faced with a changing national social and cultural environment and a carefully balanced social structure.

Many European countries struggle with their finances and keeping up their social standards.

Any uncontrolled addition to the number of inhabitants, especially when this is increasing the unemployment, cost of medical services, housing-shortage, will worsen that situation.

One should understand that some groups in European countries are very worried about the influx of so many migrants into their countries.

The press should put some more focus on the above instead of only addressing the current migration problems at borders, in refugee camps and train stations.

Peter de Vos

I am sorry that John G feels cheated out of his rewards for service to his country, but rather than making the connection between the sudden mass of unwanted guests with a wave of “opportunistic migrants”, he might gain a better understanding of current events by looking more closely at the causes.

Recognising that yet another secular nation is being destroyed by a war escalated by John Kerry and his counterparts in the UK and Europe with their flagrant support of a “moderate opposition” might provide a clue.

Rampart White

Would the brewery official who reduced the size of the large bottle of Chang beer from 630ml to 620ml care to explain to an irate public the perverted reason behind this decision?

Do not be deceived by the new green bottle and look at the small print. They have deprived us of a mouthful. Why?

Last year it was Singha which reduced the size of their “large” bottle from 630ml to 500ml, thereby ruining the perfect accompaniment to an evening meal. Outraged beer drinkers who migrated from Singha to Chang have been victimised yet again.

We face the frustrating prospect of finishing our khao pat, tom yum goong or 7-Eleven sausage without that vital last mouthful to wash it down.

The nightmare doesn’t end there. If we turn to soft drinks, we find that the new plastic bottles of Pepsi and Sprite are designed to fall over on any surface, so the drink pours down one’s leg, not one’s throat. And as for soft drinks in cans — last year the design was changed from the convenient “stubby” to a tall thin can, not only increasing its chances of falling over, but causing it to warm up more quickly due to the enlarged surface area of aluminium.

Where is the logic? When is this nonsense going to stop?

I trust that these serial national catastrophes have not escaped the notice of the candidate drafters for the new constitution, but I fear the country cannot wait.

I call upon our good prime minister to issue a Section 44 order to restore the 630ml beer bottle forthwith.

Nigel Pike

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