Pattaya Mail Features

Advertising

FEATURES

HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

On Denying The Holocaust

Thought for the week: Don't Sell, Listen

Adopting a Thai baby

Pool Party for Street Kids

An Underwater Journey at St Andrew International School

BCCT Mission to Cambodia 10-12th May 2000

Global campaign will put every child in School

On Denying The Holocaust

by Barrie Kenyon

Recent publicity that Pattaya is a center for nazi helmeted motor bikers, howbeit an exaggeration to say the least, has sparked renewed interest in the blackest side of world war two. Barely a week passes without a reminder of Hitler’s Germany somewhere in the world. Recent examples include a court judgment against revisionist historian David Irving, an extreme right wing coalition party in power in Austria and news of old nazis still being prosecuted for their wartime roles in central Europe. Last year, in Bangkok, an advertisement was withdrawn after Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler were shown side by side promoting junk food.

So why can Hitler arouse such intense controversy fifty five years after his suicide in a Berlin bunker? The answer, of course, is that a very evil man almost got away with conquering all of Europe and half of Russia which would have created a new order based on a spurious racial hierarchy backed up by exploitation and atrocity. He failed because he was a gambler whose luck eventually ran out. His military mistakes, such as declaring war on the USA and failing to fund research on the nuclear bomb, are well documented. But he very nearly got away with it. Hence, the intense public interest.

In some ways, Hitler was an unlikely potential victor. In the early 1940s, he got up late, spent most of his evenings watching movies, made few (if any) friends and rarely bothered to write things down or read reports carefully. Even his policy directions could be unclear and he frequently delegated whole areas of responsibility to two or three henchmen who had to fight out the detail amongst themselves. What he did have was an iron will and lots of self confidence. Hence, failure was always somebody else’s fault. He was also just about the only war lord in history who told everyone in advance what he intended to do. Mein Kampf is a rambling and confused work which even most nazi party members probably never read from cover to cover, but his fanatical hatred of the Jews and determination to overrun Russia are there for all to see.

So awful were the crimes committed in Hitler’s name that some people can proclaim they never occurred. The central thesis here is denial of the holocaust. Neo nazi propaganda insists that there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz, though it may have been a harsh labor camp, and no systematic policy to exterminate the Jewish race. The arguments put forward are principally ex silentio, namely that no document has ever surfaced which proves Hitler ordered mass murder or that there is no trace of poison gas remaining in the remains of crematoria which have been excavated (by supporters of the thesis). Where evidence does exist, holocaust deniers belittle it. They argue that defendants at war crime trials, such as Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoess or Gestapo officer Adolf Eichmann, admitted the genocide policies only in an attempt to avoid the death penalty. And they dismiss thousands of first hand testimonies by holocaust survivors as hoaxes designed to try to coerce European governments into giving compensation.

The reality may well be that Hitler never did sign a formal order. A nod and a wink from his Fuhrer was all that Heinrich Himmler needed to start the cattle trucks rolling eastwards. In fact, Himmler’s appointments book and diaries, where extant, come as close as most people would require to demonstrating what the Final Solution was all about. His speech to the Gauleiters and senior SS at Posen in 1943 specifically talked about keeping secret the mass murders, including the children, which were a nazi duty. Interestingly, armaments minister Albert Speer in his later life lied blatantly about his attendance at this key meeting or claimed to have left before Himmler rose to speak. No one who has impartially read the memoirs of Auschwitz commandant Hoess, which he wrote in prison, could imagine he confessed the holocaust to try and save his own skin. He had accepted the inevitability of his execution from the very start of his imprisonment in Poland.

Given that the nazi regime in 1944 and 1945 tried hard to cover their tracks, burning thousands of buried corpses in the Ukraine, destroying records and blowing up extermination centers, it is hardly surprising that much of the detail will be controversial. It is certainly true that one of the crematoria shown today to tourists at Auschwitz is a post war reconstruction, a curiosity now admitted officially, which deniers have used to cast doubt on the holocaust in general. We can also accept that that the allies also committed civilian atrocities, the fire bombing of Dresden for sure and the rape and pillage of defeated Germany by Russian troops. Arguably the atomic bombs on Japan. But holocaust denial is not actually about history at all. It is about softening up public opinion and rehabilitating nazism in case ultra right parties, especially in contemporary Europe, look like coming to power. It is this contemporary political agenda which requires that holocaust revisionism continues to be challenged. For as long as it takes.

Back to Features Headline Index

Thought for the Week: Don't Sell, Listen

by Richard Townsend, Corporate Learning
Consultant
http://www.orglearn.org

Buyers are too smart to be sold and are turned off by the sharp tactics and techniques that almost every salesperson is taught to use. Being sold makes us all uncomfortable; pressure is pressure no matter how slickly it’s applied.

The book ‘High Probability Selling’ (Abba Publishing Company), by Ruben & Werth, proposes that the salesperson’s objective is ‘not to get the prospect to buy, rather to find out if there is a mutually acceptable basis to do business’. Today’s professional sales people need to know how to engage in open and honest relationships that focus on the buyer and what he/she really wants and they must abandon the old style (but still practiced), ‘need manipulating product flogging techniques’. Sales success comes from being an expert in human relations; it’s about earning respect, using effective communication and particularly it’s about listening.

LISTENING to what you are being told during a sales appointment is still the best way to find a sale. By listening rather than talking you can uncover what the prospect is looking for and then you can provide the ‘fix’.

I sat outside a financial controller’s office once while an opposition finance company rep presented a discounted cash flow analysis (DCF) in an attempt to sell the prospect on the proposition that HIS lease deal was the best. The rep spent 35 minutes trying to overcome the controller’s objections to the analysis. By the time it was my turn with the controller he said ‘I hope you don’t have another dam DCF like the last idiot’. Actually I do, I honestly replied but lets not talk about it. After a few pleasantries I said ‘do you mind if I ask you a question’, ‘OK OK what’, he said. If you lease your cars what is going to be you’re main concern? IF, (he said) I have to lease the cars, the board’s decided, my problem is getting the damn documents signed. The directors are never here, and on and on, and how busy he was, and on and on... and I listened. I won a $3.5 million fleet finance deal with a master lease (sign once only), an authorised signature card and a big rubber stamp allowing the payment schedule to be put on the back of each invoice, a real time saver.

Did I sell a fleet lease deal? No, I sold a solution to a busy financial controller’s perceived difficulty. By the way, the other rep’s company had a similar solution available, but he was too busy selling to listen, so he never found out how to assist the buyer!

Did you ever notice how hard it is to listen, think and talk all at the same time!

Worth a thought?

To contact Ric mailto: [email protected]

Back to Features Headline Index

Adopting a Thai baby

by Leslie Warner

Susanne Kornuh Larsen, a Physician, and her husband Finn Overgaard, an Engineer, from Denmark, are holidaying in Pattaya. The difference between them and other Danish tourists is that they are here after having adopted their third Thai baby, William aged two years, joining eight year old son Sebastian and six year old daughter Mathilde.

Portrait of a loving family.

When Susanne and Finn discovered they could not have their own children, their first thoughts turned to Thailand. “We had both been here before and liked the country and the people,” said Susanne simply.

It was hard to find out at first how to adopt a baby in Thailand so they contacted the Social Services in their own country, who then put them in touch with the three private Adoption Agencies. The Agency that they used had an affiliation with the Pattaya Orphanage in Thailand. That was the first step.

The next step is a ‘home study’ carried out by the Social Services in Denmark, involving a search into the personal, medical and financial background of the prospective adopting couple. This takes approximately one year to ensure that the couple understands what they are doing. Each time a couple wants to adopt, the home study is done again. Susanne said, “The second time was quite straightforward, but first and third were more in-depth. It is unusual for a couple to adopt a third child so the Social Services in Denmark wanted to be sure we knew what we were doing. They played the waiting game with us, it took 4 years before we got William. Sebastian had only taken 18 months and Mathilde 2 1/2 years.”

The couple cannot specify the age or the sex of the child and they do not know until the last minute what age boy or girl their child will be. The paperwork from Thailand that is sent to them gives as much detailed information about the child’s background as possible, including the birth certificate if there is one. There is also a medical report showing the child has been tested for HIV, Hepatitis and other transmittable diseases. Even then they do not see a picture of the child until they have agreed they will accept the child. Finn said, “I think you start to bond the minute you look at the picture; you think of this child as your own.”

The loving father, Finn receives plenty of love back from all three children.

They were advised to allow themselves a few days here beforehand and two weeks afterwards, to adjust, before taking their new family home. Susanne said, “When we went to collect both Sebastian and Mathilde from the Pattaya Orphanage, the atmosphere was as comfortable as visiting a family home and visitors are always welcome at any time. Sebastian was 9 months when we got him and an easy, contented child.” Was she nervous when handed her first baby? “No, I was so happy, I had waited so long,” Susanne said and laughed.

Finn laughed too and added, “There was another Danish couple who were completing the paperwork at the same time as we were. When we went to collect our children together we both looked at each other’s child and thought, ‘I’m glad that one’s not mine.’ It’s always like this; you go to get Your child, not just A child.”

As Fr. Raymond said that he did not want to give three children to one family, they were unable to adopt their third child from the Pattaya Orphanage so they were offered William from the Bangkok Orphanage.

After receiving the child, the next step was to go to the Civil Welfare Department in Bangkok for an interview. Susanne said, “The first time was a bit nerve wracking because we didn’t know what to expect, but they talked to us about the child and asked us to try and keep the child informed of its Cultural Heritage. They are very helpful and take the adoption and the welfare of the child very seriously.”

She continued, “The second time with Mathilde was easier because we knew what to expect. We take the other children to the interview with us. This time we promised to take them to Macdonald’s if they behaved!”

Once back in Denmark the children settle quite easily into the community. “Of course they realize that they are different, they can see in a mirror they have dark eyes and dark hair, but they are not alone. There are other Thai children that have been adopted and Thai women married to Danish men that have children.”

The ties with Thailand are also maintained with progress reports sent back to the Civil Welfare Department every 6 months. During this period the child is still registered as a Thai citizen but at the end of the 3 years, providing everything is OK with all parties involved, the child will become Danish.

Susanne and Finn are not concerned that their children may forget that they are Thai. “They know that they were born in Thailand and they know their original Thai name but they think of themselves as Danish and that’s how they are brought up. When the children are older they will be encouraged to discover their Thai heritage if they want to.”

Their advice to other couples wanting to adopt a Thai child is, “Only do it because you want to have a child of your own, not because you feel that you’re some kind of philanthropist.” And the down side to adoption? “Absolutely none,” laughed Finn, “Only the waiting time.”

Back to Features Headline Index

Pool Party for Street Kids

Egbert Scherer and his wife Birgit, German citizens who spend a few months in Thailand every year, always enjoy organizing or taking part in charity events. For instance, they have been regularly sponsoring the Pattaya Orphanage, alone or sometimes with the help of their friends, for the past 12 years.

Happy Children enjoying themselves at the pool party

Last year the benevolent couple paid a visit to the Home for Street Kids, so this year they thought it might be a good idea to do something for them.

Having their own apartment at the Jomtien Beach Condominium, Egbert and Birgit, before travelling to Pattaya, asked Managing Director Anupong and his wife Ms. Lin Shu Ling if they could involve them in their plans. The fast reply of MD Anupong was an emphatic ‘yes’.

Father Peter Vichien, the director of the Street Kids Home was then contacted, and finally, on April 5th, more than 40 Street Kids were invited to a pool party at the Jomtien Beach Condominium. Already very excited, the kids were ready to leave at 8:00 a.m. - much before the scheduled pick-up time of 10 a.m., since outings like this are a rare opportunity for the children, especially when lots of hamburgers, ice cream, sweets, games and fun were waiting for them.

Because of the kindness and thoughtfulness of Egbert and Birgit, some 40 less fortunate children had a new and exciting experience, complete with overall fulfilling enjoyment. For once they could experience the freedom to enjoy and participate in fun and games, having the opportunity to partake in fun activities like swimming and recreation.

Egbert Scherer, asked by Pattaya Mail why he loves to organize these types of events at his own cost answered, “We always have such a great time in Pattaya. The people are friendly and helpful, so we just like to give them something in return. What better way is there to show our gratitude towards the Thai people than to help some unfortunate children of their society? My wife Birgit and I are always so happy when we see the smiles on the faces of children and we know that we did something good for them.”

Well, Egbert and Birgit, you certainly did!

Back to Features Headline Index

An Underwater Journey at St Andrew International School

The students and staff at St. Andrews International School recently went on a journey to the depths of the ocean, through a spectacular slide show. Khun Kate and Khun Toom, two very experienced divers, have taken some amazing photographs of the life that can be found under the sea, in and around Burma, Malaysia, the Similan Islands and Thailand.

Khun Kate and Khun Toom, two very experienced divers, have taken some amazing photographs sea life, which they showed the children of St Andrews.

The Students were enthralled as they viewed the various types of sharks including the Whale Shark which is one of the biggest fish in the world. The Guitar Shark, which is half stingray and half shark, was quite an interesting animal as was the Leopard Shark with its display of spots.

The huge Manta Rays captivated a lot of interest, with Chrissy, a Year One student, commenting that they looked like space ships floating through the sea. Another interesting sight was the Shrimp Goby, which was described by Sam as a fish with sunglasses on!

The students were also able to see how different marine animals defend themselves against predators through camouflaging themselves with their environment. As they looked closely at slides, the children were able to identify a very poisonous fish called the Devil Fish, hidden away in the rocks. An octopus was also found sheltering in the coral, which disguised its presence from other hungry fish.

The most spectacular night time fish was the Flashlight Fish. This fish swims around during the night and on moonless nights it is able to emit a light from a white spot on the side of its head. Thus it is called the Flashlight Fish.

As a part of this experience the students also learnt how different marine animals depend on each other for survival, through symbiotic relationships. For example, the Goby Fish and shrimps pair up with each other to survive. As the shrimp are blind, they rely on the Goby fish to protect them and in return the shrimp help to dig holes that the Goby likes to live in.

The most beautiful sight was definitely the tropical fish with their magnificent colours and patterns. The fluorescent breeds were very stunning and some of these even had spots on their fins, which served as false eyes to warn off predators.

The staff and students would like to thank both Khun Kate and Khun Toom for coming to St. Andrews International School, to share with us their interesting and educational slide show.

Back to Features Headline Index

BCCT Mission to Cambodia 10-12th May 2000

The BCCT is delighted to announce it’s first overseas mission for some years. BCCT will be visiting Phnom Penh from 10-12th May to coincide with the Cambodia Investment Seminar 2000 being organised by BCCT member Dataconsult Co., Ltd.

The draft programme for the mission and conference follows. However, the cost per person of participation (inclusive of business class return airfare on THAI, two nights accommodation at Le Royal Hotel with breakfast, conference fee, round trip transfers, contribution to cost of reception and VAT) is BHT 37,000.

Departure flight from Bangkok - 10/5 - TG698 15.00 (arrives Phnom Penh at 16.15). Return flight from Phnom Penh - 12/5 - TG699 17.00 (arrives Bangkok at 18.15).

There is a reduction of Bht 7,500 should you not wish to join the conference. There are further reductions of Bht 2,500 for economy class air travel and Bht 6,700 for twin share accommodation.

Please indicate your participation by notifying Greg Watkins at the BCCT office and forwarding a cheque (payable to the ‘British Chamber of Commerce’) for the appropriate sum as soon as possible.

Our travel agents (DTC Travel) are also offering a package to visit Angkor Wat over the weekend of 13th & 14th May. Please contact Tom Bishop at DTC direct to arrange this (e-mail: <[email protected]>, tel: 258 1339, fax: 663 5695).

Mission Programme

Wednesday 10th May

16.15 Arrival on flight TG698 from Bangkok, transfer to Hotel Le Royal Evening Reception/networking with British Business Association of Cambodia

Thursday 11th May

Morning Mission meetings

12.00 Inaugural Lunch (Organisers and sponsors) at Hotel Le Royal

13.00 H.E. Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce

13.30 “Cambodia 2000 Political and Economic Outlook” - Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Executive Director, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, H.E. Aun Porn Moniroth, Economic Advisor to H.E. the Prime Minister, Mr. Urooj Malik, Representative of Asian Development Bank

14.30 Break with coffee and refreshments

15.00 “Cambodia 2000 Business investment and the rule of law” - H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea, Secretary General Council for the Development of Cambodia, H.E. Sok Siphana, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Dominique Peterhans, General Manager, Nestle Cambodia, Chairman, International Business Club

16.15 Break with coffee and refreshments

16.30 Cambodia Investment 2000 - Keynote address: H.E. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia

18.30 Break

19.00 Gala Dinner

20.30 Cultural Presentation

21.00 End of day’s proceedings

Friday 12th May

8.00 Business Roundtable Opening Address: H.R.H. Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh, Chairman of the National Assembly “Cambodia’s national reconciliation and stability: basis for a new era of development and international cooperation”

8.30 “Doing Business in the Cambodia of today and tomorrow” (US ASEAN Business Council, Cambodian and international business representatives)

9.30 Keynote Address: “The role of international investment, aid and technical assistance for the development of Cambodia” - H.E. Kent Wiedemann, Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Cambodia

10.00 Coffee break

10.30 Sectoral Workshops series I: Infrastructure, Banking, Finance and Insurance, Trade, Distribution and Consumer affairs, Tourism

12.00 Lunch

13.00 Sectoral workshops series II: Manufacturing and export, Agri-business, Energy, Oil and Gas, Law, Accounting and good governance

14.30 Coffee break

15.00 Conclusion Session: Cambodia Investment 2000 Key findings and next steps (sponsors, workshop co - chairs)

15.30 Closing Address: H.E. Keat Chhon, Senior Minister for Economy and Finance, Deputy Chairman of Council for the Development of Cambodia

16.00 Close of conference/Return to Bangkok or option to stay in Cambodia over the weekend.

Back to Features Headline Index

Global campaign will put every child in school

Promise of School is Broken for 125 Million Children

from Child Labor News Service

Next week 125 million children around the world won’t attend class. They never will, unless governments start keeping their promises.

On April 3 in Washington, Brussels, Delhi, Durban, and Sao Paulo, the Global Campaign for Education started its effort to hold countries accountable for having every child in primary school.

The Global Campaign’s Week of Action was an attempt of more than 200 citizen and teacher organisations to push for basic education for all children. It included development NGOs and teachers unions in 180 countries, including ActionAid, Education International, the Global March Against Child Labour, Oxfam International, Public Services International, Save the Children UK and World Vision International.

The Week of Action also aimed to pressure governments preparing for the UN’s World Education Forum planned for April 26-28 in Dakar, Senegal. Sponsored by UNESCO, the World Bank and UNICEF, the Forum is intended to measure progress toward the goal of universal primary education.

The campaign seeks to hold rich countries, poor countries and international institutions like the IMF accountable for their record on education. Most, though, will be getting a failing grade. Ten years after 155 countries solemnly promised education for all by the year 2000, 125 million children haven’t spent a day of their life in school, and another 150 million drop out before learning to read.

The root of the problem has been a lack of political will. With determined efforts, even some of the poorest countries have achieved success. Recent programs in Malawi and Uganda have shown that ending school fees and investing in education can quickly result in near-universal schooling. In Pakistan, on the other hand, 11 million girls are denied the right to basic education while the government spends six times more on military hardware than on primary schools.

Rich country governments and institutions also bear responsibility. At the 1990 Conference on Education for All, governments promised to increase aid for education, to reduce debt, and to ensure that IMF-World Bank programs do not undermine education systems.

Instead they slashed aid budgets, while IMF-mandated programs resulted in cuts to school budgets in East Asia and East Africa, and the World Bank promoted “cost recovery”, i.e., rationing school places by price.

The Campaign proposes a Global Action Plan to get every child into primary school by 2015, at a projected cost of $8 billion per year to be paid for with: already agreed increases in poor country debt relief, increases in aid to basic education, changes in IMF policies to protect education spending during economic crises, and increased investment in education and changes in national policies by developing countries.

“We fear that the people with power and money—the finance ministers—will all be in Washington for the IMF and World Bank meetings, and ignore education. And the education people will meet in Dakar a week later and say this is what we would like to do, with no commitment of resources. That’s teachers’ and citizens’ groups have come together in the Global Campaign for Education. We intend to generate the political will to put every child in the world in grade school,” said Sheena Hanley, Education International’s Deputy General Secretary.

The human importance of the issue cannot be understated. “There is a vicious circle between poverty, adult unemployment, illiteracy and child labour and none can be tackled in isolation. We need to break this cycle now and education is definitely the key,” says Kailash Satyarthi, chairperson of the Global March.

Back to Features Headline Index

Copyright 2000 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.