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Don’t believe everything you hear
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg welcomed everyone
to the Sunday September 26 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at the
Tavern by the Sea Restaurant. After the usual opening announcements, he
called on Tony Crossley, a longtime Thailand resident and author of books
about Thailand that have varied topics. He previously spoke at the May 30,
2010 meeting. His currently published books are Condos in Thailand: Your
Rights (2007 – new edition 2008); The Butterfly Circus – A balanced
guide to partner-seeking in Thailand (2007); Pattaya: the Good, the
Bad & the Other – An all-sides look at Pattaya (2008); The Farang
Wife – An erotic novel – a new-age ‘Emmanuelle’ (2009); and Quotes to
Know in Thailand (2009).
Well
known Pattaya author, Tony Crossley, was PCEC’s main speaker.
Tony’s topic was entitled Thailand Utopia – Fantasy
and Fact, which is the title of a book he is currently writing. He
started by mentioning that his views do not always conform to that of others
and he has no problem with those that disagree, but he stands by his views.
He commented that there are many good books written about Thailand, but they
are usually not about the social scene. For those that deal with the social
scene, he was not too complimentary, noting that most of these that you find
in bookstores in essence are about how a bar in Thailand should not be
confused with a marriage broker. Because his books differ from the usual, he
said that it would be unlikely that you would find his books on the shelves
of the local bookstore.
Tony briefly brought up his view from his past
presentation to the Club that bar workers are from poor families and are not
well educated. Although human trafficking does occur and is to be condemned,
he points out that the bar workers in Pattaya are not forced to take up that
life. Rather, they choose to do so because they can make more money with
less work than many more educated Thais that work in what would be
considered regular jobs.
Tony then read an essay that had been printed in the
Bangkok Post. He pointed out the essay was written by a Thai and was
critical of many Thais because they always blame others rather than
themselves for problems in the country. It also said that the Thai culture’s
“mai pen rai” (never mind) philosophy fosters an attitude of indifference to
such ills in Thai society such as corruption. However, Tony said that
pointing the finger elsewhere is not specifically a Thai trait. Rather, it
is one of human nature and can be found in most cultures. He also pointed
out that the vast majority of western culture claims to be based on
Christianity, but instead often follows the Old Testament’s philosophy of an
eye for any eye rather than Christ’s message of forgiveness.
He then went into his views on the hypocrisy of western
religion focusing on a major church whose doctrine promotes abstinence
instead of the use of condoms. Tony’s view was that this doctrine is wrong
because it is common sense that human nature is not likely to result in
abstinence. Consequently, it should be common sense to promote the use of
condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. In selecting common sense
over religious doctrine, he said one can look to the sayings of the Buddha,
which includes the Buddha’s statement not to believe everything you hear
including what he says unless it is common sense. Tony concluded his
presentation with the comment that the greatest deception is self deception.
Needless to say there was a very spirited question and
answer session, which evolved into a lively discussion among those in the
audience with some challenging Tony’s views and others supporting them. But,
it was all carried out in responsible fashion and made for a very
interesting meeting indeed.
Richard then updated everyone on upcoming events and
called on Les Edmonds to conclude the meeting with the Open Forum, always
informative and sometimes humorous, where questions about living in Thailand
and Pattaya in particular are asked and answered.
St Andrews students take
a trip to the tip
The children
like being ‘green’.
Glynis Armitage, Year 3
teacher, St Andrews International School
Year 3 from St Andrews School went on a curious, and slightly
different, field trip this term. They went to the local tip! They went to
discover what is left behind after the recyclable materials have been removed.
It was a smelly experience but one that taught them a lot. One thing they learnt
is that we throw away far too many plastic bags.
There was
‘a mountain of plastic bags’ at the tip.
After the tip the children enjoyed a leisurely walk across
St. Andrews golf course, which helped them to see that a clean environment is
much better than a polluted one. The air was cleaner and the view was much
cleaner too.
Year 3 have been learning about how they can reduce what they
use, what materials can be recycled and how they can reuse products. For
instance, did you know:
1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a
television for 3 hours!
1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a
computer for 25 minutes!
1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 watt light
bulb for 3 hours!
World Sight Day 2010
Derek Franklin
Of the one hundred and forty four students currently being
educated at the Pattaya School for the Blind a large number are partially
sighted. These students may only be able to see light or shapes, and their sight
is so limited that they could not possibly attend a regular school or live their
life without the skills learnt at a specialized school for children with a
visual impairment.
Even if the
treatments do not improve their sight, it will make life more comfortable for
the students.
For the past year every student at the school has attended an
appointment to have their eyes checked by Dr. Pipat Anuchatrakoon from the
Ophthalmology Department at the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya.
The hospital generously covered the costs for all
examinations, but the follow up treatments, totaling close to two million baht,
will be paid for by a family from The Netherlands, long time friends and
supporters of the Father Ray Foundation, the management organisation that
oversees the Pattaya School for the Blind.
When all the examinations were complete the results showed
that, although there were several students whose conditions were no longer
treatable, many of the students could receive therapy that may improve the sight
or make life more comfortable for the student.
Ointments and eye drops were prescribed to many students as a
way of keeping the eyes moist which will reduce pain and irritability. Others
are now wearing glasses to protect the eyes from dust and accidents, whilst dark
glasses were also given to students to protect against further damage from
harmful UV rays from the sun.
A number of students are waiting for surgical procedures to
take place, but due to the low number of specialized paediatric eye surgeons
there may be a long wait. Cataracts are a common condition that mainly affects
the elderly, but children born with congenital cataracts can suffer from a young
age. Phthisis is another common condition that affects the children and this is
where the eye degenerates so much that it collapses on itself and becomes just a
lump of tissue, causing much irritation and pain.
World Sight Day is this year on Thursday the 14th October,
and it may be time for everyone to think of their own eyes. Many senior citizens
over the age of 60 are putting their own sight at risk by not going to regular
eye tests.
As we reach the age of forty we may find that the print in
newspapers seems to be getting smaller, we squint more and tell ourselves that
there is nothing wrong. Vanity plays a big part in our denial of reaching
middle-age, after all only old people wear glasses, but 95% of the over forty’s
need some sort of visual enhancement. Getting used to wearing glasses or contact
lenses is much easier to get used to than walking with a white cane, so on World
Sight Day do two things, visit your local optician and remember the blind
students at the Pattaya School for the Blind.
More information about the school can be found at
www.fr-ray.org or email [email protected]
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