ASSIGNMENT 2: ARTICLE ANALYSIS

[Arooj Bibi]

Thank you, this means alot and am sure it will help us develop more deeply to our roots and religion and super excited to be part of this new adventure x

[Libby Giles]

“A Safety Guide during Thailand’s Songkran Festival.” – MATTHEW JOHN
MARCH 11, 2024.
John’s article is a detailed account of how to best celebrate the festival of Songkran safely and respectfully. The account shares details of the festival’s origins, the meaning behind its celebration and the cultural significance of the festivities. Songkran is described as a 13th century Buddhist commemoration of the New Year. Its creation is relayed, “as a practice of lightly sprinkling water on the hands of elders and Buddhist clergy to signify cleansing them for the new year.” (John) However, the article goes on to inform readers the tradition has shifted into becoming “a massive aquatic festival,” (John) in which participants celebrate by throwing water over each other. The popularity of the event should not be understated. John prepares readers for the business of the day by highlighting the best places to celebrate throughout the city of Bangkok and what to expect from each location. For example, he details areas that partake in “White Songkran,” which is often referred to as family friendly celebration. Travelers should seek out these areas if they were looking for a more conservative experience.
Reasons for selecting such an article is mainly due to the cultural significance of the event and the desire to embrace said culture. As someone soon to be traveling throughout Thailand knowing how to safely navigate a celebration of this size is something I would like to be well prepared for. Knowing this article was written 11/04/24 is a quality that helped make this selection as it relays a current experience of the festival. Additionally, the fact John states the target audience to this piece is first time travellers further emphasises my reasoning for reading his piece, as it directly applies to my experience.

[Libby Giles]

Hi Gemma,
I found your post really informative and agree with points you were making for the importance of travellers to have some form of understanding of the political landscape of wherever they are staying. I think what I found most interesting about your analysis was the comment on what Thai youth are pushing for. As someone about embark on a teaching experience in Thailand (very likely with children) its worth noting the tone of the young person and what political agendas they may be aligning with.

[Erika Holeman]

Article: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2767591/chiang-mai-expands-songkran-booze-and-smoking-bans

The article talks about how Chiang Mai is cracking down on booze and smoking during Songkran. This year, the bans last from April 1st to the 21st, to cover the extended Songkran celebration put in place for tourism reasons and the holiday’s recent recognition by Unesco. The city is putting a stop to alcohol sales and consumption, plus smoking in public spots all over Chiang Mai during this time. That includes government areas, schools, temples, busy roads, footpaths, the moat, vehicles, shopping centers, and “water-splashing” places. Some venues will have special permits to to dodge the ban during particular hours.

It’s something to keep in mind if you’re traveling in April, as they’re serious about enforcing these rules. I’m heading there myself and want to make sure I respect the local customs and laws, even if they’re new to me, or new to the Thai people. It may be confusing to navigate the rules since they are location specific and this is the first year like this, so this article was very helpful in making sure I know what to expect and what to look out for.

[Erika Holeman]

Great article choice, thanks for sharing! I suffer from severe asthma and have also always considered myself to be environmentally-minded, so my decision to move to Thailand was not one I made lightly due to the air pollution levels as well as the general attitude around things like single-use plastics and littering that I have seen and read about. However, I know that as a whole the global population is ready to make some serious changes and I am glad to see that this is something being considered for the large tourist centres here in Thailand! I know that progress comes with costs and takes time but it’s still small steps that help to make a difference, as long as other areas are being looked as well with this general attitude and priority shift, I think we’ll see great things in the next few years once some of the initial hurdles (cost/infrastructure/adoption rate) are past.

[Benjamin Speicher]

Article: https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2767163/thailand-between-the-us-and-china

The article explores the ever fluid and complicated relationship Thailand has with two of it’s biggest allies, China and the US. While Thailand has maintained a strong relationship with each of these two world superpowers over a long history, its position in the future is tenuous, as relations between China and the US are at a crossroads themselves.

As Thailand’s political makeup has shifted back and forth from military regime to a democratically elected parliament, its closeness has fluctuated accordingly with the US. However, China’s ability to support Thai government regardless of the makeup of the government has generally led some of the elder conservative politicians to trust China more as a more reliable ally. Conversely, the youth of Thailand has been generally anti military-authoritarianism and therefore more loyal to the US.

Financially, Thailand has strong ties to the US and has strong prospects to maintain them with significant investments into the economy from major US companies. However, Thailand has strong physical geographical ties to China. Should a conflict arise between the US and China and force Thailand to pick sides, it could be in a very precarious position. The US must tread lightly as China could replace it as a financial ally should the US pressure Thailand too heavily.
For now, Thailand is effectively playing nice with both superpowers and helping maintain the peace, as fragile as it may be.

[Benjamin Speicher]

This reminds me of how many US cities are treating holidays and celebrations here. In South Beach, Miami, they imposed curfews, parking restrictions, and began heavily ticketing anyone with alcohol on the beaches and beach area to deter destructive behavior that has plagued the city over the last several years during spring break. Similarly, Boston has looked into putting heavy restrictions and even cancelling the South Boston St. Patrick’s parade because of similar unruly behavior. The naturally celebratory nature of holidays and events like these are great and bring in tourism and increase cultural awareness, but it’s a fine line before it can tip over and be counterproductive and ruin what used to be a fun and festive celebratory atmosphere for all. Putting in limitations and restrictions on events such as these sometimes is a necessity so that these celebrations can continue.

[Jordan Sharp]

This article is about same sex marriage on the 27th of March 2024 the Thailand’s parliament passed a marriage equality bill legalising same-sex unions. The bill was passed with the support of all Thailands major parties, out off 415 lawmakers only 10 voted against the bill. With this bill in place it will make Thailand the 3rd Asian country to legalising same-sex marriage but as it stands right now it still needs the approval from the senate and the endorment from the king. After that the law will take effect in 120 days.

As someone from the United Kingdom and a bisexual myself I was quite surprised that this bill wasn’t in place sooner hearing all the stories I’ve been told about Thailand. Some examples are the transgender woman’s beauty competition and how accepting the people off this country are to the LGBTQ+ communities in a international context. I was surprised when hearing about the approval off same-sex marriage in the country when i arrived and saw the article. Of course their are always going to be people that will not agree with this bill but I think this country is moving in the right direction for its LGBTQ+ community within Thailand.

[Jess Stoddard]

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/27/thailand-promptly-pass-same-sex-marriage-bill#:~:text=Thailand%20would%20become%20the%20first,and%20three%20did%20not%20vote.

This article is about Thailand’s potential groundbreaking move towards legalizing same-sex marriage, which could position the nation as a Southeast Asian trailblazer. Highlighting the momentum generated by a parliamentary committee’s approval of a same-sex marriage bill, the article underscores the significance of Thailand’s potential role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights within the region. Emphasizing the legal and societal barriers faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Thailand, including discrimination and lack of legal recognition, the article underscores the transformative potential of legalizing same-sex marriage in fostering inclusivity and equality.

The themes explored in this article are relevant for an individual travelling to or residing in Thailand. Thailand’s progressive stance on same-sex marriage not only reflects evolving societal attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights but also has practical implications for individuals within the LGBTQ+ community. Legal recognition of same-sex marriage would not only provide tangible rights and protections for LGBTQ+ couples but also signal a broader societal acceptance of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Additionally, the article underscores the potential for Thailand’s leadership in the region to inspire neighbouring countries to reconsider their stance on LGBTQ+ rights, shaping the broader landscape of human rights in Southeast Asia.

[Jess Stoddard]

Your comment is fascinating. I have enjoyed learning about the differences in education in different countries across the globe compared to my education history.

[Toby Foster]

The future of the Thai music industry after COVID-19

‘The Future of the Thai Music Industry after COVID-19’ is an article which discusses the struggle of musicians to make a living from music after the effects of COVID-19. It details a few people’s points of view on the subject. Pontapol Prasarnrajkit believes that the Thai market is relatively small which means that a musician’s popularity can wane far more easily due to social trends. Perhaps a reason its music industry remains small is due to (as Pakornwut Udompipatskul points out) the fact that government-funded projects aiming to nurture Thailand’s ‘creative economy’ receive relatively small budgets, especially compared to the amounts of funding going towards the creative industry in countries such as South Korea. Pakornwut also stated that contracts between labels and musicians need to be fairer, as when a musician is signed, the label then owns their music, leaving them at square one should they leave. Itkron Pungkiatrussamee makes the argument that if change is to happen, unions must be formed, as an individual can only make so much of an impact on their own. However Mongkol Smorban states that it must be noted that there is a lot of pressure from employers for musicians to avoid unionising, since there have been instances of people being illegally fired on these grounds.
As a musician myself this article relates to me, especially since I am trying to grow my own brand currently, and I have worked for the past six months on what is to be my debut EP for my new project ‘Blue Druid’. While I am in Thailand, since I am not bringing an instrument, I am going to be on the lookout for any music shops there are. I would be particularly interested in trying to pick up a new instrument. I also currently know very little about the music scene there, however I am hoping to find as many music events as I can. I have heard that there is a growing Metal scene there, and since it is my favourite genre, I am excited to find gigs to go to.

[Toby Foster]

I find your analysis very interesting, especially considering the course content describing how as a collectivist society Thai people can find themselves influenced by other’s viewpoints, as well as because of their history of recurrent political change from dictatorships. It seems the case that this is a highly important time for the political climate in Thailand, and with what I’ve just learnt about their history it certainly seems like the political activity of the youth could determine a move back towards a more democratic system. Though the article mostly provides some base statistics with little comment about them, it sadly points towards this new wave of voters being a minority. I’d like to know more personally about the voting rates in the country, since the UK tends to have a very poor turnout, and I wonder if it is any different there and people are more politically motivated.

[Austin Cowan]

Your article is pretty interesting, Efe. I like how didn’t give up on Thailand after hurting his hand practing Muay Thai. Which I’ve heard can be quite hard on the body. I do like how the chefs passion seems to be more on Thailand than on just a thing or two. It’s also pretty cool that he went from somewhere so north as Sweden all the way to Thailand.

[Megan Lazarevic]

Link: https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1089402
The article: The more you learn, the more you earn: education and poverty alleviation in Thailand

The articles speaks upon the barriers many have to accessing an education, despite it being guaranteed. Mainly commenting upon how being born into certain communities and areas can make accessing education harder. This particular article centred around the UN supported initiative the learning coin, to make sure those less able to receive an education can gain access.

The article draws upon wider themes, showing how despite these programs being very useful and helping many people, without wider policy changes and impacts such as COVID-19, progress is somewhat stunted. It also comments on the disproportionate effects this will have on certain groups, noting how this will have a more devastating effect on girls who bare a larger burden to support the family.

Going to Thailand to teach it is important to gain contextual information as to how different factors might affect children in their learning, and in their access to it. Being able to gain a wider understanding might help prompt different approaches in teaching and strengthen a better appreciation for the importance of access to education. Despite this article being a few years old, working in education in the UK I was able to see how Covid 19 had such a large and persistent effect on our education system, and so was interested in the effects it might hold in Thailand.

[Megan Lazarevic]

Hi, I really enjoyed your review on this article. Covid had such a large impact on every structure in our society and in many cases an irreparable one. My article centred around similar themes, largely focusing on disadvantages in education, noting how Covid has had concerning effects on these. Whilst it is good to see returns to pre Covid flow of life. With the context of the article I read these returns bring concerns that discrepancies may only expand.

[Author]

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