A TALE OF A BIG CITY

03/28/05

Bangkok is modernizing itself to a world class international hub.

Like other big cities, Bangkok is full of symbols
of a modern city such as
tall skyscrapers, expensive cars, the most updated technology, subway and
the newest fashion trend.

However, behind those symbols, there are some tragic stories that are hiding
in every corner of this big city.

Walking on the street of Bangkok, if we notice, we will see two sharply contrast pictures of the haves and the haves-not.

While some people are enjoying a luxurious life style like having dinner in a fancy restaurant, driving expensive care and spending money on pricey clothes, in a corner of the same city, some people are working day and night just to make ends meet.

While the poor kids in the school uniforms are walking for hours in the hot weather at the traffic light selling flowers, the rich kids are enjoying time with their parent and having a nice meal in a fancy restaurant.

In front of a high end department store, an old lady is begging for a penny. People here can afford to spend 4 dollars on a cup of Starbuck coffee but no one can spare a dime for a poor lady.

Bangkok is like other big cities that suck up everything from those poorer areas, young labors, natural resources and the family life.

It is a dream destination for those poor people from rural area. Some people are enticed by its modern life and some are in search of a better life.

Since there are no jobs in their villages and life is so hard, most of young generation abandon their village and head to Bangkok. The sad part is some villages in the Northeastern part of Thailand (the poorest region), the only groups that still live there are senior citizens and young children. Those children are left with their grandparents while their parents move to a big city to look for a better job in order to support their family.

Some children are permanently abandoned. The obligation to raise those children is automatically handed to their grandparents who cannot even take care of themselves.

The family is falling apart. Those kids become a problem for the society.

In this big city, not everyone gets lucky. Most of those poor labors are being exploited. They end up working in a low paid job with a bad working environment. Some become sex slaves, some become homeless and tragically, some become criminals.

Then a big city becomes a big problem. Over population, over polluted and high crime rates are other symbols of a big city besides those modern symbols.

In this dog eats dog society, everyone wants to emerge above water. They do not care if their survival is owed to other people’s casualties.

This is a material world. It is a cut-throat competition. Darwinism theory applies on every aspect of life. Only the strongest and the most ruthless will survive.

Those strongest are people who have more opportunities than those poor underdogs. They obtain the best education, access of capital and know how, and the social networking.

Are they really the strongest or the luckiest in the top food chain of the society? I cannot really answer that question.

I am aware that there are always losers and winners in every society.

However, it would be better if eventually we as a society will have more winners than losers. However, this huge task might be something that the government has to do its job.

I am just an observer.

The more I observe, the more I understand about other people’s life. The more I understand other’s people life, the more I respect them as a human being no matter they are the have or the have-nots. Finally, the respect toward other people’s life leads to the compassion that I think we need in this big city.

On the street of Bangkok, I still love this city of angels. Those two pictures between the haves and the haves not always fascinate me. They are like heaven and earth but somehow they seem to harmoniously live with each other.

 

Tae (Kriengsak Athikomvittaya)