What’s going on in Thailand!? Shutting down the 2 main airports, 1 million jobs lost, 350 000 tourists trapped in the country, holiday bookings cut by 50%, and such political turmoil! This unrest in country so renowned for its easy-going fun-loving nature defies logic.
We, with other Westerners, watch this mess and wonder how it could happen in Thailand. Back up though - what exactly has happened?
In September 2006, prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was kicked out during a military coup. Just over a year later elections were held and won by the People Power party (PPP). The party was pretty much still Taksin’s party and well supported by rural folk. The new prime minister was Samak Sundaravej. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) were not happy and began to demonstrate.
Samak Sundaravej then lost his seat because he had been the emcee on two cooking shows – not allowed when you’re the PM! And so, Thaksin's brother-in-law took over as PM. Demonstrators did not appreciate this and have been aggressively fighting it. In the boldest move of all, they took over Bangkok’s airports.
Meanwhile - although he has been found criminally guilty - Taksin announced that he plans to return to politics…
We need to accept that we may never appreciate the Thai logic that has led to the current political mess. But let’s try anyway!
Emotions rate very highly in Thai society – Thais place a strong emphasis on making sure everyone is having a good time everywhere, all the time. They avoid stressful personal confrontations or, indeed, anything unpleasant. There’s a special Thai word for it “sanuk” – visitors to Thailand love it. But it means that people listen to their feelings, rather than their heads…unlike our culture which values rational decision making more highly.
We think in a linear way i.e. if A follows B, then this will lead to C. It’s so logical and so simple that its difficult for us to understand why some people might adopt a different decision-making style.
We’ll ask “How can the Thai elect a government that promises the impossible?” or “How can they close their international airports knowing the hardship it will cause for their countrymen?”. But for the Thais what is important is the shared values of friends, colleagues, and community, a strong sense of unity, solidarity. They’ll accept ideas within this context without necessarily questioning them.
Another thing is their idea of what is "right" – and its not something that can be rationally justified, its just a sense, a feeling, a spiritual thing. Thai are far more open than we are to making decisions based on faith, not objective analysis.
So while we might think: closing airports = loss of millions of jobs and billions of baht = bad idea, the Thai might think: closing airports = sign of solidarity = morally right.
While they might be prepared to forgo being happy and relaxed for a time, they are not likely to give up their worthy cause which they believe in. In this political mess, both sides feel they have the moral high ground and believe they are right. Stalemate.
So what is to be done?
Oh, it's simply a matter of leaping huge cultural hurdles, and massive cultural adjustments being made, that’s all. But, hey, that’s what we do every day as missionaries here – just in a different context. As we watch the unfolding drama, it reminds us of what we are up against in bringing the gospel to the Thai.
So please pray for Thailand with us.
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