Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Tales of queer migration
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 19/06/2023
» There is a border that defines the contour of his identity. Only by crossing it can Jaokhun Promchana be the man he wants to be. After moving to the US, he studied a new language and toiled in the kitchen. Holding a dream close to his heart, he went the extra mile to join the US Navy and police. Currently, he is running a restaurant with his wife. From the outside, he looks no different from other men, but in his expired documents, a name and its title are a reminder of the former self that he already shed.
The right to clean air
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 05/06/2023
» In 2009, Smog In The City envisioned a not-too-distant future for Chiang Mai. Set in 2019, Fah returns home to find her family and villagers suffering from air pollution. Following a critical level of toxic haze, the government orders a state of emergency and immediate evacuation. After her mother dies of smog-induced acute coronary syndrome, she rushes to take her family to an airport like other evacuees. While her father and brother deteriorate, a couple approaches her car for drinking water.
A creative plan to restore the glory of Khon Kaen's business district
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/06/2023
» 'Chuka, chuka, chuka." Gone are the days when people made their own garments, but sewing machines still hum from a narrow corner of an old shophouse. Stacks of different clothes and mannequins take up space on the ground floor. Staff cut fabric, engrave names and sew white uniforms in an assembly line. Aunt Wan graces them with buttonholes, producing hundreds of hospital gowns for doctors in Isan.
Time is on our side
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 15/08/2022
» Win or lose, a protest is a process of trial and error. To put it simply, it is disruption, innovation, or something in between, just the way the now-defunct but shape-shifting Future Forward Party was in 2019 because it is born out of a spirit, not a person or a party. If the student-led demonstration goes down in history for demanding the boldest political reform, including the role of the monarchy, its resurrection last week proves that the pro-democracy movement is coming of age.
Euthanasia a service not a sin for the elderly
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/02/2022
» Have you ever imagined how you might die in old age? I remember once telling a close friend that I would use a "sleeping pod" -- if euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were legal. But in Thailand, it is only terminally ill patients who have the right to forgo treatment in such a way that allows them to die "naturally". Under Section 12 of the Public Health Act, they can make a will denying the use of public health services that would prolong the end stage of their illness.
Joy amid hardship
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/05/2021
» Rusty tin shacks sprawl under high-rises and billboards. Rubbish scatters and floats down the foul-smelling river. Last year, fire broke out near a local mosque. With the third wave of the coronavirus outbreak, the Klong Toey neighbourhood is hanging by a thread.
Passport to prosperity
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 17/03/2021
» May I see your vaccine passport? You will be asked to demonstrate proof of shots everywhere -- be it airports, shops or events -- until the coronavirus outbreak is kept at bay. If you leaf through history, you will find their predecessors. In the past, travellers carried international certificates of vaccination to show at the port of entry when they visited yellow fever risk areas such as Africa and Latin America.
Point of no return
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/03/2021
» The world has about six years and 10 months left before its carbon budget -- the amount of carbon dioxide that can be released into the atmosphere at the current rate -- will be completely depleted. Unless human beings join hands to limit global warming under the 1.5C safe threshold, they will face worsening famines, disasters, and displacement. The climate clock by two artists, Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, in Manhattan's Union Square, is a stark reminder of how destructive and fragile we are.
The Finn spearheading a charge to make Thailand's rubbish go round in circles
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 27/10/2019
» As Finland is the world's first country to launch a national roadmap for its transition to a circular economy by 2025, the northern European nation is encouraging Thailand to adopt the model where resources are continually reused for the sustainable future of our planet.
China rolls into heart of Southeast Asia
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/10/2019
» Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Company has unveiled China's plan to launch a freight service from Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, by the end of this year under the much-touted Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).