Showing 21 - 30 of 164
Time for govt to show Karen some heart
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 12/04/2021
» After struggling for survival on an empty stomach for days, Karen villagers who fled the war atrocities in Myanmar, from an area under the control of the Karen National Union, took shelter along the Salween River. They received some food and medicine, supplied largely by non-profit organisations, temples, Thais, and fellow ethnic people.
Thailand must lend a hand to the Karen
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 05/04/2021
» Pictures of Karen people, including children and the elderly, crowded on the banks of Myanmar's Salween River while attempting to flee the country as their communities were targeted by air strikes launched by the Tatmadaw, and taking refuge on Thai soil triggered sympathy among many Thais. Criticism has also been deafening over allegations made by human rights groups that Thai authorities pushed back the Karen into the war zone.
Thai superiority complex harms Karen
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 22/03/2021
» Taking the case of Bang Kloi Karen villagers, there is no further proof needed that indigenous people in Thailand have a hard life. It's an irony, given that the country in 2007 adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Let's learn to coexist with Covid-19
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 18/01/2021
» Once a bustling business district, Khao San Road looked like a ghost town when I dropped by last week. Most of the shops and restaurants in the area, one of Bangkok's top tourist attractions, were closed. There were no visitors; I saw only a few vendors and passers-by.
Covid vaccine progress needs investment
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 11/01/2021
» In normal times, a vaccine is a health product that works its way to protect a person from a disease. But in the age of "new normal", vaccines can define a country's development level.
Education 'reform' is an utter failure
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 14/12/2020
» The World Bank's recent report on a decline in Thai students' performance in the Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) is a slap in the face for the government, particularly the Education Ministry, under Nathapol Teepsuwan.
What K-pop can teach us about politics
Oped, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 07/12/2020
» Tweets by Thai fans of the South Korean boyband BTS, or Bangtan Sonyeondan, over "happy birthday" signs for their idols on the back of tuk-tuks, instead of at mass transit stations, have gone viral.
Violence as yellow shirts overreact
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 16/11/2020
» Last week, a rally by a group of ultra-royalists in Nakhon Si Thammarat turned ugly after some elements from the crowd attacked a car, which they falsely believed to be carrying the co-founder of the Progressive Movement, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, out of a hotel. This is a sign that violent confrontations will be inevitable.
Small traders can pull their weight
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 09/11/2020
» When the Prayut Chan-o-cha government announced the launch of a populist 50-50 co-payment scheme as part of an economic stimulus package, some people questioned its virtue. I was among them.
Justice for Chaiyaphum still undelivered
Oped, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 28/10/2020
» More than three years after the death of Chaiyaphum Pasae, a Lahu ethnic activist who was killed by a soldier at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai, the perpetrator(s) remain free -- and the chances of anyone being accountable for his untimely death are zero.