Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Empathy and difficult choices
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 17/04/2017
» That skinny woman clad in a sari carrying an infant in her arms waited for me in front of the bus door. A few small children wearing dirty torn clothes gathered around my legs looking up at me. Like robots, they repeatedly uttered words "Sawasdee, Maharanee [meaning a queen]. Khob khun kha", begging me to give them money. These sights and sounds were common at all pilgrimage sites in India I visited recently. Initially, I felt pity for them until I asked the guide and friends if I should give them money. They warned me against more beggars' arrivals.
For biosafety or business?
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 27/11/2015
» Questions about food safety and stability in Thailand have arisen after the Cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft law on biosafety to legalise and regulate genetically modified organisms (GMOs). If endorsed by the National Legislative Assembly, this draft will become effective a year after being published in the Royal Gazette.
Facing up to the reality of office syndrome
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 10/01/2014
» Every second I have to sit in front of my computer I have to endure back pain and an ache in my right shoulder. Sometimes it gets so bad it feels as if these parts of my body are being pierced with a sharp knife. The pain has been with me for more than five years now. First, I simply assumed there was something wrong with my back. Later, I learned that the discomfort I regularly suffer is very common and is often classified under the catch-all term "office syndrome".
Should schools have condom-vending machines?
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 17/10/2013
» Over the past month, one of the most discussed online topics in Thailand is the Public Health Ministry's plan to seek cooperation from the Education Ministry to install condom-vending machines in schools in order to curb teenage pregnancy. The public is almost equally split between supporting and rejecting the idea, but both sides agree that sex education is a better solution. Whether or not the plan will be realised, it is worth discussion and comparison to previous measures to promote safe sex.