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What's the situation in Isaan?


Beechboy

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Factories, shops, restaurants, tourist attractions are closing down on a massive scale due to limited tourists and declining exports...although Surin rice production would be the only local fall, most of the above industries are staffed by transient workers from that area and Issan, hence impacting on local families in a big way....no money sent home for brother somchai to pay for his pick up etc

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Here in Sisaket, next to Surin, people are afraid of another virus: the dengue fever!

 

I have yet to see people coming back from the big cities after losing their job, but it will happen, at the worst possible time, when there is no water left because of the ongoing drought...

 

Very hard times are coming for Thailand...and the rest of the world.

 

Right now, we are just in the phase when the seawater recedes...before the tsunami...

 

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There are not many factories in Isaan, a lot of them are in Rayong/ east coast. 

 

The most workers seem to be from Isaan, considering the low pay.

 

 I'm in Sisaket, 100 km away from Surin and the shops are open as usual.

 

And of course the shops that close down are the ones who tried to copy the already existing ones.

 

   

Edited by Isaanbiker
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20 hours ago, Beechboy said:

I am also growing increasingly aware of this government's disdain for genuine  democracy and the population in general, from what I read on ThaiVisa.

 

Does anyone feel that this will lead to general unrest or have I been fed with false doommongering?

Firstly, Thailand has never had a real democracy - that involves far more than simply being able to vote.

 

Dis-satisfaction with the government occurrs in all countries, Thailand being no exception. However, I have never heard Thai's complain about any previous government as much as they do about this one - it seems universal whether it be from farmers or businessmen. Whether they will do anything about it or not is a different matter. Remember, they are a nation that are taught from birth, to accept their lot.

 

Indeed, without major 'unrest' there is actually very little the Thai population can do to change their government.  They are only just waking up to the fact that they were screwed over by the new consitution that they 'voted' for in the referendum of August 2016. If you don't know anything about the constitution, the component within it that is most problematic is that no matter what the result of any future elections are, the Senate has to approve the election result. And who appoints the members of the 250 strong Senate? The military do.

 

It is hardly surprising then, that the Army could make a promise that there would be no more coups - they don't need them. Unless there is another change in the constitution, effectively, the military are in permanent control.

 

You may have read that the Thai courts recently disolved the Future Forward Party - totally ignoring the 6 million votes they received in the general election (some say that the real vote was far higher than that) and drawing criticism from governments around the world. I can't imagine a situation in western democracies where the electorate would accept that but given the new constitution, what options are open to the Thai people?

 

So, as for unrest - who knows? But its difficult to see how the constitution can be changed again without major unrest.

 

The army know where their major opponents are and to that end have been feeding Isaan with 'titbits' in the form of new roads and railway lines to try to keep them quiet. However, in recent weeks there have been growing anti government protests in Bangkok which is interesting but you can be sure that if these develop into anything that really worries the government, they will be firmly put down.

 

This article by Jonathan Head of the BBC gives a good account of the effects of the new constitution.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37013950

Edited by KhaoYai
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1 hour ago, Isaanbiker said:

There are not many factories in Isaan, a lot of them are in Rayong/ east coast. 

Exactly, not a lot of point building factories 500 km from the nearest port!

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2 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

You presume that all factories produce goods for export.  In fact there are lots of factories in Isaan - do your homework.

Obviously you are more knowledgeable than I, where and what are all these factories producing? I realise there are indeed some factories producing for the local market but any factory of any substance tends towards the eastern seaboard due to the port and tax breaks - least that's what I understood, waiting to be corrected.

Thank you ???? 

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39 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

There are more than you think - have a look around Korat. Not enough though.

Korat is not the best example.

 

It is the second largest city of Thailand, and the closest to Bangkok, with multiple ways of communication between both cities.

 

Korat is the door to Isaan, but is not representative of Isaan at large.

 

In the rest of Isaan, there is no industrial activity to speak of, which is why all the young people looking for a decent job have to go to Bangkok or the Eastern seaboard.

 

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4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

n the rest of Isaan, there is no industrial activity to speak of, which is why all the young people looking for a decent job have to go to Bangkok or the Eastern seaboard.

 

In Kap Choeng about 1 km from Surin Immigration on the 214 highway there is a factory that makes wiring harness for Toyota. Opened in 2012 employee 100 locals. Up the road on the 214 halfway between Prasat and Surin there is the Hanes Garment factory that employee about 500. These may not be big but these are open.

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20 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Still searching the rice fields for rice bugs, rice fed rats, and fishing for mud fish.  Gather their herbs and salad along the road while walking home.

 

Life is good and unchanged for centuries.

Which part of the USA do they do that?

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22 hours ago, Beechboy said:

Although I visit Thailand yearly for a couple of months in the depths of the UK winter I have no knowledge of any social security system in Thailand, except that it is frail.

 

Its better and higher ranked than the USA, you can get free medical as a Thai and very fair treatment in government hospitals.   Of course its a worry, and we shall see what happens at Songkran when all the Isaan folk who still have a job in Bangkok go home. Will they bring the virus with them and really get it going?

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