Pit creator in Pattaya
© photo: Gringo
Fortunately, it never happened to me, but the story goes that in the past, students who did not do their best at school were sometimes told that they were doomed to a career as a well-creator. In earlier times, a well scooper was the name for the person who emptied cesspools.
In more recent times, after the introduction of a more modern sewage system, it is mainly employees of the municipal cleaning service who are involved in cleaning storm water wells that are adorned with this name. You probably remember Simon Stokvis as a character from the Dutch comedy series “When happiness was very normal”. Simon worked in the sewer and was called a drain maker by many, but he himself preferred to hear it as a faecal specialist or sewer.
© photo: Gringo
Pit creator in Thailand
I would have liked to use that expression of well maker sometimes against our son here in Thailand, but give me a good translation in Thai. Moreover, it would be difficult to explain to him what a pit maker actually does. So I used another example and told him that he was doomed to collect empty bottles from the Beach Road rubbish bins in order to buy some food with the proceeds.
Flooding
In the rainy season there is often flooding in the center of Pattaya, because the sewage system can hardly process the rainwater quickly. The advantage of the flooding is that the streets are rinsed clean, but the disadvantage is that a lot of sediment (mainly sand) remains in the sewage pipes. I have seen a gully vac at work, but apparently that is not possible everywhere, so people have switched to honest manual work.
Pit creator in Pattaya
© photo: Gringo
Recently, however, I discovered that pit makers do exist in Thailand, at least in Pattaya. I have seen them at work at several locations. A few strong young men, some of whom go into a well, then fill small buckets with sewage sludge by hand. The men above ground then take the buckets to a truck, where the buckets are emptied into a tank. Every time she sees it, I think of that amusing Simon Stokvis!
Below is a nice video about the well-creating industry of yesteryear and now in Amsterdam:
Dear Gringo,
If I am correct, they are detainees who are allowed to work outside the walls voluntarily and with good behaviour.
They have the same clothes and under the supervision of a few executives.
Call it more dredging than creating holes, think it's dirty and unhealthy work.
Henry Em
They get a reduced sentence for this kind of work.
There seem to be more ways to get an early release, but I don't have any first hand experience with that. (Luckily not)
But roughly speaking, if you behave properly and do useful work – inside and outside prison – as a prisoner, you will be released sooner.
I sometimes see them in our street in Bangkapi.
They are indeed (according to my wife and neighbours) detainees.
I don't know what conditions they have to meet to be allowed to do this job.
It may be a dirty job, but if you've been in prison for years, such a "trip" outside the walls might feel like a reward.
The text on the shirt is a bit blurry, I can see, among other things
a า and ง but I can't read everything. So consulted my friends. It says 'งานสาธารณะเพื่อสังคม'.
(Ngaan saathaarana phua sangkhom), 'Work public for the benefit of society'. In good Dutch 'Public work for the benefit of society'.
Sounds more like some kind of volunteer work or community service instead of real prisoner. Because where is the armed guard to see to it that no one takes off? But who knows, maybe the behavior of these people is so good that no armed guard is needed…
In our street there were indeed (armed?) guards and the local police was always somewhere nearby.
I think it goes without saying that not every prisoner is eligible for such “trips”.
They are mostly prisoners, with little danger of escape.
For example, people who are approaching the end of their sentence.
They don't run away to spend a few more months in prison if they are caught again.
They also work around the prison to keep things tidy.
They also share in the found "loot" - mostly loose baht coins.
Incidentally, the canals = klongs in BKK are also cleaned about every month.
The honorable profession of well maker still exists in the villages.
Only they now empty the cesspool with a tanker and a large vacuum cleaner hose.
I never found out where they take their catch afterwards.
Once given, remains given.
I have even seen these men busy on Sukhumvit road in the center of Bkk.
Hard and dirty work, respect for these people, detained or not.
Who would dare to propose something like this in B or NL. ??
haha Gringo,
It is mentioned on the Blog of detainees.
But they seem to be running out!
Or find the work too heavy, dirty ect you name it.
Look on the side of that new A'dam suction dredger: “COLLEAGUES WANTED”. !
There is still hope!!
I saw them once in Bangkok. Whether they were detainees and guards (whether or not armed) were with them, I did not pay attention at the time.
Then I thought why don't they use a vacuum truck?
Saw them busy in Soi Bukhoaw, Pattaya recently. What struck me was that about 10 men in security uniforms kept watch above ground. It turned out that the workers who scooped everything up underground and cleaned everything up were prison clients who were forced to work by order of the authorities. Good idea for Belgium or the Netherlands? I don't see it being applied here anytime soon.