Sarkozy's daughter is called Dahlia and has her father's nose...
Since the national press is sorely lacking in reporting on a possible imminent catastrophe of unparalleled proportions, I thought; you know what, let me write a piece.
I hear you thinking, attentive reader; “an imminent catastrophe? Will Britney Spears give an extra concert in Ahoy? Has the oil in Libya run out? Or is Sarkozy's daughter not Sarkozy's after all?
No, luckily it's not all that bad. It only concerns an area the size of four times the Netherlands that is under water in Central Thailand and that water threatens to submerge the 12 million capital city of Bangkok in its entirety between now and a few days. The surrounding provinces have already been flooded in an attempt to save the capital, but the volume of water flowing southward on its way to the Gulf of Thailand is so great that it is beyond saving. That is the opinion of foreign water management experts who assist the Thais in the crisis center that has been set up at the old international airport Don Muang.
The Thai authorities are hardly a life jacket either, as this fleeting bunch of minks had only an agenda; Bringing back Thaksin, the prime minister who was ousted for corruption in 2006, is the fervent wish of millions of illiterate farmers and impoverished city dwellers.
All the reporting we read in the Bangkok Post is of a hopeless contradiction and indicates that the government has no idea what to do. That in itself is not surprising when you realize that there is not really a natural disaster, but a disaster caused by ignorance, ignorance and incompetence on the part of the authorities. Heavy monsoon rains are nothing new. We deal with it every year. The decision to allow all three dams to fill to the brim with water after the heavy rainfall in July and August, and then simultaneously drain the three dams, is the cause of the current disaster, not the rainfall itself. There is more stir fallen than in other years, but not so much as to cause the deluge we are now facing. The disaster is therefore 'man-made'.
The damage to the economy so far is estimated at 200 billion baht (5 billion euros) but will undoubtedly reach many times that. The human damage cannot be expressed in money. There are already more than three hundred deaths, hundreds of thousands of people who worked in the factories on the seven flooded industrial sites have lost their jobs - temporarily or otherwise. Millions have lost their homes, farmland and harvests and are bivouacing in the evacuation centers hastily erected by the government in higher areas.
You don't want to think about what happens when the city fills up and an exodus starts.
The contradictory reports from the authorities are a sign that the government has no idea what is about to happen, or actually does not even realize what has happened. Yesterday, the Minister of Justice and coordinator of disaster relief operations crowed: “Ninety percent of Bangkok is safe”. He shouted that at a time when twenty percent of Bangkok was already under water. The prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra and Thaksin's sister, confirmed this, only to shout a few hours later that East Bangkok must be sacrificed to save the rest of the city. The right hand doesn't even know there is a left hand.
Should my beloved city indeed be flooded, you can be sure that the national press will wake up from its slumber and throw itself into the drama, without having the slightest idea of the background, the hows, the whats and the wheres. Misinformation about 'heavy rains' and sound bites “Waterworld Bangkok” will grace the front pages. Until then, the Dutch newspaper reader will have to make do with reviews about Britney Spears concerts, dead dictators and newborn daughters named Dahlia…
“Man-made” disaster…. evil tongues in Thailand say that this is not entirely coincidental or that it is even a form of sabotage against the current government.
Of course, that's all gossip.
Chang Noi
@Chang Noi,
It is impossible to name who is ultimately responsible. The Abhisit administration has also done nothing to avoid these types of disasters. And neither did the Thaksin administration before it... Let's hope that the next government puts people in the positions where they belong, without the usual nepotism and the common "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" mantra, which prevails in Thailand (and not only in Thailand, but also in the Netherlands) and move on to a government where transparency is part of the new mantra.
But I'm not holding my breath...
Dear Cor, Your story is so recognizable. As a real Thailand and Bangkok lover, I have been annoyed for days, no, weeks by the very poor coverage in the Dutch media. There is a catastrophe going on here that is unprecedented and people in the Netherlands are worried about trivialities. I think it's terrible what is happening to these people right now. Me and my partner follow all posts intensively, especially via Thailandblog. Moved to tears, we watch as these lovely Thai people try to think their belongings safe. And then I also worry whether these people will be able to get back to work in the short term, now that many industrial sites have been flooded. I would prefer to book a ticket tomorrow and go that way. Our plans were to return to Thailand in April 2012 and we will certainly do so. These people deserve to leave our money there. I am very, very moved by this great tragedy. Hopefully the government will now really do its best to put things in order with regard to water management.
@Twan,
Your visit to Thailand will only benefit the locals…
A nice question you ask, why some disasters make the news all the time, and other disasters don't.
I am almost certain that, in the event of such a disaster in NL, one of the public channels would report on the situation 24 hours a day in many places.
With cameras etc in very many places.
In addition, the reports of the public channels.
With a continuous statement of the various water levels (eg of the Rhine in Germany in various places), so that you also know whether more water is coming, or whether the water will fall. All this supported with maps, etc.
When the news is presented in this way, foreign channels also receive a stream of information from which they can choose to broadcast in their country.
I have the impression that the footage that the NOS receives from TH is little.
rectification
“In addition, the reports from the public channels.”
I mean the commercial channels here, of course.
The NOS receives sufficient footage from Thailand. Every day, videos from thousands of camera crews flash across the world. Each channel/broadcaster makes its own choice. But then comes the question of news value. This is increasingly determined by younger and inexperienced colleagues who have seen little of the world. Thailand has a low 'cuddliness factor'. as a result of sex tourism, corruption scandals, etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that also applies to news value. Channels always lag behind the facts and more important competitors/colleagues. something is only world news if the BBC or CNN pay sufficient attention to it. After 40 years in Dutch journalism, I can only mention the great 'polder character' of the media. And as the cuts continue, the staring at the Dutch navel grows. And don't forget the incompetent bosses in the media world, who only ended up in such a post because they cannot write (well). Nowadays everything is about money and no longer about quality.
Although on a different level, when I look at how much good footage about TH is offered on YouTube, compared to, for example, the Tsunami in Japan, it is very disappointing.
Thai TV broadcasts images of this disaster all day long with journalists up to their waists in water and one news after another all day long, but NOS thinks it is more interesting to send their correspondent Michel Maas to China or Indonesia than to Thailand or maybe he likes it better himself…
But watch out in the coming days, all or a large part of Bangkok will be under water and then it will become interesting.
You describe the problem exactly.
A few people in the water and tomorrow some people in the water is not newsworthy.
Critical questions from journalists, and the answers to them, can have news value.
Giving insight into the scale of the disaster can also have news value.
And I think that the images with news value have already been broadcast by the NOS.
Compare the NL help, which has been called in, for directing the wedding of the king of Bhutan.
You have to be able to direct such a disaster.
@Lupardi. Crazy that Thai TV broadcasts it, it's in Thailand after all. The word news says it all: news! Gaddafi yesterday, that's news, even world news! Do you think the zdf, bbc, cnn etc. are broadcasting more? Always giving that off, to get tired of. You are right if Bkk really starts to flood soon, then the world media will come into action. Why? Because that's world news! The images of Thailand are the same as a week or 2 weeks ago. Only now it is Bangkok, then it was Ayuthaya.
Apologies, but always hand that over to the Netherlands!
Don't John, was not understood this week either! 5555
“News is the number of deaths divided by the distance”.
That rule is well known, no matter how harsh it is?
http://bit.ly/beoCfI
Beats. I've written that before. But that article says that a natural disaster in Italy is equivalent to 480 deaths in Asia. If we add up the deaths as a result of flooding in Thailand and neighboring Cambodia, we are already over it. So there must be other reasons for the lack of news from Thailand.
@jord,
Indeed. The great common denominator…
The daughter is called Giulia! This aside. you are absolutely right Cor, but some people don't want to see that this has nothing to do with a natural disaster but because of many years of human failure. And in 2011 Thailand paid an exceptionally high price for this. today Thailand was also clearly visible or readable again at rtl z and the nos.
Man made? Although I do not live in Thailand, I live in neighboring Cambodia, in Siem Reap to be precise. Until this year I had always experienced the rainy season as a pleasant change (I have been living in Cambodia since the end of 2005). This year, however, I got a completely different view of the rainy season. Particularly in the night of September 21 to 22, so much water came down here that I feared a tidal wave of unprecedented size. That tidal wave did not materialize, but a few days later I had the water in my house. I want to assume that human error has been made, but the natural disaster was/is unparalleled this year.
On the question of why there is little media attention in the Netherlands:
The commenters above approach this entirely rationally. However, in the first instance, man is not rational but emotional. That is why news that rationally has little meaning sometimes stirs up a lot and news that is interesting from a rational point of view often remains underexposed. A tsunami is more spectacular than a flood, even though the consequences of the current flood are many times worse. 9/11 got (and still gets) huge media attention, while if you look at the cool death numbers, there are more serious disasters/wars. Just watch, as soon as the suffering is made more personal, for example because an exceptional individual case is in the news, people are suddenly affected and the problem will get more airtime. Human nature…unfortunately.
@ Maarten, unfortunately only agree with you that a tsunami is more spectacular. So if there are 10x as many deaths in Japan as there are now in Thailand, this flood is much worse? Did you see those houses, that airport, those cars, those bridges etc. etc. that were just swept away by the force of the water? Then you think Thailand is worse now? No, that's too far for me! 9/11 just had an impact on the whole world, that was really something new. Being attacked by civilian planes by terrorists. And then also the way in which, that was really spectacular, but very shocking.
And even worse is that Japan can do absolutely nothing about it, something that cannot be said of Thailand now. But it remains sad through and through and you don't wish this on anyone! The tsunami in 2004 was something that Thailand was just powerless at the time, unlike this time. Sorry, but can't make it more beautiful than it is.
But you're right, I can relate very well. Your namesake can do that very well, by the way! Maarten van Rossum, my hero…..
an “unimportant” and small message today in the AD:
In North Korea, 6 million people are at risk of starvation. This was reported by the UN emergency aid coordinator in Beijing today after a five-day visit to the isolated country.
The daily amount of food obtained has been halved from 400 grams per person to only 200 grams. North Korea needs a total of 5,3 million tons of food annually. Every year, the country is short of 1 million tons after the harvest. 'There is a high degree of malnutrition, especially among the children. The children are very thin,' the reports read. (ANP/Editor)
compared to this, thailand gets the wide attention is my idea….
at the same time this article says about Thailand:
Northern Bangkok is flooding
Thailand's worst flooding in decades has inundated some residential areas of northern Bangkok, officials said today. The influx had become inevitable when the government decided to open some floodgates yesterday. The pressure on the miles of sandbag walls had become unsustainable.
There is half a meter of water in the northern residential area of Lak Si. 'The water overflowed from the Prapa channel. It is stable now and the residents were already warned," said a district leader.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra called on residents of the approximately 15 million agglomeration to move their belongings to higher places as a precaution. Residents hoard food and water. Car owners have parked hundreds of cars on overpasses.
Surveillance
Three months of heavy rainfall have already led to 342 deaths in Thailand. The homes of millions of people have been damaged.
The government has set up evacuation centers and extra parking spaces. There will be extra security for historic buildings and the international airport.
The opposition is demanding that the government declare a state of emergency. “I will consider calling it out, although we don't want that situation because investor confidence has already been damaged. And so far the government has already received a lot of cooperation from the army," said the prime minister.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have been deployed to maintain order. They also have to protect the dikes against vandals who want to reduce the water level in their own residential area. (ANP/ Editorial)
end quote.
I think that the number of (possible) deaths divided by the distance times the familiarity with the disaster area is a reasonable indication of the degree of "news".
In that sense, Thailand is not faring badly. There is something about it in the news almost every day.
I can agree with Maarten's statement in which he explains that people are normally emotionally set when it comes to reactions to news and that the news value is linked to this. In addition, in my opinion at least, most countries regard themselves as the center of the universe and the news reports are an extension of that. That leads to headlines like “Rene Froger misses his buddy Gordon”, while 6.94 billion people have no idea who Gordon is, let alone who Rene Froger is.
However, that reality disturbs me very much. Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Ramses Shaffy died and on various forums and countless other publications, suddenly half of the Netherlands had sat at the bar with “Ramses” - funny to see that when you are dead people suddenly no longer remember your last name - and the whole of the Netherlands was in mourning. Only when the death toll in this poverty-stricken Caribbean island had risen to over 100.000 did editors suddenly wake up and the coverage shifted from page 7 to the front page.
I am very bad at that.
I can't handle that very well either, Cor, but what can we do about it? I'm also in Pattaya at the moment, maybe we can brainstorm sometime?
Seems fine to me, except that I am now at home in BKK watching the floods.
and what is your first impression Cor? Both personally and the Thai media.
@Marcos,
I don't quite understand your question. First impression? I'm now at my fifth impression 😉
Gentlemen, a disaster does not become more or less bad by whether or not it receives media attention. There is (fortunately/unfortunately?) much more going on in the world that we don't know than what we do know. In countries such as India, Pakistan and China you could fill all pages of all Dutch newspapers daily with minor and major misery instead of football reports, but who wants to pay a subscription to that?
The world news is especially useful for making leaders aware of their responsibility and exposing failure and for moving people to turn their sympathy into action.
You replied I am home NOW watching the floods. So are you seeing changes now? What is the media reporting now? Thank you Cor.
@Marcos.
A sandbag barrier has been breached near my house and the water is rising here. I'm going to write an article with pictures shortly. When the TB editors post it, you might get a little wiser, but not much. I also need it from the BP on line. The croaking on TV makes me none the wiser. Neither does my wife, by the way (she says).