The other day, actually way back on the 25th of November we had a ceremony. The kids were lining up ready for the formalities.
It was to do with scouting; this is a primary 1 scout outfit for girls.
And this is the primary 1 outfit for boys.
I wasn’t sure why we were having this parade, completely as National Scout Day is July 1st when King Rama VI introduced scouting to Thailand in 1911. He is subsequently known as, ‘The Father of Thai Scouting.’ This is a picture of the king being held by the girls.
The official title of the King of Siam, Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramentharamaha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkut Klao Chao Yu Hua. I knew the day obviously had something to do with this king and it wasn’t until I did some research later on, I learnt a lot more.
Scouts is part of the Thai school curriculum, once a week students wear their scout outfits, but truthfully I have hardly seen a lot done on these days that has to do with scouting.
This ceremony was held on the day King Rama VI died, I suppose it is in a way honouring him for bringing the scouting movement into Thailand.
I started reading a few well known Thai sites that had information on the King and then went to Wiki and so forth. And the reading became more and more interesting.
As you know, Thai laws are very strict when it comes to the monarchy; you don’t have the freedom of speech as in western worlds and can pretty well write or cartoon who or what you like. Thailand holds the monarchy in the highest of regards and Lese Majeste laws will be used for what you might think to be the pettiest of things.
When I started to read sites from abroad, not associated in Thailand, the reading made me at times gob smacked and my chin was on the keyboards. What was claimed and written would get the people who wrote this a lengthy prison term. I ended up reading so many articles published outside of Thailand. I am not going to link to them or even mention what they said, but you can always Google and find out for yourself.
So I am much more aware on why this day was now held and also many of the things King Rama VI did for his country and subjects. Since then I have read a lot more to do with the whole Chakri Dynasty. One page turns into another and hours fly by. It has been refreshing to read other point of views and also claims about the history of Thailand.
So this was another day at my school, but the ceremony has lead to me becoming much more knowledgeable in some of Thailand’s history, I hope.
Brunty
3 comments:
Not that Thailand is the only country which has contradictions like that, however: freedom of speech is a right the government of Thailand has a moral obligation to uphold. By voting for the UN declaration of human rights they have promised to do just that. In the Bangkok Declaration in 1993 Thailand (and other Asian countries) have reaffirmed that.
Certainly when visiting another country we need to respect the laws of that country. However similarly the host country has to respect the human rights of the visitor.
Thanks for that Brunty. I never knew much about the Chakri dynasty, but you've sent me off on a little research mission today. Hopefully I won't get too caught up and will still have time to do some writing. Just scratching the surface so far on Wikipedia and I'm intrigued.
Hi Stefan, thanks for your comments. I agree that any country you are a visitor to, that government has the right (as it is their country) to have laws in place to protect what the deem important.
I don't like that they claim to be democratic and free speech and so forth but in reality this isn't really true.
Thailand has in the past and still now have a terrible reputation on human rights violations. I just wish they could sort out all the corruption that is rife in the political, police and other government sectors.
The Thai people deserve to be better represented by people who are actually trying to represent them and not just to benifit themselves or other family members.
Seve, I hope you enjoy reading, you will find plenty of articles outside or wiki as well. I am still reading stuff now. There is so much information on the dynasty and also previous kings.
Post a Comment