The pictures are saddening and could be extremely upsetting for some. The pictures are graphic; I do not condone them but want to draw attention to the terrible standards of the Thai media.
I am currently making a new website that is dedicated to exposing these pictures and newspapers and will also have a petition online to present to the Thai government to put a stop to this. I will complete this site during my holidays. I have already started using my Adobe Dreamweaver programme. The idea of this site when it’s running is to expose the newspapers and hopefully shaming them by collecting enough signatures from across the world to stop newspapers from publishing such pictures that are below.
Again to all reading the pictures are graphic and will be upsetting for many, if you are easily upset please do not proceed.
A few weeks back I wrote about my disgust in the Thai media and how Thailand’s government allows pictures of death grace the pictures of the front pages of their daily newspapers.
I was surprised about the amount of mail I got from this post personally. Some people believed that it was wrong that these pictures are allowed and others believed it was okay for these images.
I referred to two pictures of death in that post. One was of a two year old boy who had been killed when thrown from the motorbike he was travelling on. This picture had thankfully been blurred but you could still make out the body and so forth.
The other story and picture was of a primary 4 girl, she had been knocked off a motorbike her grandmother was riding and had been killed. The picture is just so saddening; it is wrong and should never be allowed to grace the front page of any paper anywhere in the world.
If you keep scrolling down and disagree with me, I will be interested to know ‘why’ you believe that such pictures should be allowed to be published. If you state that it creates awareness then this is totally bullshit as these pictures have been published for years and I would see truthfully one in every 100 kids (being very lenient with these figures) who wear a helmet.
Death seems to be accepted without a second thought, hardly and eyelid seems to be raised. I find it absolutely baffling that parents do not value their children’s lives with the upmost of care and protection. A helmet on a child might not be enough to save their life in a crash but it could. It could be the one thing that means death or life.
You cannot put a monetary value on a life of a child, they are too precious and no amount of money could ever compensate you for your loss. I thought that all races of people thought that their children are the most precious possession on this great thing we call earth. I seriously doubt this about Thailand after living here for 5 years. Kids jump about in cars, not wearing a seatbelt and car seats for infants are pretty well unheard of. 15 kids jammed in the tray of a pick-up truck as the driver drives like he is running late for the most important appointment of his life.
If you have read to here, then just below are the pictures of the girl, I still find them heartbreaking, I find them so saddening. This girl has been killed tragically and if this isn’t enough for the family and friends, then the Thai paper has to do this and put a picture of her at her worst moment.
Again the pictures below are graphic; please leave now if you are upset by these such pictures.
If you have seen these pictures, what do you think? Do you believe they are wrong? Do you think the Thai media should be stopped from publishing such pictures?
This picture is just a normal everyday run of the mill picture; they publish mush worse than this. I look forward to your feedback.
Brunty
10 comments:
I've written about this many times myself. I do not condone the printing of such graphic pictures, however if people stopped buying them then publishers would stop printing them.
There's a saying I've heard many times (around the world) .. 'If it bleeds, it leads'. The same seems to be true here in Thailand.
I'd also add that some of the images that appear on Thai television news are equally graphic and often uncensored.
Unless the Thai government bans the use of such images then I cannot see anything changing. And I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.
Hi,
I approach this question from a different angle. I am, in general, opposed to censorship. I don't like the photos we see in the newspapers - they shock and disturb me - but I ask why are they there? What is it in Thai culture that creates the demand for these photos? Because surely the newspapers are responding to consumer demand. I would not ask for censorship to be imposed by the government, but question the education system that encourages such sensationalism.
Thanks for raising and interesting point.
Mike.
I agree they are very sad but I don't think anyone would get very far convincing the Thai media they shouldn't show these pictures. After all, in many cases they rely on the police to call them when the accidents happen so they will be on the scene. I think Thais in general are less concerned about the morality issue (in fact I don't think it even occurs to them!) than they are interested in seeing the pictures.
The other broader issue is I think that this is a society which doesn't particularly care about others - unless they are close friends or family. So seeing pictures like this is not the least bit upsetting. I can think of many examples, lack of action on abused street children, no public facilities for the disabled, reluctance to take out third party insurance in case of a serious accident, reluctance to testify when witnessing a crime, fathers who take no financial responsibility for their considerable offspring, parents who openly prostitute their children, a noticeable lack of NGO's and charities willing to help the disadvantaged (they are all run by foreigners), etc
People sadly won't stop buying papers as in protest to such images.
And any pictures that push the boundaries, that have blood and gore I am sure is what many editors want.
Thai TV as you said the news shows this every night in their bulletins.
This is the idiotic part of it all. The morons who are meant to monitor censorship, who I believe are absolutely fucking two faced assholes want alcohol, ciggarettes, guns and of course nudity blurred out but images of death are fine.
This is insanity at its best
Mike the demand may be there, but if there are laws to what can be shown this takes these images away from the public.
I hope to collect thousands of signatures and try and shame the newspapers that print these images with the new site I create.
When enough signatures are collected I will deliver them to the Thai government and also to the attention of the Royal family.
Leoasia Thailand turns a blind eye to so much here. There is so much going on under the Thai government eyes and they continue to ignore it all.
The government doesn't really care about child labour and prostitution. They could really come down hard on this but never do.
NGO's are piss weak here, some of the people in these NGO's need to get some bigger balls and really push boundaries and buttons.
I will see how the new site goes and will try to cause a small ripple that will hopefully turn into a wave.
Hi! My name is Ellen, or Manow. I'm a foreign exchange student in Thailand from the USA. I live in Chumphae, Kohn Kean. Not too far from you! I couldn't agree more with your posts (the one about the pictures in the newspaper and the dancing with the clothes) and I was wondering if i could repost it on my blog, for my family and friends to see?
Hi Ellen, who named you 'Lime'. I have had a bit of a quick look at your blog and look forward to having a look at the older posts.
Please post whatever you like, just make sure you let the readers know that the pictures may be upsetting or disturbing to them.
Take care young lady.
Brunty
My understanding of the main purpose of a liberal arts higher education is to show people that their view of the world is not the only one. And it's certainly not the only correct one.
One way to look at a foreign culture is to find out what is wrong with it and try to fix it. Another way is to try and understand it. Which is more enlightened?
For the record, I would never buy another issue of a newspaper that used such images unless it was the only source of info I needed.
I think differently. I think if you're living in a country you have to accept their culture, regardless of whether it fits in with what YOU think is correct.
I do see the need for these photos as, if it makes just one parent put a helmet on their kid, it's worth it IMO.
However, Thailand is a buddhist country so not having helmets on kids does NOT mean Thais don't care about their kids (in many respects, I think they care about them AND take care of them much better than many westerners do). It simply means, in buddhism, they believe everything is impermanent, including life. So, even if a child dies, everything is impermanent and that child will be reincarnated in a better life.
That's buddhism and I mostly agree with it. Makes a lot more sense to me than Christianity which is all about 'control' yet nothing really can be controlled.
And sorry, but collecting 'signatures' isn't going to change anything. Thais will never listen to farangs when it comes to changing anything and, honestly, why should they? Most Thais I know are a lot happier than most farangs who just seem pissed off about everything all the time.
I think that on reflection I have to agree in the main with 'BritinBangkok'..death is seen in a different context than how we look at it in the west. This is in someways evidenced by the classic meditation on the decomposition of the human body that some monks undertake...even going as far as meditating whilst sat in the cremation chamber!
You have a great blog brunty and your energy and enthusiasm which is so evident in your blog is I am sure what makes you an inspiring and effective teacher. For that I applaud you.
But I do have to question what purpose your new blog/collecting signatures will achieve ultimately. Perhaps you should take a different approach on this and set up a blog that encourages parents to ensure that their children wear helmets...and perhaps encourage local government to pursue more vigorous road safety campaigns making people more aware of the dangers of riding motorbikes especially without helmets. Perhaps link it in with your involvement in schools i.e. get teachers to sign up to doing occasional presentations on road safety to the kids and maybe even a fund raising drive for those children who cannot afford helmets?
Just a thought anyway. I do enjoy your blog and appreciate the efforts you must put into posting.
Kind regards
Darren
Charlie, Brit and Darren sorry for the slow reply.
Charlie
I agree, we all look at things differently and for what I think is wrong others may think it is right. I too would never buy a newspaper like this. I take pictures of their front pages from our school where this paper is on full view for students of all ages to see and read if they wanted to.
Hi Brit, of course you accept a country’s culture but does this entail accepting such pictures. Is this part of their culture? Surely not!
What “I” think is just that, my impressions. I have followed your blog and watched you go through hating this country and going back home to loving it to death. That is the Thailand rollercoaster for many.
I sadly don’t think that these pictures make one more parent put a helmet on a kid; if it did I too agree that then it is worth it as a child’s life is priceless.
“However, Thailand is a buddhist country so not having helmets on kids does NOT mean Thais don't care about their kids” What does this have to do with the price of eggs in China?
“(in many respects, I think they care about them AND take care of them much better than many westerners do)”. I agree that family values are strong in Thailand mostly but as for taking better care than western families I don’t agree. Child labour laws are flouted; many kids never finish primary school little only secondary school. Children are shipped off the Bangkok and Pattaya to pay of debts incurred by family through bad investments, gambling and other such problems. Don’t punish your child, smile and laugh it off and on and on I go.
Yes, the Buddhist belief of being reincarnated to a better life (depending on how you lived and the merit you made) is something that could affect Thais thinking.
But I don’t care about anyone’s religious beliefs, a parent doesn’t care about their child if they don’t take every precaution to keep that child safe, as in a helmet, a car seat for a baby and even wearing a seatbelt. If parents cannot be bothered to do such a simple thing, I don’t believe they care enough for them.
Thais never listening to farangs, this is probably true but never hurt trying. And god I agree there are so many unhappy farangs out there on those boring gathering sites bitching and moaning about everything.
I cannot believe any person who has lived here for a few years and not tried to leanr the language, they are taking the piss. I was lazy to start but now after studying for two years solidly I can read Thai well, not fluently yet, and also speak Thai and Isaan. Any foreigner who doesn’t learn the language is a joke.
Darren, thanks for commenting. I agree death in Thailand is nothing like in western society. I have pictures of a monk being burnt alive sitting in meditation and he doesn’t move a centimeter while he burns, really freaky indeed.
The new blog in hopefully to bring international awareness to the media of Thailand and the images being used everyday. I hope that collecting signatures and one day presenting them to the Thai Government might make a change.
Brit thinks these images are okay, if that was her daughter on the ground, maybe she would think different. If they did this with my baby girl I would tear their newspaper headquarters apart and hunt the editor down. There is no dignity.
I would love to have a programme that takes students to hospitals to show students first hand the dangers of motor vehicle accidents and have students volunteer helping people who have been disabled by accidents. Have them see what life as a disabled person is like and how they could end up.
People breaking laws and endangering their children should be forced to work with such people for 2 weeks and then they might care a little more about their most precious possession.
Thanks for dropping by all.
Brunty
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