The Brackett Foundation
enote 30 October 10, 2006
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The Thai Coup:
I am
sure most of you have heard of the coup d'etat that took place in Thailand
last month. Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra was deposed by the military
while he was in the United States to attend a meeting of the UN. Some of you
may be concerned about the coup's effect on our own operations there. In a
word, not much, I believe. Little or no violence was involved, and it was
essentially over before it was announced. It seemed to have the support of
the King. And now an interim prime minister Surayud Chulanont, has been
appointed and the country seems to be settling down. In fact it may be
better for our refugee friends, because Surayud, a former Chief of the Army,
has been more kind to the refugees than Taksin.
Some years ago I was told that the defining characteristic of the Thai
people was their loyalty to their King. He is well-loved by all the Thai
people. I would therefore assume that for any coup to be successful without
extreme violence, it would have to have at least the acquiescence if not
direct support of the King.
A
more serious issue for us at least, is resettlement of our refugee friends in
a foreign country. In recent years, the United States, Scandinavia,
Australia, Canada, and a few countries in Europe have been accepting refugees
in greater numbers for resettlement. Just this last week we received two
emails from our students, that were leaving Thailand. Juliet, on the left
graduated from Rajabaht last year, and was just starting to begin work when
her family got an
invitation to emigrate to Sweden. Sudarat, on the right, was a senior at
Mission College studying Psychology and Education. One more year and she
would have returned to become a teacher along the border. Instead she will
join her family as they leave for Holland.