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Published on August 26, 2007

This letter and the study that inspired it focused on the Thai part of teaching English, but there is no mention of native language speakers in the Thai educational system. This should be a highly useful asset, but sadly is probably not due to the multitude of fake qualifications "held" by foreign "teachers" at every level in the educational system, or indeed those with none who are tolerated by their educational establishments so as to fill a position with a native speaker.

Khao San Road provides, at a very acceptable price, a ready supply of "degree certificates" from numerous universities. Indeed, many TEFL operators in Bangkok and Pattaya offer a degree "extra" to those unfortunates who are not qualified so they can get a teaching job. Whilst a degree is no guarantee as to the ability to teach, it does guarantee a certain level of intelligence, general education and understanding of the world.

The idea of sending Thai teachers overseas to be exposed to native English speakers at their own expense is being examined. However, I suspect the prospect of this happening is very slim. The native English teachers here should be a ready and cost-effective alternative to be utilised if their quality were acceptable. Sadly it is not.

The stark choice is whether parents want their children taught English by ex-factory workers, ex-clerical workers or drop-outs cobbling together an existence here, or someone who has committed a sizeable portion of their life to the discipline of learning.

Those that know of this, and who say nothing, are simply aiding and abetting deception and betraying the children whom they are supposed to be preparing for life. Regardless of the quality of the pupils, if the teachers are woefully unqualified at the most fundamental educational level then the prospects for English language education in the Kingdom are doomed.

The future of a nation is its next generation, and the youth of Thailand are presently not being served well. The English teaching system must be addressed urgently if it is presently deemed a "failure".

However it must be a comprehensive, root-and-branch solution that is practical, affordable and realistic if the future of Thailand is to be successful.

John de Laurent

Bangkok

Airport taxis just want to take you for a ride

 I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 5am on Tuesday morning. I like the new airport as it is modern, well air-conditioned and offers a lot of facilities. But two problems haven't been addressed yet:

1) The public taxi system: after picking up my luggage (which arrived very fast), I walked approximately 500 metres through the airport and was approached five times by unauthorised personnel asking me discreetly if I want to have a "private" taxi.

How come these operators can roam freely inside a secure area? I am not talking about the public space or meeting points - this is before you reach there.

Then I went to the public taxi stand, where I was informed that the tariff to get to any Sukhumvit area is now fixed at Bt400. Four rather shady gentleman sitting at the counter laughed when I said I wanted a regular meter taxi, but finally, realising I couldn't be conned, gave in to my demand. Anyway, once inside the taxi, the driver again asked if I wanted to have the meter turned on...

2) When departing from Suvarnabhumi a week earlier, the 10 queues for travellers with foreign passports at the passport control had approximately 25 to 30 passengers waiting in each. It took me about 30 minutes to get through. Why can't more counters be added? Why can't there be 30 immigration counters?

Airports are almost always the beginning and end of a journey. They should be a flawless experience, as they welcome or turn off travellers from all around the world. Try matching the service quality of other airports like Hong Kong or Singapore for a change.

Peter Handel-Mazzetti

Bangkok

T rex should do well in the 800-metre event

 A short Kaleidoscope article from Agence France-Presse on Wednesday compared the estimated speed of the Tyrannosaurus rex with a "finely tuned human athlete". It put both at speeds under 29 kilometres per hour. All I can say is that those speeds put both up towards the middle-distance speed category.

A world class 400-metre runner does the distance in 45 seconds, returning a speed of 32kph. However they would beat the 800-metre international time of about 1 minute 45 seconds, which is a speed of 27.4kph. So T Rex (and the football player) are good prospects for the long haul, not for a sprint event.

Gareth Clayton

Bangkok

Hmong being held in appalling conditions

 For more than nine months now, a group of roughly 150 Lao Hmong refugees remains detained at a Thai Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) with no signs of ever being released. Even though the group has already received official UNHCR refugee status, they continue to be held under appalling conditions. On the one hand, the Thais have assured the foreign diplomatic community that they will not deport the refugees, but on the other hand they continue to make these refugees' living conditions unbearable and inhumane.

Both the Thai and Lao governments seem intent on continuing their charade and labelling these refugees as "illegal immigrants" and "economic migrants", so that they can be deported to Laos. The real aggressor in this move is actually the Lao government, which continues to blackmail the Thais using the repatriation of this group as a precondition for accepting some 7,700 Lao Hmong illegal migrants and refugees sheltered at Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun province.

Over the past two months, the living conditions and treatment of the Hmong refugees at the Nong Khai IDC have deteriorated to such an extent that the UNHCR has described their conditions as "deplorable" and "inhumane".

Also, local authorities at the facilities have told the refugees that if they do not return to Laos they will have to remain at the facility indefinitely.

This ongoing treatment led to a recent hunger strike by the refugees. Several days later, the UNHCR and Australian Embassy intervened, convincing the Hmong refugees to halt their hunger strike. Now, the refugees are patiently waiting for a decision as to whether the Thai government will release them and allow them to resettle in a third country.

The Thai prime minister had announced earlier in the year that the group would be allowed to resettle in third countries if someone would take them. Since then, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States had made commitments to resettle them. Sad to say, the Thai government has stalled on this initiative and put a hold on any third-country resettlement. Apparently, they do not want to anger the Lao government or encourage other Hmong refugees from coming into Thailand.

The Thai government has long been host to thousands of refugees, so it is very understandable that it must initiate some sort of policy to control the flow of illegal migrants across its borders. That being said, the Thai government should make a clear distinction between economic migrants and those who flee due to political persecution.

These Hmong refugees and their ancestors were recruited and trained by the Thais some 45 years ago to fight against the communists. The Lao Hmong were also used to fight communist insurgents inside Thailand and to fight some of Thailand's border wars with Laos during the 1970s-80s. The Lao Hmong have always been loyal to Thailand and very grateful for all its hospitality.

The current Thai policy regarding this small group of UNHCR-recognised refugees seems very lopsided and unfair. These Hmong are all recognised refugees and have been accepted by third countries for resettlement. Releasing the group to resettle in a third country would in no way act as a pull factor for other Lao Hmong coming into Thailand. If anything, it would show to the world Thailand's respect for international law.

Solving this problem does not rest with the Thai government alone. It is also the responsibility of the UNHCR, foreign diplomatic community and human rights groups to make sure that these Hmong refugees are not sent back to their deaths. The Lao government will still not allow foreign observers into the country to monitor the returnees. How then can their basic human rights be protected?

Rather than much concern about the Thai and Lao governments "saving face" in this matter, there should arguably be more consideration for the importance of saving these Hmong refugees' lives.

Joe Davy

Hmong Advocate

Chicago