http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1382028,00.html
Villagers say foreigners get priority
Jonathan Watts in Ban Nam Khem Sunday January 2, 2005 The Observer
Since he lost his wife, his sister, his home and the fishing boat that was his livelihood last Sunday, Surin Chootham has been waiting for his government to help him.
But to his increasing frustration, the injured boatman - who has lost the use of his legs - believes that the Thai authorities are more concerned about recovering the bodies of rich foreigners than supporting their own poor compatriots.
For a week he, his three young children and dozens of other refugees have been living in makeshift tents outside Takuapa hospital in Phang Nga, the worst affected area in Thailand.
They are given donations of food, water and clothes, but Surin is still waiting for an operation to remove the debris that has been lodged in his chest since his boat broke apart under the wave. He says that the doctors - like the government - are too busy looking after the 'farang' (foreigners) to care for him.
'I cannot stand on my own two feet. I feel so sad and helpless waiting for the government to assist me. Not one official has come to see me.'
It is an increasingly common complaint in this part of the country, where sympathy for the foreign victims is mixed with resentment at the priority treatment they are given. Although the tsunami hit rich and poor alike, its aftermath has highlighted the sharp divisions between affluent foreign tourists and poor local villagers.
Questions have focused on the choice of priorities in the clear-up operation and search for bodies. Hundreds of police and volunteers were swiftly mobilised to sift through the ruins of the Khao Lak resort, which is where most of the foreigners died. But while they have been working for days alongside a small convoy of earth-movers and tractors in that area, just 30 kilometres north the equally devastated - but entirely poor and Thai - community of Ban Nam Khem has been left virtually untouched. More than 5,000 people lived in the village, many of whom are thought to be buried in the mud that covered most of the homes.
While the focus is on recovery rather than recrimination, complaints have started to surface. Thawee Paepei, one of the biggest fishing operators near Khao Lak, suffered heavy damage to his fleet of 50 vessels. 'Hundreds of officials were sent to the affected tourist destination, but none of them came here to rescue our fishing trawlers,' he said.
On an individual level, the disaster has prompted acts of remarkable charity and selflessness among Thais, who have contributed generously in terms of money, supplies and time. Many, including pop stars and reportedly even the Prime Minister's wife, Khunying Potjaman Shinawatra, are scouring the beaches for bodies and helping with forensic work in the mortuaries.
Even so, the exodus of foreigners, their relatively high-level medical treatment and the focus on their needs have prompted a perception among many Thais that the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is unfairly giving priority treatment to foreigners because it is so dependent on the tourist trade.
'There has been a huge effort to support foreigners, yet nothing yet for locals,' said Ali Theeranuch Saweangphon, a tour guide who has spent the past week taking visitors around hospitals and mortuaries.
'Thaksin is just concerned about his international image. There is nothing wrong with helping foreigners, but everyone should be treated equally.'
