My visit to a non-prof in Nana and the impending red shirt demonstrations

I'll get right to the point. There are two interesting things that have happened in the last few days. One is a personal note, which highlights the gamut of interesting opportunities available in Thailand if you take the effort to learn to speak and read Thai. The other is a public event, which has grabbed the attention of nearly everyone in Thailand over the last two days.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a well-known non-profit organization to determine if I was a good fit for their translating needs. They required someone who was not a Thai national and could speak Thai well enough to communicate with a certain group of detainees in a volatile area of Thailand. I'm keeping the details vague on purpose as part of a contractual agreement. I met with the head of the operation conducting this inquiry into detainees lives and she was very pleasant, but did not offer me the job because I am American and the detainees that I would have been speaking too would be decidely anti-American. She apologized for the oversight in the hiring process, admitting that she had overlooked the fact that my nationality would be a problem, but then promised to pay for my time (i.e., just for showing up). All in all it was a great experience and she took down my contact number in the likelihood that they will have future translation jobs develop. I was excited about the possibility of putting my Thai to use and I hope that one day I can work for an organization like theirs that provides an important humanitarian function. For now, I think I'm going to sign a contract with a translation service in the hopes that they will find me other translation jobs throughout Thailand. The only thing that concerns me is that the contract they expect me to sign requires me to work exclusively for them, and for ten years from my start date I cannot solicit business from any of their clients. I intend to get a good sense of how that works by speaking directly to the manager of this translation service before I sign - but at least by signing I will be able to have access to a range of new opportunities.

Now on to the ongoing red shirt demonstrations in Thailand. Today is what they're calling "The Judgment Day," even though I was under the impression that the "Judgment Day" was when Thaksin had his court case concerning his 2 or more billion US dollars that were frozen by the government. Nevertheless, from what I gather from Thai t.v., the red shirts are planning to proceed through victory monument and up Phahonyothin, reaching Mo Chit where they might set up stages and possibly continuing a march through to Central Lat Phrao, Major Ratchayothin, and Kasetsart University. They also plan to occupy Vipawadi Rangsit near this general area. It'll be interesting to see how the demonstrations turn out. The news is adamant that the government does not want to use force to quell the demonstrations, which makes sense - given the violence in so many previous rallies throughout Thai modern history (e.g., Bloody May 1992). I saw that the police will not have "weapons," according to the news, but will have batons. The police and military appear to be well organized, numerous, and ready for whatever. Meanwhile, American ambassadors appear to be encouraging Abhisit's government to refrain from using force in all efforts to control the red shirt demonstrations. The effects of violence today would be devastating for Thailand's image, particularly among potential tourists who keep a large portion of the Thai economy going. Right now, it is unclear to Thai's and foreigners alike how this situation will play out. But, all of the Bangkokians I've talked to are afraid and aggravated by the demonstrations. I plan to check out the march from Phahonyothin, as I live near Major Ratchayothin and will have easy access to the situation. I'll try to get some good pictures and I will possibly get a chance to converse with a few of the demonstration's supporters.