OPINION

Bombs don't work

Re: "Trump's MAGA fans upset over possible Iran strike", (World, June 22).

You can't bomb people into peace, just into surrender. Those that survive will not think well of their aggressors, and hatred will endure. There must be a way to bring people in the Middle East and loud words and explosions are the wrong approach. Quiet words and a lot of prayers may help.

Rawai losing out

Re: "Phuket to host health expo in image shift", (BP, June 17).

The traditional Thai fishing village in southwest Phuket, where I often stay, is getting a McDonald's. My 9-year-old daughter's reaction was positive (she also supports ice cream before lunch). I explained to her that McDonald's belongs inside shopping malls. It doesn't fit in with the seafood with a seaview vibe that Rawai Beach is famous for. It's difficult to say if the locals care. Many registered Rawai voters do not live in the subdistrict, but they do come home to vote. Rawai must have the highest number of voters per household in the kingdom. Most Thais who live in Rawai are not registered voters. Rawai is famous for long-term expats and has a residential feel. Rawai has many well-travelled Isan natives and is full of southern Thais who view Phuket (and not Bangkok) as their capital of sorts. And Rawai has many Burmese who do a lot of the toughest labour. Rawai's rapid post-Covid development has seen it fall into disrepair with broken roads, overflowing trash and clogged drains. However, there's a new local government that everyone hopes can Make Rawai Great Again. World-famous Nai Harn Beach looks worse than days following the 2004 tsunami.

And there's Nai Harn Lake, where an ill-advised project that felled trees in favour of pouring cement has now been abandoned. The 2km round the lake sidewalk has been a construction zone for almost three years. What is the issue in Rawai? I'm searching for civic pride and participation. McDonald's is not culturally Thai. Many of us come to Thailand to see Thailand do its thing. We don't want to see a Philippine cover band in the hotel lobby. We don't want to see casinos. We are not coming here because the Middle East summer is too hot. We are not avoiding the Ukraine War. We did not come here to smoke weed. We are here to see Thailand, have fun, eat Thai food, and be among Thais. Is nature conservation, cultural significance, and heritage awareness forever destined to be the loser against commercialisation in Thailand?

Border sanity

Re: "Shared enterprise", (PostBag, June 23).

Nang Tani's letter is one of the most inspired and sanest I have ever read in PostBag. His suggestions for joint development of the disputed areas on the Thai-Cambodian border make perfect sense and offer a way out of the endless bickering and petty tit-for-tat that characterise the current situation between the two governments and their respective armies. But unfortunately, Nang Tani, you are a voice in the wilderness. Politicians and vested interests on both sides of the border are too myopic to even give your letter a glance.