TOPIC: Why are so many Westerners homeless in Thailand?

Why are so many Westerners homeless in Thailand?
The idyllic beaches have long attracted Brits but a growing number find themselves living rough, with drink problems and expired visas. Stephen Finch and Jamie Merrill report

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/why-are-so-many-westerners-homeless-in-thailand-8830302.html

Do you have any sympathy for these men?

Should Thailand help these men ..or should they put them on the next plane home?

Alchohol is a deadly drug, putting them on a plane back home would be helping.

I'm not sure if this is true, but I've been told that Westerners are not allowed to own bars there? I was told the story of one man that went to live there and opened a bar, but had to do so with a Thai nationals name on the paper work. He doesn't have the bar anymore because it was taken from him. He has no legal recourse. This appears to happen quite often. Men that went there for sun, sea and SEX and to have a business, are left with nothing. One has to wonder how many of them went there to start a business and got shafted...leaving them penniless and homeless.

Our government don't give a shit about people becoming homeless over here, so I''d be very surprised if they cared about homeless Brits thousands of miles away.

Yes.

Its people trying to live the dream....




(the book is better btw)

diamondgeezer wrote:

Chuck Random wrote:
True, but they do care about providing for foreign nationals in the UK though.

To be honest, I didn't realise there was a problem with U.K. Nationals being homeless in Thailand. Wasn't the idea they went there with that, in comparison to the Thais, they were rich and could live better for less? Are they likely to have had drink and drug problems before going out to Thailand, or did they develop them there?

I have to admit that the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear of U.K. men going out there (to live or for a holiday) is that they are likely to be paedophiles or out to indulge themselves in the sex and drug trade. In which case, I'd say they are getting what they deserve....

pheony wrote:
I think you're correct about the ownership of property/businesses in Thailand I'm not sure exactly why that notion is lurking in my rather unreliable memory. I think it may partially be from something I read on DIF written by a guy who had relocated to Thailand and was involved in business there with his wife. I think they may have been growing food commercially but that's all a bit fuzzy. I didn't get the impression that his motivation for being there was pursuit of sex. I guess it's easy for people to make that assumption based on preconceived stereotypes, public perception and the reputation Thailand has gained. It may actually be a valid view in many cases, but I doubt it can be applied to one hundred percent of the people who visit or move there.

EDIT: Forgot to say...
I also think Thailand would be well within their rights to deport these people even if they have fallen foul of local policies. If they have taken a risk in the knowledge of local customs etc. then that's the risk they took. We are all responsible for our own actions and inactions at the end of the day. The abuse of alcohol is a whole other issue and obviously compounds the problems for the people caught up in this situation.

cantata wrote:
I think it's a bit biased to attribute involvement in sex tourism entirely to men. As I understand it women pursing such things is a growth industry and they tend to head for the Caribbean and West Africa among other places. It's certainly not the sole preserve of men these days, and I think there would be evidence that demonstrates women pursue sex when on holiday in Europe such as Spain and Ibiza etc.

Since the mid 90's there seems to be an agenda to drive people towards a hedonistic attitude, and to encourage women to become sexual objects or to treat sex as a recreational/consumable pastime. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. Personally I think this is having a very negative effect on both sexes and in particular children and young adults of either sex. Very unhealthy and it's widening the gap between the sexes where mutual respect for each other seems to be the casualty. Men and women are supposed to compliment each other, and bring a balance to our lives IMHO. Instead our differences are being used to destroy our relationships with each other which effects society as a whole. Media has a huge part in these changes in attitude, where these things are normalized and promoted as normal behaviour. Young people aspire to being considered normal within their peer groups, and they are most vulnerable to these deliberate social engineering projects, which introduce changes in traditional attitudes and values. This is by design it's as simple as that.

Oh no! My mate lives in Vietnam, married with kids, good job, nice big villa etc. He has invited me to visit them out there. So I was planning on about 3 months, and do some travelling around while I'm there. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and..............Thailand!

This has got me thinking now, as I will be a mature man, on his own, I hope I won't be thought of as some sort of sexual predator/paedo by people there and over here. I'm not going there to shag smally boys I just want to escape the winter here, and have some fun.

I don't normally care how others judge me, but in this case...........

Well you will be judged like it or not and if you're going alone I think it's safe to say that many will think you were visiting there for culture NOT. The people living there will also assume you're not their solely for the culture either and will be trying to extract cash from you by offering enticements.

Being mature/middle aged probably carries even greater suspicion than people in their twenties.

This bothers me now, I am most definately not going there as a sex-tourist, but it seem's I will be judged as such?

Jadoo wrote:
At the end of the day it's what you think and know that matters. Unfortunately that won't stop others drawing their own unsubstantiated opinions.