Even I am up to date with political issues in the middle east I was not aware about the impact of the current floods in Pakistan. When I was traveling in the north of Pakistan (SWAT Valley) in the last year I was enjoying the beauty and peace. It is a wonderful place with amazing mountains, little sweet villages and warmhearted people.

Now its flooded.

In the last weeks over 2000 people died, but whats even more problematic is that over one million people lost their homes. BBC put up a interesting website to compare the size of the floods to a place of your choice on google maps. The flood would cover nearly half of Europe… It is incredible!

During my travel I made a good friend in the north of Peshawar. He is affected by the flood and lost his house, his car and nearly all of his belongings. He was a middle class man with a quite good income. He has a wife and two kids. His company is shut down and he is living in one of the flood shelters in the SWAT valley. He was crying on the phone and cannot believe how fast he lost everything around him. The only thing that I could do was donate some money but I also want raise awareness.

Please check this blog which is updating on the flood crisis. You can also donate money directly! It is absolutely necessary to help those people! On the site you can also find a Facebook group and other social networks for updates and relief options!

(picture: SAJJAD QAYYUM/AFP/Getty Images) more pictures here

The more I get into my Burma research – the more interesting it gets. Right now I am looking at the nuclear issues which are not really known in the global news world. I never read about it in bigger publications but I went to the ISIS conference about the upcoming election in Burma a few days ago and it was also covering important aspects of Burma’s nuclear issues.

The planned election on the 7. November (announced on the 13. August) is in a very unclear condition. Aung San Suu Kyi (one of Burma’s most important political leaders in the opposition) is still a political prisoner and the registration process for new political parties is influenced by the military junta.

It seems like that the 2010 general election is just another step in the SPDC’s political transformation plan, and the generals will in no way allow anyone or anything to disrupt it. There are many seemingly insurmountable obstacles on the road to an election this year, but the continued incarceration of Suu Kyi essentially removes one of them. She has been placed under house arrest in the elections in 1990 before and until now no third party (United Nations, etc.) were able to get in a dialogue between junta and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Experts and researchers at the ISIS conference were also talking about a new date for the election. Various processes and announcements for the election campaign are missing and regarding to the Burmese constitution the real election cannot be held in early November. Earliest possible date would be mid of December.

Another much more concerning issue is the nuclear threat. Since 2000, Western intelligence sources have been gathering evidence of North Korea providing assistance to Burma to build a nuclear reactor that can produce graded plutonium that could be used in assembling future weapons of mass destruction. Last year, reports were released using data collected from two defecting Burmese military officers, intercepted calls and messages as well as human intelligence along Thai-Burmese border, all finger-pointing to Burma’s nuclear ambitions.

Burma is a member in the ASEAN since mid 1997 and signed the 1995 Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ) contract which states that all members are only allowed to use nuclear energy in a peaceful way.  ASEAN is really alarmed by these information – but surprisingly there are no control institutions inside ASEAN’s structure. (Link: ASEAN Burma Relations)

It is very weird that the international community is reacting so slowly. The recent Nuclear Summit in Washington DC gathered leaders from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand which have been invited by US President Barack Obama to share their views on non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy.  All countries have been thinking about nuclear plants by sometime between 2012 and 2020 but only for the purpose of domestic supply needs.

Burma is declining every rumor about nuclear weapons but the offensive military campaign against ethnic insurgents and recent development of its relations with North Korea are giving a very pessimistic view.

Wikileaks has become an important tool in our rapidly evolving world of new global media. Latest well researched information about the Afghani releases on Al Jazeera answering the question: Is this just the beginning of a new media divide or will Wikileaks end its operation?

Just a very short acknowledgment for my blog readers and new twitter followers; I want to thank everyone for the great feedback and loyalty; also to Thailandvoice.com which recently honored me with the blog of the month.

Thank you very much,
Florian

Currently I am working on a reportage about Thai cloth factories near the Burmese border which are caging refugees. I just came back from the Karen State in Burma and the surrounding refugee camps on both sides. It is amazing how huge these camps are. There are no accurate numbers – the latest TBBC report of June 2010 states 102.000 refugees but most people in that area believe that more than 200.000 refugees are currently living in the area around the camp. Most researchers are talking about half a million Burmese people which have been displaced by the Burmese militaryJunta.

Most refugees are leaving because of pressure by the military junta. It is easier to cross the Thai border or live in the border area than in other countries because the Burmese Military is scared to attack in those regions. Thai military would intervene if Burmas Junta would try to reach the border regions and refugees feel more safe.

Tara and I crossed the border with our contact person between Mae La Oon and Mae La to visit a small hospital in the northern part of the Karen state on the Burmese side. There hasn’t been any substantial fighting for a period of time and it was easy to cross the river with a small boat.

The hospital is very small but a lot of refugees move there to get help – sadly doctors, medical supplies and ambitions are very limited. Patients are treated for nearly everything but most of them are young kids with malaria.

The doctor had a six month training in Rangoon but it just covered really basic medical treatment. His camouflage jacket and his permanent smile reminded me of a weird tour guide in Vietnam but he was really serious about his business. “He wants to help where ever he can, because the refugees cannot go to a Thai hospital, they will be jailed” his wife translates.

Thet is the only doctor in a wide radius around this area. His wife is also learning basic medical techniques in the little hospital to take care for patients when Thet is going to other camps.

We had some awesome food with his family who lived near the river. The food along the border is very influenced by Burma. Very tasty!

Tara and I spent the night at Thets family. The next day we got up early to see some camps. It was very rainy so we put my bike on the truck and moved to Mae La camp.

Everywhere around the border are refugees. Most of them are in the Mae La Camp. Over 100.000 refugees live there and some of them are already living there for twenty years. Most camps on the Thai side are under the control of the Ministry of Interior of Thailand but also a lot of European Aid Organizations are involved in the facilities in the camp. It is amazing how organized the camp is. There is a huge trade market, well installed toilets and different institutions like schools, nurseries etc.

The camp is huge and spreading in various locations around the border. Houses are build out of bamboo and other natural material. Most of the material is sponsored by the Thai Government or other Aid organizations.

Razor wire surrounds the camp and the main gates are controlled by Thai military. We sneaked in in a different corner because the military is denying entries for most journalists. Small muddy ways lead through this ‘refugee-city’

Mae La camp is full of life and most of the people seemed pretty happy with their situation. All refugees which are registered in the camp get a certain amount of rice and fresh drinking water every day but there are still a lot of people who came in illegally and trying to survive with part time jobs around Thai towns along the border.

You can even find Indian and Chinese people who are selling all kind of cloth and groceries around the camp. If you have enough money you can basically order everything you need.

Registered refugees also have the possibility to move around the camp freely but the border area is pinched with security checkpoints. Cars and motorbikes get checked infrequently for refugees and weapons. If a refugee who is registered to one of the camps wants to leave the area he/she is not allowed to pass the checkpoint. The only legal way is to get back to Burma or wait and pray for a UN certificate to leave Asia as a political refugee.

It is very interesting which people live in those camps, their background stories and their ideas about the future. We met Chit, a very ambitious young woman who has been living in the Mae La Camp since six years. She is teaching English and various other subjects in a little school. School is maybe the wrong word; over 60 kids are pushed into 30 square meters to learn.

The kids at the school are mixed together from different hill tribes in Burma and Thailand. Some of them are orphans, some are disabled and some are very shy and confused because they just arrived at the camp – but all of them have been very motivated to learn. After we introduced ourselves and told them a little bit about our home countries they stood up and surprised us with their English skills. Before we left the Kids sang some songs and it was amazing to see the bonds that this community is creating.

We left the camp in the late afternoon to head back to the north. Tara is also working on a short film about the little hospital. We want to try to get donations because it is an easy way to help. A simple IV is just 20 baht (0,50 euro cents) and it can save a life in this area. I will post some more information about it very soon.

During my travel and research about the tribal areas along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan last year I experienced the warm hospitality of the Pashtun tribe and their traditional Eid Festival. I stayed a whole day with my friend’s family and discovered a unique and interesting part of their life which was far away from a bloody killing of animals and clearly connected to religious, social and cultural values.

Pashtun people love to invite friends and are very open minded to new people. My friend Asif invited me to join his family for the Eid Festival which is celebrated in mostly every Islamic country after Ramadan. In this festival you usually gather with your family and sacrifice a domestic animal (goat, sheep, cow, etc.). Asifs family lives outside of Peshawar which is located about 10kms to the Afghan border. His parents were very happy to see me and welcomed me to their home in a very friendly way. They didn’t have much interior but they offered me the best and convenient place in their house. They also served me little snacks and drinks while asking me every possible question about my life and my home country only limited by their English skills. I was very surprised that they shown so much curiosity and interest in a person they have never met before. They told me a lot about the religious Eid festival and I felt like being part of their family at that day.

The preparation of the festival is recognizable all over the country. A few days before the festival I saw animal tradeshows nearly everywhere. Pashtun people also like to decorate their animals with colorful plastic flowers, small jewelry and paint before slaughtering them. At this time everyone was preparing for the festival by buying goats, sheeps or cows, decoration and food in huge quantities.

The sacrifice itself was an unbelievable experience. I have seen documentaries and pictures in magazines about slaughtering and the way the meat is processed but it is a completely different feeling if you see it right in front of you. Asif’s family bought two sheeps and a cow for the Eid festival. In the garden his father and two neighbors hold on to the sheep while Asif carefully cut the throat of the sheep with a sharp knife. The blood was squiring out and it was even more intensely red than I had imagined. I was very upset and felt a little sick but on the other hand it was also very interesting. I took a lot of pictures which will remind me on that special day. When they slaughtered the cow it was amazing how much fear and anxiety you could see in the eyes of the cow. It was struggling to survive but there was no chance. It took those guys who slaughtered it very precise work, because if you cut at the wrong place and open part of the cows stomach the whole meat is not eatable anymore because of the different acids inside a cows stomach. Asif told me that every little part of the animals are used. On third goes to the family, one third to neighbors or friends and the last third is given as a gift to the poor. I really liked that idea and was surprised about this social idea behind the sacrifice.

It takes a lot of work to get the final meal. After the slaughtering which was done by men, the meat parts were bought to the kitchen where all the women prepared it to be cooked. It has to be cut in very small pieces and a lot of meat has to cook very long before it can be eaten. They also made delicious side meals with rice, potatoes and vegetables which was great for me because I don’t eat much meat. During the dinner we shared a lot of stories and laughter.

Values are most important at this day in the year. The Eid festival is more than just slaughtering and eating. Asif told me exactly what I experienced that day. It is very important for muslim families to spend time together, share stories and engage in charity.

I had a great day with Asifs family and gained a lot of experience about the Eid festival, its values and part of a traditional Pashtun life.

More pictures can be found in this gallery.

Some new mixed stuff this month to get a step ahead…

They look pretty normal but they are a big breakthrough in glasses! This glasses can adjust lenses by pressing a little button. Basically the idea existed a few years ago but this are now the first high-tech glasses with this liquid technology which are completely working. I guess it will only take a little while until technology goes further and everything will adjust automatically to your environment.

Lets stay visual…

This ‘object’ is just awesome, but if it is really useful is another question – the new gadget thing is a mixture between digital camera and stamp. You take a picture and a few seconds later you can stamp your photo on paper/walls/whatever.  Would be great if they would include a USB connection to open more opportunities.

The company Dyson has created blade-less fans in very modern looks which are quite awesome (also awesome prices though!!):

Summer can be pretty annoying without cool drinks – Have you heard of iced straws? awesome idea! You an order a tray for $10 at amazon. I havent read any reviews yet but if they are really working it would be an awesome creation to enjoy a cool drink + do something for the environment. I just ordered them and will check it out.

I also really like this hand-friendly cups! Great design idea!

There are various ways to hold an iphone and in the last year hundreds of DIY ideas came up. This is a very funny one: “The Iphone Plunge” – buy it here for $6.

If your wall looks empty and you need some space for your books this “floating book shelf” is a great design idea to provoke some confused faces. It is also a easy DIY thing if you buy some plain book shelf and pain/cover it.

Also check out these hoodies with included headphones, this solar strap which is charging your digital camera and nice transparent bags for rainy days

A lot of my friends and followers on Twitter have been asking about my health issues since the 10th April and I want to share some experience with the Thai health system as a foreigner.

After I got shot in my right arm on the 10th April I moved to the Klang Central Hospital and got some old school cast. The treatment of a public hospital was a big difference than my experience of private hospitals. The treatment that night may also be the reason why I needed to do surgery two weeks later, but I am not completely sure about it. When entering a public hospital you have to deal with the reception first. Thai language skills are good to fasten the process, but some Nurses can understand a bit of English.

The X-Ray machines in both hospitals seemed on a very high standard.

Two weeks later I went to the Lat Phrao General Hospital (private hospital) to x-ray my arm again and check for the health status. My bones grew back together in a terrible way and the doctor (Dr. Pornchai) highly advised for a surgery. I wanted those things done as fast as possible so we decided to do the surgery on the next day. In comparison with German hospitals this was a very fast procedure, no waiting list, no unnecessary paperwork!

The next day arrived at the hospital around noon. I moved to the basement surgery hall and met dozens of busy nurses. I worked in a heart clinic for nine month and learned a lot about hygienic safety especially in a surgery zone – Thai hospitals are far away from those standards. There was no “buffer-zone” between the rest of the hospital and the surgery rooms. A red line on floor indicated the surgery zone and you “should” change your shoes at that point but the usual Thai mentality to take things easy is stronger than the rules.

I had to undress and get into the green patient cloth. I waited about hour before I met my doctor. He was speaking fluent English and had no problems to communicate. I had several surgeries before in Germany and I always felt very informed about what is going on. The briefing by German doctors were always very detailed and they explained it in an understandable way.
The Thai doctor on the other hand more or less just told me “We are doing surgery” – which amused me first but shortly before the surgery I felt a bit weird about the lack of information and started asking questions. Dr. Pornchai answered every question with the funny ending “ไม่เป็นไร” (which means ‘Take it easy’ or ‘Dont be worried’) and I moved on the patient bed.

The surgery room itself was open and there was no double door system. I felt comfortable anyways because everything was very clean and the technical instruments all looked very modern and in good condition. It was unbelievable how many nurses and assistants were around. I counted 16 persons around my bed and around the instruments.

The anesthetist nurse stuck a long needle in my axilla and searched for the right spot to block my nerve. She found the spot and injected the anesthesia. Around 10 minutes later they started to cut into my arm and saw pieces of the bone. It took them around 40 minutes and I could feel everything but only a few times I had a little bit of pain. They declined my wish to watch the surgery and taken very good care that i didn’t move or see through the wall of cloths between my right arm and my head.

During the surgery I had to calm my self down a lot of times. Random people in normal cloth just covered with a green blanked came in to have a look or teach my some Thai terms about surgery. Sometimes it was really entertaining but when I heard the ring tone of my surgeon’s mobile phone for the fifth time and he was answering it while working on my arm I was a bit worried.

They put a thin metal piece between the broken spot and tightened it with four screws, took a few x-rays during the surgery and finished everything with sewing up the wound. I was done and everything worked out perfectly.

After around 1,5 hours I was moved to another room and the nurses started to stress me if I can pay cash. I told them that my insurance is paying everything (I mailed them before) but they really pissed me off. Shortly the situation changed and the pressure on my right arm was rising. While I was in the heaviest pain of my life (seriously!) and asking for painkillers they were much more concerned about my outstanding bill.

I made some calls with my insurance and suddenly everyone was friendly again. Most patients could leave after a few hours in the “wake-up-room” but I decided to stay because of my pain. I got strong morphine injections every five hours and still woke up from my delirium every now and than to call the nurse for more painkillers.

The room was very comfortable and I usually had three nurses around which have been very helpful. It was very funny how discreet and careful they treated “nakedness” – I had no problem to be naked for the injecting in my back or to go to the toilet but the nurses always stopped me and bring little cloth blankets to cover everything. I was really surprised that there was no giggling or any other situation that make me feel uncomfortable. I am used to be an “alien” in Thailand even when I am going to the supermarket and I have to admit that the nurses did a great job in making my stay as good as possible.

As I said before my insurance covered everything but I think without insurance it would be a problem. The surgery costs have been around 40.000 Baht (1000 Euro) and the additional room service about 3000 Baht (70 Euro), following check ups including x-rays around 4000 Baht (100 Euro). I would advise everyone to clear the payment with your insurance before any treatment or surgery because people can get quite irritating. In Germany I just wave with my insurance card and no one worries but in Thailand the payment issue is a bit more complicated. Every hospital has a cashier point where you can also pay with credit card or cash at any time.

Overall I had the feeling that they did a great job on my surgery. I can move my arm perfectly again and I had no more pain so far. The remaining scar will still remind me on the clashes and will be part of the story I can tell my kids one day. The Thai health care standards may not be on the same level as in Europe but in the end I received good quite good treatment.

(or watch it on Current.TV)

Laws and regulations are getting tighter and tighter. The current State of Emergency brings up more problems for online Blogger and also put several newspapers in a serious situation of fear.

Just a few days ago the cabinet decided to form the “Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime” – which is another institution than is regulating censorship in Thailand. It is specialized with all online content regarding the monarchy but facts show that not only monarchy related websites are getting blocked. Latest FACT reports show hundreds of websites which just carry political opinions and not criticizing or insulting the monarchy at all.

The MICT is taking responsibility for censoring over 60.000 websites (official numbers) in the past month. They state that these actions are absolutely necessary (please also read my Interview with an employee at the MICT) – but now new numbers show that in the last couple of weeks 110.000 websites are blocked. A dramatic change in such a short period. The black listing now also includes a variety of politicians in the present government.

The old minister Ranongruk Suwunchwee which was taking care of the MICT actions is now replaced by Juti Krairiksh. Prime Minister Abhisit gave strong orders to make the censorship of anti-monarchy related content a priority. All Thai ISP’s (Internet Service Provider) which are not following the blocks can lose their license and this was shown by the tremendous rise of blocked websites which is pushing Thailand to the top countries of censorship.

The two English newspapers “Bangkok Post” and “The Nation” are also getting into trouble lately by reporting about the censorship issues. FACT (Freedom Against Censorship in Thailand) Website which is reporting and listing about the details of censorship is still blocked in Thailand and only accessible through proxy servers. Several Journalists and Reporter of the Thai Magazine Prachathai are still in custody and there are over thirty cases of Thai Bloggers which maybe face a ten to twenty year jail term for violating the lese majeste laws. This cases and also the results of the court are not public or mentioned in any kind of media.
Earlier in 2009 I wrote about a guy who refused to stand up for the king during a cinema show and got arrested. My Blog got blocked immediately and I removed the entry with some other ones. I would love to publish more about two other cases but I have to respect the current laws while I live in Thailand. I really hope that the present government is working on the Lese Majeste laws and decrease of internet censorship. Transparency is really important for the development of Thailand.

Everyone who is interested in this topic should also visit the FCCT on Wednesday. I dont know how open the debate will be but I hope that it opens some eyes.