Expatgirl

Ramadan in Thailand 2008

expatgirl — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:05:08 +0000

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calandar. This year it falls approx. on Sept. 1 to Sept. 29 (depending on the sighting of the crecent moon.) It is a deeply felt spiritual time for Muslims where they fast (abstain from both food and water) and refrain from sexual contact during daylight hours. Muslims also practice self restraint in their behavior by not swearing, smoking and arguing. Please remember when traveling in southern Thailand that many of the people that you meet will be fasting at this time. Show your multicultural awareness and compassion by being considerate of this special time for Muslims.

For more information on Ramadan in Thailand please check out this article

http://www.south-thai.com/ramadan.html

Two Blue

expatgirl — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:38:48 +0000

When we give up the notion of our own concrete categories we can learn to better deal with viewpoints of others.

Imagine if I told you a chicken is not a bird, a tiger is not a cat and a lemon is a vegetable not a fruit. These statements are all true, if you are speaking the Thai language and categorizing according to Thai rules.

Read the complete article at http://www.south-thai.com/twoblue.html

Ramadan in Thailand 2007

expatgirl — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 11:43:36 +0000

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calandar. This year it falls approx. on Sept. 13 to Oct. 11 (depending on the sighting of the crecent moon.) It is a deeply felt spiritual time for Muslims where they fast (abstain from both food and water) and refrain from sexual contact during daylight hours. Muslims also practice self restraint in their behavior by not swearing, smoking and arguing. Please remember when traveling in southern Thailand that many of the people that you meet will be fasting at this time. Show your multicultural awareness and compassion by being considerate of this special time for Muslims.

For more information on Ramadan in Thailand please check out this article

http://www.south-thai.com/ramadan.html

Unfortunate humor

expatgirl — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:37:10 +0000

A man is taking a walk in Hatyai, Thailand. Suddenly he sees a little girl being attacked by a soi dog. He runs over and starts fighting with the dog. He succeeds in killing the dog and saving the girl’s life. A neighbor who was watching the scene walks over and says: “You are a hero,” tomorrow you can read it in all the newspapers: “Helpful Hatyai man saves the life of little girl.” The man says: “But I am not from Hatyai!” “Oh, then it will say in newspapers in the morning: Tremendous Thai saves life of little girl” - the neighbor answers. “But I am not Thai!” - says the man. “Oh, what are you then?” The man says: “I am a Saudi!” Then next day the newspapers say: “Islamic extremist kills innocent soi dog.”

More Americans Die from Ball Point Pens than from Terrorism

expatgirl — Mon, 14 May 2007 13:45:05 +0000

APRIL 30, 2007 Report on Terrorism

WOW! Take a look at these statistics
US Dept. of State
Country Reports on Terrorism -Report Home Page
Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
April 30, 2007
www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82739.htm

Victims and Targets of Attacks
As was the case in 2005, Muslims again bore a substantial share of being the victims of terrorist attacks in 2006.

Approximately 58,000 individuals worldwide were either killed or injured by terrorist attacks in 2006. Based upon a combination of reporting and demographic analysis of the countries involved, well over 50 percent of the victims were Muslims, and most were victims of attacks in Iraq.

NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THESE STATS ON AMERICAN VICTIMS

U.S. citizens worldwide killed as a result of incidents of terrorism: 28
U.S. citizens worldwide injured as a result of incidents of terrorism: 27
U.S. citizens worldwide kidnapped as a result of incidents of terrorism: 12
TERRORISM DEATHS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2006 (BY COUNTRY)

Country	Date of Death	Number	Location
Afghanistan	May 18, 2006	1	Islam Qal, Herat, Afghanistan
	December 6, 2006	2	Kandahar, Afghanistan
Iraq	January 6, 2006	1	Nasiriyah, Iraq
	January 16, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	January 18, 2006	2	Basrah, Iraq
	February 11, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	March 9, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	March 14, 2006	1	Tal Afar, Iraq
	March 20, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	May 3, 2006	1	Tallil, Iraq
	May 7, 2006	1	Balad-Tahwilla, Iraq
	May 8, 2006	1	Near Rustamiyah, Iraq
	August 17, 2006	1	North of Tallil, Iraq
	August 18, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	August 28, 2006	1	Baji, Iraq
	September 17, 2006	1	Hawijah, Iraq
	September 22, 2006	1	Basrah, Iraq
	October 4, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	October 11, 2006	1	Tikrit, Iraq
	October 22, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	November 2, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	November 13, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	December 21, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank	May 14, 2006	1	Tel Aviv, Israel
Pakistan	March 2, 2006	1	Karachi, Pakistan
Thailand	September 16, 2006	1	Hat Yai, Thailand

TERRORISM INJURIES OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2006 (BY COUNTRY)

Country	Date of Death	Number	Location
Afghanistan	April 7, 2006	2	Lashkargar Province, Afghanistan
	May 18, 2006	2	Islam Qal, Herat, Afghanistan
Algeria	December 10, 2006	1	Algiers, Algeria
Egypt	April 24, 2006	5	Dahab, Sinai, Egypt
India	July 11, 2006	1	Srinagar, India
	August 16, 2006	5	Imphal, India
Iraq	January 18, 2006	1	Basrah, Iraq
	January 29, 2006	1	Taji, Iraq
	May 18, 2006	2	Herat, Iraq
	May 29, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	October 24, 2006	1	Keokuk, Iraq
	December 21, 2006	1	Baghdad, Iraq
Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank	April 17, 2006	1	Tel Aviv, Israel
	October 11, 2006	1	Nobles, the West Bank
Russia	January 11, 2006	1	Moscow, Russia
Thailand	September 16, 2006	1	Hat Yai, Thailand

TERRORISM KIDNAPPINGS OF PRIVATE U.S. CITIZENS IN 2006 (BY COUNTRY)

Country	Date of Death	Number	Location
Afghanistan	March 30, 2006*	1	Near Gresham, Afghanistan
Iraq	March 30, 2006*	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	July 9, 2006*	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	August 5, 2006*	1	Baghdad, Iraq
	November 16, 2006	4	Aswan, Iraq
Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank	June 10, 2006*	1	Nobles, the West Bank
	August 27, 2006*	1	Gaza City, Gaza
Nigeria	January 30, 2006*	1	Offshore the Niger Delta, Nigeria
	August 23, 2006*	1	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
*Date rescued/released.

Southern Insurgency, Not Jihad

expatgirl — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:04:16 +0000

Here is a good article

“The rise of more puritanical strains of Islam in southern Thailand is often cited as contributing to the violence, particularly given Muslim anger at the deployment of Thai troops in Iraq. But while Islamic consciousness and a sense of persecution and solidarity with fellow Muslims has grown over the last two decades, it would be a mistake to view the conflict as simply another manifestation of Islamic terrorism. The violence is driven by local issues.”

Check out the full text at

www.south-thai.com/Insurgency.html

Stateless in Thailand The Sea Gypsies

expatgirl — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 14:17:44 +0000

The Molken People of the Andaman Sea area or the sea gypsies are traditionally nomadic people. They have been trapped inside countries such as Thailand. With modern passport control they now have limited travel freedom. They are stateless people with NO RIGHTS in any country. This means no passports, no schooling, no health care, no legal rights and often no jobs.

Read here for some basic information on the Molken people.

http://www.cusri.chula.ac.th/andaman/en/way/index.php#moken

Read a personal story of a Molken family from Prince of Siam Stories.

“Sea Gypsies can not be Princes”

http://www.south-thai.com/gypsy.html

Palestine/Israel Conflict: America’s skewed media

expatgirl — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:32:58 +0000

I just watched a wonderful movie on Israel and Palestine. I loved how balanced the movie is. It is called “Promises.” It was produced and brought about by American Jews yet shows a balanced picture of the problems between Israel and Palestine.
Today I was surfing the net…. only 2 sites (clicks) and I stumbles upon this website that shows stats on the deaths in Israel and Palestine and how the American media skewed coverage of it.

Wow….. take a look

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/media/net-report.html

2004 Blog Entries Recovered

expatgirl — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 15:27:23 +0000

Here is a link to my 2004 Blog Entries that I recently recovered. I was talking about the violence that I saw even then.

http://www.south-thai.com/2004blog.html

Prince of Siam Stories

expatgirl — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:12:49 +0000

A young man wrestles with himself and society on his choice to become a Muslim. http://www.south-thai.com/jihad.html

True Story of how the US Military sponsors sex tourism in Hatyai. http://www.south-thai.com/soldier.html

Story of the sad fate of the Sea Gypsies and the uncounted number of people that drown in southern Thailand each year. http://www.south-thai.com/gypsy.html