This was a saying shared by a young Burmese student within the Australian Catholic University programme run here in Thailand for refugee students. I thought it pretty smart. It speaks to me in a Bangkok presently caught in an ongoing cycle of political upset and protests. Despite their friendly feel, they are about serious stuff and there are serious consequences. It remains hard to nail exactly what is really going on and where it is all exactly leading. This is because there are many forces and themes at play and you don't know all and everyone involved. When I ask a local Thai that I trust about how government works in Thailand, like everything else here, it has many layers and sounds quite complex. There needs to be a way ahead and they will find it eventually but it is not going to be easily found and it will be long term. In the meantime, there is heightened tension. I like the theory I heard last night given by an analyst on TV. He says that this is about Thailand maturing and that, through it, they will find a way, a new political leadership.
In the midst of it all, you find your way around a changed street environment in Bangkok. People keep on living life. Yes, we are resilient or we do what we have to do. No matter what, Friday was Chinese New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Horse. The Thai Chinese acknowledged their day and celebrated it. Life does go on.
Happy Year of the Horse!
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