Source: Thailand Coronavirus Jun 14, 2020 4 years, 5 months, 1 week, 8 hours, 47 minutes ago
Thailand Coronavirus: Local Thai media has reported that the Transport Company in Thailand that runs the public buses have imposed a new rule in the attempt to curb COVID-19 in that no foreigners including all expats in the country will be allowed to board any public buses.
Public buses will only be allowed for Thais and proof via the showing of a Thai ID card is required prior to boarding the buses.
There are also reports that at least one temple in Bangkok: Wat Pho which is very famous among tourists has also adopted a "Thai-only" policy, which is blatant discrimination and has been met with widespread criticism.
The temple and the Transport Company cannot be blamed entirely. For nearly three months, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has indirectly influenced a strong idea that foreigners or Thais abroad are a health threat, in other words: potential virus carriers. (archives of all past announcements will show a trend)
Interestingly at the start of the pandemic, certain top officials in Thailand even used degoratory names to Westerners here, reflecting to a certain degree the current prevailing anti-foreigners attitude except for Chinese from China. Strangely they seem to forgotten that the Wuhan virus from China is what triggered the whole COVID-19 pandemic and the initial cases in Thailand were actually brought by the Chinese vectors.
The various foreign embassies have done nothing about all this racist issues but more expats are informing the foreign media and contacts in their respective countries to start boycotting Thailand and Thai products and also to start categorizing Thailand as part of China when economic measures and sanctions are being discussed by new alliances abroad, as both have a very close relationship.
One long term expat who has been in Thailand for 18 years, Adam Smith said," Thailand despite all their friendly smiles of the past, have always been a xenophobic country. They want fast money from foreigners, be it in investments, or simply buying their exports etc but they simply do not like you. But off late, it is even worse but unfortunately most Westerners have no shame or self-worth, they will still keep on coming here and investing etc despite being treated worse than 'pariahs' During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, some Thai outlets even refused to sell masks to foreigners.!"
So far no one is aware if this racists policies will soon extend to the BTS and MRT transport systems, the local domestic airlines, taxis, shopping malls and restaurants, but one thing is clear, Farangs (a derogatory term used by Thais to describe Westerners and Caucasians), Khaeks ( another Thai derogatory term to refer to Middle-Easterns and Indians) and Dams ( a Thai derogatory term for anyone of black African ancestry) seems basically no longer welcome in Thailand based on such openly public practices. The only exception are the Chinese vectors from China. (forget if any of these foreigners are from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia or Philippines etc, as they are considered even more lowly by some of the xenophobic locals )
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