On the second Saturday of January every year, the Thai people celebrate National Children’s Day. This has been going on for about 50 years now. Children are seen not only as the national treasure, but they are also seen as the future of the country. It is important that they are protected and that they are guided into becoming responsible citizens. In the West, we are taught that adults always come first. But in Thailand, an old woman, weighed down with shopping bags on the bus, will actually stand up in order to let a child take her seat. Well, maybe not as extreme as that, but adults do let children take their seats even though their feet might be killing them.
On this special day, all over the country, children are entertained with many events. In Samut Prakan, the local Naval Museum and Naval Academy opened their doors for the children. This morning I went there to take some pictures. There were hundreds of children playing on tanks and warships and having their pictures taken with guns that were taller than them. There were plenty of games for them to play and prizes to win. After the Naval Academy, we stopped by the post office as I needed to buy some stamps. Set up by the door there was a table ladened with a large variety of candies and also ice cream. All of this was free and was being given out to every child that came into the post office. Other places like the Crocodile Farm also let children enter for free today. I suppose it is a bit like Christmas.
Every year we have the ABAC Poll that tells us what the children want for their future. Here is the findings which were published in the Bangkok Post:
About 60% of the children want to see the end to the protests, while 37.2% want to see unity in the country. Some 15.8% want the adults to donate goods like sports equipment to children. The survey questioned 1,157 children aging 10 to 15 years old living in Bangkok. It was conducted from Wednesday to Friday. Most of the children, or 91%, say they would like adults to set good examples on showing respect to the monarchy, while 89.1% say they want to see national reconciliation. Some 72.5% say they want adults to respect the rules of laws, while 71.8% say they want them to support each other. When asked what they want from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, about 39% say they want things like computers, mobile phones, cars and homes from him. Some 27% say they want scholarship and free education, while 22% say they want to see peace in the country.
I am not sure how they undertook this poll. Somehow I cannot see ten year olds saying that they want an end to protests. ABAC must have given them a list to choose from. Most kids I know are more interested in their comic books or the latest video games. Notice also how most Children’s Day events are centered around guns and tanks. Take a look at this picture that I posted today from the troubled south of Thailand.
