From the battle for a daughter to a son lost

And it comes at a time when there’s one story that has caught almost everybody’s attention on social media – a gay couple’s battle to take their daughter out of Thailand as the surrogate mother is refusing to sign the relevant documents. 

The surrogate mother, Oil, has said on Facebook and on TV that she did not know she was carrying a baby for two men, and is afraid that the gay men might be human traffickers. 

The couple has denied this allegation, saying a lot of the information provided by Oil is incorrect. One of the fathers, American national Gordon Alan “Bud” Lake, explained that he and his husband Manuel Santos really wanted a daughter to complete their family and that he will not leave Thailand without baby Carmen. 

Lake and Santos married three years ago and are living in Valencia, Spain, with their two-year-old son, who was born to a surrogate mother in India.

After the battle began making headlines, many Thai netizens joined the #BringCarmenHome campaign, though the surrogate mother’s supporters have been following the #StandWithPatidta hashtag. 

Lake and Santos have also set up Twitter accounts (@twogaypapas and @bringcarmenhome), page www.bringcarmenhome.org, BringCarmenHome Facebook page and a petition via www.change.org, asking for help, posting messages calling on Oil to change her mind as well as providing photos and videos showing how well Carmen is being taken care of. 

Oil, meanwhile, has closed her Facebook page and is only speaking to some media outlets, though some netizens have dug out her old posts and discovered that she has always had a penchant for part-Thai, part-farang babies. 

@U_Devil8 pointed out: “No human traffickers would run around in Bangkok for six months and go on TV so that they can get the baby. Only fathers do.” 

@brian_the_lover posted: The farang said the reason he chose a Thai woman as a surrogate for his baby is because Thai people have beautiful minds and live in a beautiful country. He did not expect she would accuse him of being a human trafficker.

@Thairath_TV has been keeping track of those backing the “BringCarmenHome” campaign, and the number was over 62,000 on Facebook and more than 88,000 at change.org as of last night. 

The new law, meanwhile, was drafted to protect surrogate children and prevent human trafficking. For instance, it sets specific requirements, such as the age of the surrogate, that one person must be Thai and that the couple wanting the baby must have been married for at least three years. 

In cases where the surrogacy took place before the Act went into effect, petitions can be filed in court over a surrogate baby. 

Another hot issue on social media this week was the reaction to Thailand being kept at Tier 3, the lowest rank, in the Trafficking in Persons 2015 Report for a second year. 

Senior attorney Wanchai Roujanavong wrote a post on Facebook, explaining the implications of the latest TIP report. He said it was being used as a tool to pressure Thailand economically, though he said the Kingdom could defend itself because it did not fall under the Tier 3 category as per the definition of violations. However, he admitted that the Thai government still had a lot of work to do when it comes to human rights and other issues. 

Facebook user Scout Number Nine posted US senator Robert Menendez’s comment saying the report had been politicised, citing the decision to upgrade Malaysia and Cuba to Tier 2 watchlist. However, Sarah Sewall, the under-secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, has denied allegations that the upgrade was linked to President Barack Obama’s will to have Malaysia participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Patchara Kerdsiri jokingly posted: “Obama is considering whether to boycott Thailand within 90 days. Sorry, we have boycotted you a long time ago.” 

@LastIFound said: “Don’t worry about US upgrading Malaysia to Tier 2. America is also being evaluated by the world including Thais, foreigners and its own people.” 

However, people’s attention shifted from the TIP report when tributes to Sqweez Animal guitarist, Prachatip “Singha” Musigapong, began flooding in after he committed suicide late on Wednesday night. Sadly, since he was the son of red-shirt leader Veerakarn Musigapong, a few people began posting nasty comments against him and his family. However, others stood up in defence, as linking a sad event like this with politics is downright inappropriate.