Xenophobia holding this country back

I would like to ask Khun Nirut where Thailand would be today without the assistance or presence of foreigners. While he or she has every right to disagree with the climate-research centre proposed by Nasa, his reasoning shows the xenophobic attitudes of many Thais that will always hold back this great country in today’s globalised world. 

It’s a shame that all the achievements and contributions by the foreign community are unnoticed or unappreciated by the majority of Thais like Khun Nirut because of a false sense of nationalism, insecurity and a general fear of foreigners. We all understand that Thailand was never colonised because we have to hear about it every day, but that doesn’t mean that every foreigner who visits this great country is here to colonise you, Khun Nirut. I’m sure that Nasa is not here to colonise you.

Like it or not, foreigners are here to stay. We have families here, we bring our expertise here, we create jobs here, we spend money here, and we contribute more to society than you think. This is what a globalised society looks like, where we don’t label people as “foreign”, “farang”, “Thai”, “Lao”, “Khmer”, “Burmese”, etc, but by what they can contribute to society.

I beg all Thais, not only Khun Nirut, to remember that every time you see a foreigner in “your” country – whether a backpacker, teacher, fisherman, maid, CEO or Nasa employee – this person is bringing in money, expertise or labour that is desperately needed in Thailand. These people could easily go anywhere else in the world, but they have decided to contribute whatever they can to this beautiful country. 

So stop blaming foreigners for all of your problems, stop being so xenophobic and start appreciating what the foreign community has done for you and your country.

Standing up for the Foreign Community

Bangkok