Blame deviation from tradition for assault on British tourists
Re: “Four arrested for savage beating of British family”, National, April 29.
The video of three elderly British tourists brutally attacked by young Thais during Songkran made the whole country feel very sad.
According to the news, the incident took place during the Thai New Year festivities in Hua Hin on April 13 – at around 1.30am.
In the old days, Songkran festivities took place only during daytime, and stopped immediately at dusk. This daytime-only water play makes good sense in that it does not cause discomfort or sickness for people who do not want to get wet, or have other work to do at night.
However, only recently, the government gave permission for Songkran water-throwing activities to extend into the night, especially at tourist spots such as Pattaya and Hua Hin – in the name of tourism promotion.
Bad things started to happen then.
Tradition-conscious Thais do not join in this night-time Songkran because it is not in keeping with tradition. Also, most of the people who take part in this activity are young, boisterous and extremely drunk.
If the government has no plans to cancel this untraditional activity soon, it should issue a strong warning for tourists to expect untoward bodily harm if they join in.
Vint Chavala
