Finding the silver lining in a disaster seems to be a uniquely Filipino trait. Certainly this was the case for Gloria Isip-Tagala, the housewife from Pampanga province featured in a front-page story in Thursday’s Philippine Daily Inquirer, who found herself stranded along with a niece in Bangkok after protesters took over the city’s international airports.
Visiting Bangkok on the invitation of her brother, Tagala and her niece found themselves sleeping on the sofa of her brother’s tiny flat, which he shares with three other people. But after the airport takeover, they transferred to a hotel and enjoyed five-star comfort, all at the expense of the Thai government. So what started out as a visit on a shoestring budget turned out to be a luxurious, comfortable stay for Tagala and her niece.
Finding a silver lining also seems to be a trait of the Thai authorities, especially the tourism folk. The takeover of the two airports could have spelled disaster for any other country as dependent on tourism and travel revenues as Thailand is. But by shouldering the food and accommodation expenses of the stranded passengers, the Thai government turned what could have been a disaster into a, well, not-so-bad situation. Of course, there were those assailed by tension and uncertainty, their schedules knocked off-keel by the protests. But by stepping into the breach and assuring that travelers could at least wait in comfort, the tourism industry made sure the unpleasant experience didn’t yield too much negativity. Besides, even with the airport standoffs and violence in the area around the government center, I’m sure in the rest of the city, life proceeded as usual. So it was possible for stranded passengers to extend their shopping sprees and sightseeing while waiting for flights to resume.
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Someone commented that perhaps the anti-Arroyo forces could borrow a tactic from the Thai antigovernment protesters. “Instead of massing up on EDSA [highway], maybe we should take over the airports instead!” he suggested.
I don’t think such a tactic would work here, however. By occupying and crippling the operations of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, the People’s Alliance for Democracy immediately gained international attention not just because the airports serve hundreds of thousands of tourist arrivals by the day, but also because Bangkok is a hub of international airlines, with many flights making stopovers there on the way to and from Europe, the Middle East, and the rest of Asia.
In contrast, thanks to the narrow thinking of aviation authorities, the Philippines is relatively isolated, with just a few international airlines stopping by. Compared to the number of tourist arrivals in Thailand, our tourism figures are still puny, even if the Department of Tourism is doing its darndest to bring them in. If Manila’s international airport were to be taken over, the incident might get passing mention, but not the major coverage that the Bangkok standoffs received. We’re just not that important a destination.
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Still, Thailand remains a nation in limbo. With Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat ousted and prevented from participating in politics for five years, and the top three political parties disbanded by the Constitutional Court, there now exists a power vacuum in the country.
True, there are reports of a caretaker government being installed, but most analysts agree that much depends on what King Bhumibol, who is set to address the nation today on the occasion of his birthday, will tell his people. The king is widely acknowledged as having been displeased with the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, as well as with the “proxy” administrations that ran Thailand after the dissolution of the army junta which took over after the coup ousting Thaksin. Indeed, analysts see the royal hand not just in the coup against Thaksin, but even in the months-long protests that culminated in the airport takeovers.
How will Thailand, under the moral leadership of the king, put an end to this political uncertainty? Whose wishes will prevail, the political elite’s or the populace’s? We might be seeing the inevitable clash between royal prerogative and mass-based democracy in the coming months, if not years. Silver linings or not, Thailand is now in “interesting” times.
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This Friday marks the opening of the third “NGO’s Go Bazaar” at Bahay ni Isis – International Women’s House, which will last for two weeks. The bazaar features a great diversity of products and services, many of which were developed or produced by grassroots women communities. Among them: local, indigenous and alternative products and services such as fresh organic fruits and vegetables, clothing and accessories, biodegradable toiletries and cleaning agents, coconut core products, acupuncture, massage, detoxification and other alternative medicine practices.
Among the small-scale and mostly women-driven businesses and cooperatives taking part in the bazaar are Alternative Health Foundation, Nilo Valerio Foundation, OURS Coop, Pambansang Kalipunan ng mga Manggagawang Impormal sa Pilipinas (Patamaba, or the National Federation of Informal Sector Workers of the Philippines), Philippine Global Exchange (PGX), Pinangga, Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (Sibat), Sikap Pangkabuhayan ng mga Nanay sa Payatas (SPNP or Livelihood Project of Mothers in Payatas), and Trimona Healthy Dining.
“We are happy to open our home for another creative collaboration with women and community-driven industries whose products and services are not only ingenious but healthy and environment-friendly,” says Cai Yiping, executive director of Isis International.
Bahay ni Isis is located at 3 Marunong St., Central District, Quezon City.
