Have A Thai Au Pair? Political Unrest in Thailand Increases.
You probably have been reading about the political unrest in Thailand. Protesters, called the Red Shirts, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, say the government is illegitimate because it came to power through a parliamentary deal rather than an election.
The Red Shirts began a protest on March 14, demanding a new election. On April 10, 2010, 25 people - including five soldiers - were killed in a failed attempt to disperse protesters. The Red Shirts are getting larger and uniting throughout Thailand.
How is the unrest affecting your Thai au pair? Read the latest news here from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8676630.stm
What can you do for your Thai au pair during this difficult time? It will be important to talk to her about it. Ask her how she feels about it and how her family is doing at home. Show concern and also try to calm her by telling her that she is safe with your family and that you will do what you can to make sure that she can continue to communicate back home with loved ones.
Does she have a cell phone that makes international calls? If not, you may want to add one to your family plan so she can touch base with her family at least once a week. If her family lives in Bangkok, the seat of most of the unrest and demonstrations, she may want to check in more frequently.
Keeping communication open between you and your Thai au pair during this difficult time may not only calm her nerves but keep her with you for the duration of your present contract. Au pairs have been known to skip out on the cultural exchange program during times of terrorism, natural disasters and unrest in the world.
At the time of 9/11, many au pairs placed here in the States immediately asked to return home. Their parents called the agencies and requested their daughters return on the next available flight! There was a lot of confusion and worry during those first few days and weeks, but most agencies rose to the challenge by taking proactive steps: setting up emergency cluster meetings to address concerns and questions and sending emails and making phone calls to host parents and parents of au pairs to keep them updated and informed of the situation here in America.
I don't know what steps the agencies are taking in reaction to the political unrest in Thailand, but if you have a Thai, it may be a good idea to call your counselor and see if there is anything she can do or should be doing at this point. If there are several Thais in your cluster, perhaps she could arrange a cluster meeting to talk about the situation and address questions and concerns that you or your Thai au pair may have. It would be a nice way to come together and provide group support for the Thai au pairs in your area and make them feel better about their stay away from their homeland at this time.
If anyone has information about what agencies are doing, or not doing, please send it in to the clearinghouse.
- Edina's blog
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Comments
thank you for information on Thailand and concern
THank you for all the information here on Thailand and our situation at home. It makes me feel better to hafve others concern for me and my family. Places likes banks and malls have been set on fire at home and my parents have had to move out of the city and go to country for a while. I keep in touch with them daily and my host parents here in NJ have been wonderful to me and make me feel safe and secure.
my comment was erased?
Hi Edina, why was my comment taken off your site? Maybe what I said was too controversial and yes, I did read Au Pair Flair's response to my comment I wrote here on your blog. I think I made a good observation and was only trying to point out that her post was very much like yours. I said I don't know if you should be upset with her or be flattered by her. Anyway, I don't really care, but just wanted you to know, FYI.
I also wanted to point out that I don't know if she copied you, I merely pointed out that your two blogs were very very similar. I sent in the definition of Plagiarism so you can see, it is not only copying a reference, it is also the IDEA of what this other website took: specifically the coaching of Thai au pairs in light of the policital unrest in Thailand. This "idea" is so similar and the steps are so specific, it would be an amazing coicindence if this website actually wrote this post BEFORE reading yours.
Okay, that is all I will say about the topic, and where is a sample definition of Plagiarism.
Definition
FROM: Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary 9th ed, (Springfield, Ma: Merriam 1981, p. 870).
Plagiarized Post?
Hi fireandice,
Yes, we did remove your first comment but we did post this one (to be fair to you and since this comment is not violating our User Content Policy). We did remove your comment because it suggested that AuPairFlair copied a post here and because we did not believe that AuPairFlair copied the post I made on our blog. They may seem similar but we do not feel she plagiarized anything from our website!
Hope you will continue to visit us!
Best,
Edina
We have a Thai au pair
Hi, we do have a Thai au pair and never thought to ask. We sat down with her last night and we found out that she was very upset and really did want to call her parents more frequently (we allowed her one paid phone call a week). We did assure her that we would fix the phone problem so we could get international calls more cheaply and we also reassured her that we were aware of the strive in her country and that we would assist her in anyway that we could.
Just having this little talk made her turn 180 degrees - she was more relaxed and calm and happy! We had no idea the emotional upset she was experiencing with no one to turn to. She told us that her cousin was arrested during one of the protests and she had no idea what was happening to him. When dealing with Asian au pairs, we found that they do not like to wear their heart on their sleeve! They are willing to be quiet and wait out issues and they do not confront their elders!
Thank you for the great tip, otherwise we may have never had that little talk......
Hi, You are Welcome!
I am glad we could provide a good tip for your Thai au pair! I read that the violence in Thailand has increased even further (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8681833.stm)- it is a rather scary time for Thais in general, but for girls here, far away from home, it must be very tough. Any au pair, regardless of her background and cultural, welcomes concern and support and an attempt to try and understand her country's difficulties.
Good luck!
Thai, Chinese, Asian Au Pairs...
Hi Edina,
I found your article on the unrest in Thailand very interesting and I did pause and think, these things could certainly happen in any part of the world and it would be normal for the au pair to be anxious and or want to return home is the problems were happening in her country.
My au pairs (second one) are from China and there could be the same situation there too and I asked my au pair what would she want to do if this happened in her city (Peking) and she said "Of course return home to my family. Families should be together during these times and families can get separated and sometimes wait a long time to see each other."
If I had a Thai au pair I would certainly take some proactive steps, as you point out here, and after reading your insightful blog.
Thai Au Pairs, Asian Au Pairs
Hi Jake, thank you!
Look for our interview with the owner of an agency that recruits au pairs from Japan. Since a Japanese au pair won the 2010 Au Pair of the Year Award, there has been significant interest in au pairs from Asia! Read our article on Thai au pairs!
Edina
goAUPAIR Responds to Situation in Thailand
We wanted to let our readers know that goAUPAIR has responded to the political unrest in Thailand and how it is affecting Thai Au Pairs:
Riots in Bangkok, Thailand may cause Delays for Thai Au Pairs
by goAUPAIR 17. May 2010 23:01
Anti-government protests have caused the Thai government to announce emergency law in the city of Bangkok today. Violent protests have left 35 civilians dead in only four days and many more injured.
The anti-government protests have been going on since March; however, they became more violent and intense when one of the leaders of the “Red Shirt” protesters was shot in the head while being interviewed by a New York Times reporter.
Numerous reporters and bloggers in the area have described the city as a war zone. Citizens of surrounding countries have been warned not to travel to Bangkok and most government offices have been closed. We received an email from our International Representative in Bangkok stating the following:
“The government announced emergency law in city of Bangkok so our office will be closed from 17-18 May and we will answer all e-mail by Wednesday, Thailand time. Many embassies in Bangkok have been closed since Friday, [May] 14 including [the] US embassy.”
Closed U.S. Embassies in Bangkok may result in longer wait times for visa interviews for Au Pairs. Thai Au Pairs are very popular among U.S. families because of their kind disposition and willingness to help and learn.
We will release any further information we receive from our International Representatives in Thailand regarding the situation in Bangkok and any delays with our Au Pairs and their visa process.