The Skinny and Wide Rice Noodles

Posted on 3 September 2008 by christao408

Okay, I’m about to write a “normal” entry but first, let me give you just a bit of an update on the Thai political situation:

The information I gave yesterday about the Election Commission recommending the dissolution of the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP, which Prime Minister Samak heads), turns out to be correct. Originally, I didn’t see it reported elsewhere but have now found several Thai sources that confirm it.

I’ve heard from supporters on both sides of the conflict as well as from people who are sitting in the middle, unimpressed by the extreme actions of both sides, and I’m thankful to all of them for sharing their insights and opinions.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD, the anti-government protesters) have made the first intimations of a possible compromise to end the confrontation, but their number one requirement is that Prime Minister Samak resign and dissolve his cabinet. Not surprisingly, Samak refuses to do so.

Things are moving very slowly towards some possible resolution, emphasis on the “slowly” part. The Election Commission’s recommendation, should it be approved by the Constitutional Court, would largely moot the conflict as the PPP would be dissolved and new elections would have to be called anyway.

If I was to try to give you some sense of the general feeling in the country about the way towards resolution, the Bangkok Post’s front page commentary in Wednesday’s edition might encapsulate it. The full commentary is here but the bullet points are as follows:

Prime Minister Samak declaring a state of emergency was a wrong-headed ploy to retain power.
Kudos to the army chief for keeping the army out of the political wrangling.
Yes, the PPP did win the right to govern (Samak’s main argument), but the Election Commission’s recommendation notwithstanding, the Samak government has made many unconstitutional mis-steps in the past seven months since taking office. For this, they should step down, allowing the coalition government to form a new cabinet.
Yes, the PAD has the right to protest (the PAD’s main argument) but their actions such as closing down three southern airports have gone too far. Additionally, they must respect democratic principles. The call from some of their leaders for a non-elected government is not acceptable.

So that’s where things stand: at an impasse. We’ll see how the next few days develop but I’d place my money on an eventual resignation by the Prime Minister and the calling of snap elections.

How is this affecting you and Tawn?

This is a common question I’ve received and thank you for expressing your concern. Yesterday I received a call from a friend who is to travel here next week for a conference. Worried about what he’s seen on TV, he was going to cancel his trip for fear of his safety.

Let’s make this clear: there is no danger in visiting Thailand nor in living here. There is no reasonable prospect of violence or danger in the near future that would effect visitors or residents. Fears of a Rawanda-like genocide or a Balkan civil war are completely misplaced.

What you see on television is the narrow width of a camera lens, pointed at the most dramatic and newsworthy thing it can find. If you could pull back to a very wide angle, you would see that life in the city and the nation are continuing as normal.

An old friend reopens

Long before I moved here, Tawn took me to “the red noodle shop” (real name, Yen Ta Fo) which was located next to a driving range further down Sukhumvit. The shop eventually closed as development took over that area, but the owners continued to ply their trade at outlets in malls around the more suburban parts of the city.

Recently, though, good news: Yen Ta Fo opened a branch in Ploenchit Centre, located a two-minute walk from Tawn’s office. Taking over a defunct Haagen Dazs and a poor imitation of a NY-style deli, Yen Ta Fo is attracting the crowds for lunch.

Their specialty, the red noodles (below), is a mixture of wide rice noodles, mixed seafood, and a slightly vinegary sauce. I don’t personally care for it as it is too vinegary for me, but Tawn loves it and lots of other people were ordering it, so I consider it a shortcoming of my tastebuds.

I had a great dish of pork spareribs (below) that had been stewed until the meat just jumped off the bones. The sweet-spicy sauce is so satisfying and made for a perfect rainy afternoon meal.

On the side we ordered the Yen Ta Fo version of chicken satay (below). They prepare their chicken with a spicy curry paste rub that adds a lot of flavor and a fair amount of heat, instead of the usual continuous basting of coconut milk. Their sticky rice (in the basket) was a little undercooked, a bit more “tough” than “sticky”.

Beyond the Yen Ta Fo restaurants, the family has a series of more upscale establishments with the name Mallika. Website here. No doubt we will be back to Yen Ta Fo regularly.

On the other side of Tawn’s office is a block of traditional shop houses. These four-story buildings housed a shop or small restaurant in the ground floor and then residences above.

There was one restaurant to which we regularly went, and Issan (northeastern Thai) style place that served wonderful grilled chicken.

Sadly, the shops have been closed down and the entire block is being demolished. Not sure what will replace it but the property, on the corner of Ploenchit (Sukhumvit) and Whittayu (Wireless Road) is next to the Plaza Athenee Hotel, kitty-corner to the British Embassy, and is one of the more valuable locations in the city.

I predict another office tower / mall / condo complex. Anyone know for sure?

On the left is a picture taken from the Skytrain Ploenchit Station platform. It isn’t quite wide enough to show everything but the sidewalk is the dark strip in the lower left. The stairs leading down from the Skytrain station are the white-lined area in the edge of the lower left.

People used to congregate on the outdoor patios where the umbrella still stands, eating at folding tables during the lunch rush. Now it is being taken down, story by story, building by building. You can see how much has already been done in the picture below. The Plaza Athenee is just behind (to the left) of the low-rise pink building.

Let’s hear it for ongoing development. It is a shame that old buildings and family-owned small businesses end up closed to make way for progress. The only positive to this is that the location, adjacent to a mass transit station, is a good place for denser development. Unfortunately, the development will benefit primarily those with money, not the lower income families who used to earn a living there.

One final construction shot, this one from the huge site next to the Asoke Skytrain station. The excavation has started and I was tickled to see that one of the cranes bears a warning in Japanese. I imagine it isn’t much help for the construction workers, who primarily come from upcountry Thailand.

Do you know what it says?

Update on the Update

Posted on 2 September 2008 by christao408

Nothing much happened overnight; there is a still a lot of tension in the city. Schools throughout the metropolitan area are closed for three days, even thought only about 40 schools in the centre of the city are affected. (“Equity” is the reason given.)

It is overcast and even as I type, the first big drops of rain are falling. The army commander insists “the door to a coup is locked”. Parliament must find a peaceful resolution.

A quasi-retraction: the “update” I gave yesterday was based on an AP report I received through Yahoo News. You may recall it announced the Election Commission’s unanimous ruling that the People Power Party should be dissolved. As the largest party in the governing coalition, that would have forced the government to be shut down and new elections called.

However, I have been unable to verify that news through any other source. There is no mention on Thai websites, in either Thai or English. Looking back a half-month I find a similar report on the website for The Nation, an English-language paper. That may have been a preliminary announcement or else the AP is late in its reporting. I’ll let you know how that plays out.

I have some non-protest related items to post but have a lot of work to do today. In fact, I was up at 3:00 am for calls with the US. If time allows, I’ll post later today or tomorrow.

State of Emergency Declared in Bangkok

Posted on 2 September 2008 by christao408

Update Below

The confrontation between anti- and pro-government protesters reached a boiling point early Tuesday morning, when the police-enforced separation of the two groups by a distance of several hundred meters was breached. In the resulting melee at least one person was killed.

At 7:00 Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Samak announced a state of emergency in Bangkok, invoking a controversial article in the new constitution that was seen as being insisted upon by the military transitional government during the last coup.

Under this state of emergency, the commander of the Army has been given authority to enforce the state of emergency, which prohibits gatherings of more than five people for political purposes. The paragraph requiring everyone to remain at home has been exempted so that business can continue as usual.

There is a story in more detail on The Nation’s website here. There is also a shocking video that appears to shows anti-government protesters (in the yellow shirts) beating pro-government protesters who are lying on the ground, unable or unwilling to defend themselves.

For balance, though, there is no way to identify absolutely who is who, but I think when it comes to the point of people on either side beating people who don’t even have the strength to raise their arms in defense, that’s way too far. Let’s use the political process and peaceful protest to change the system, not violence.

Update

At about noon Tuesday, local time, it was reported that the Election Commission, as part of an ongoing investigation, has ruled that the People’s Power Party committed electoral fraud in the December 2007 election and should be dissolved. The PPP is the party of Prime Minister Samak and is considered, for all intensive purposes, to be simply a rebirth of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party, which was dissolved after the 2006 coup.

The Election Commission voted unanimously for the dissolution and the case will be forwarded to the public prosecutor’s office, who will determine if it should be forwarded to the Constitutional Court for a final ruling.

This certainly adds some fuel to the fire, but over the past several months, the judiciary has appeared to be relatively independent and fair. My hope is that this will help bring about a resolution to the immediate conflict and encourage everyone to play by the rules of the game. In other words, the constitution.

More of the Same, Two Ways

Posted on 30 August 2008 by christao408

The media offers us just a narrow perspective on particular stories based on the particular angles from which those stories are reported. This is compounded when the media covers a story far away in a another country, a country with a political system different from your own. As a comparison, look at the room you are sitting in through a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels and you’ll get an idea of how little you are seeing and how little that narrow view helps you understand what is going on.

These truths are always useful to keep in mind, but especially for those of you overseas, sitting there wondering what in the world is going on in Thailand right now.

Let’s be clear: there are clashes between protesters, groups of who number in the low thousands, and the police. These clashes have increased in intensity and there has been some violence, although the police and the Prime Minister have been remarkably restrained. Likewise, the army has declined to get directly involved.

Additionally, three airports in the country were shut down by protesters (Krabi, Phuket and Hat Yai), the trains have shut down because of strikes and unions at THAI Airways are being encouraged by the protesters to stage work stoppages in support of them.

Many sources, included some contacts we have who were “in the know” about the last coup, have warned us that things will come to a head this weekend. Either the Prime Minister will resign and dissolve parliament, leading to new elections, or he will take action to end the protests with force. It will probably get worse before it gets better.

That being said, the areas where these protests are happening are pretty limited. In Khrungthep (Bangkok) they are mostly at key locations in the old city, Ratanokosin Island. If you walk just a few blocks north from the Grand Palace and then make a right on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, you would run into police barricades and a few blocks later, the protesters.

For the rest of us, those of us living anywhere else, life continues as normal. For now. (Side note for those of you who are interested: The Nation newspaper has a very good brief history of modern Thai politics. It will give you a good rundown and help put this event in some context.)

Since life is continuing as normal, let me share some of it with you. You’ll find it quite mundane.

During dinner with Steve on Wednesday at Thon Krueng restaurant, I noticed that the pieces of carrot in the vegetable stir-fry looked like they had been intentionally carved to resemble animals. The one on the top looks (to me) like the profile of a cow’s head, looking to the right. Or maybe a moose? Those could be antlers. The lighter core of the carrot is right about where the eye would be. The bottom carrot looks like a crab.

What do you think?

Stopping by Paragon to meet Chris and Tehlin earlier in the week, I parked at the Siam Centre car park and then walked across the plaza between the two malls. The plaza was being set up for another event, this one for Levi’s 501 jeans. I took this shot from the backstage area. You can see the Siam BTS Skytrain station in the background. Their sound check was very loud. Everything here is, so I guess the sound was at the correct volume.

This week, I tried a new sourdough whole wheat bread recipe from the book I recently finished: Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and One Raucous Year of Eating Locally. The recipe I’ve used previously is too wet. I know that it is better for bread dough to be a little wet rather than too dry, but it is impossible to handle. It sticks to my hands and everything else, no matter how much flour is added.

This new recipe turned out a loaf that was just about perfect. The right size, the right shape, the right texture and – best of all – only a little sticky.

Don’t I look just like a proud father?

Here’s a look inside. Note the texture – it’s just about perfect for a general purpose slice-and-eat sandwich bread.

Finally, Friday night Stuart and I met at Roadhouse Barbecue on the corner of Surawongse and Rama IV for a Democrats Abroad Thailand event: watching (a tape delayed version of) Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. There were at least 150 people there and the owner let us have the run of the second floor.

This is about 1/3 of the total floor space and there was another TV to the far right of the room. In the middle area we had t-shirt sales featuring the new “Thailand for Obama” logo, left, and voter registration. That will be one of my areas of volunteer focus the next month: getting people registered.

Too many US citizens living or traveling abroad don’t know that they have the right to vote.

If you or someone you know would like more information – especially if you know any Americans who will be abroad during the November 4th election – please visit www.votefromabroad.org.

Here is a brief video just to give you a little feel of the event:

Not much, but you get the idea.

Lots of cooking today (Saturday) as I get ready for some brunch guests tomorrow. I’ll share more of those pictures later.

Let’s Have Another Coup, Shall We?

Posted on 26 August 2008 by christao408

Let me start by making clear that I love Thailand. Wonderful country, the nicest people, a warm and caring culture, etc. But the political back and forth between the two groups who are fighting for control of the country, basically the old money versus the new money, is threatening to make Thailand an irrelevant country in terms of business and foreign investment.

As soon as the current, democratically elected government (the new money) took their seats, the “People’s Alliance for Democracy” (the old money) started protests trying to topple them. (Don’t let the irony pass you by.) This is the same PAD that was behind the protests that so threatened the stability of the Kingdom that the armed forces felt compelled to step in and conduct a coup d’etat in September 2006.

This time, the protests have taken another turn for the more serious. Calling today their “last war”, the PAD’s protestors stormed the government-owned National Broadcast Television station, pictured left.

They climbed the fences of Government House, the “White House” of Thailand. They also set out to close down all of the government ministries and take over the airports in Phuket and Hat Yai. No word yet on their success in those ventures.

Their goal: topple the government of Prime Minister Samak, who many see as the “puppet” of former Prime Minister (and now fugitive) Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in England seeking political asylum. Even though Thaksin’s wife has already been convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to three years and even though Thaksin is facing more serious charges, the government (the justice department, if I’m not mistaken) gave them permission to leave the country to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

“We’ll be right back.” I’m sure they said. “We promise.” Wink, wink.

General Anupong, the Army Commander in Chief, has assured the public that the army will not intervene in this matter. No coup, he says.

Perhaps this is a good time to remind everyone that the Army Commander in Chief in mid-2006 gave the same assurances during that wave of PAD protests.

We’ll see what happens. One again, we have political chaos, further weakening the economy and distracting Thailand’s leaders from their efforts to do anything to help the people of Thailand, to improve education, standards of living, etc.

I’d like to believe in the high-mindedness of the protesters, but I suspect it is more about a juvenile fight over who gets the largest share of the pie. Instead, they should be focusing on how to make the pie larger so the size of everyone’s slice increases.

Dear George…

Posted on 23 June 2008 by christao408

Body of the email I just sent President Bush:

Dear Mr. President,
I ask for your support of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, HR6049, which has been passed by the House and was introduced to the Senate last week.
Two years ago, Mr. President, you said that America was addicted to oil. You even made it sound like you would take some action to break that addiction. Your latest blustering to Congress shows that you aren’t serious about breaking the addiction at all. You’re encouraging it!
America needs a strong and innovative energy policy, one that breaks our dependence on oil and that promotes alternative sources of energy. Offshore and ANWAR drilling are not the answers. Increased fuel efficiency is important. But the most important thing is to extend the incentives for alternative energy sources.
Thank you for taking the time to consider changing your position on this issue and lending your support to this important legislation. You still have a few more months left in which you can work on improving your legacy – this could be your opportunity!
Regards,
Chris Schultz

I also sent similar emails to my Senators, asking for their support of the bill. Here’s a link to the Thomas Friedman column that spurred me to write.

Weekend Recap

Posted on 23 June 2008 by christao408

What a busy weekend! It seems that there was so much to do that the weekend went by in a flash. Sadly, along the way I managed to catch a bit of a chest cold so I’m coughing and feel like I have cement in my lungs. Let’s hope a bit more rest clears that up.

We celebrated Tara’s third birthday on Thursday. She’s the daughter of Tawn’s long-time friend Pim, so we were invited to the family celebration held at The Sylvanian, a family friendly restaurant that has a large play area and caters especially to birthday parties.

For a three-year-old, Tara is quite tall and is very vocal about things. Anytime Tawn goes over to visit with her, she asks about me, but then when she sees me in person she gets tongue-tied. Probably because she doesn’t understand either my Thai or my English.

We had a fun time, but when the birthday cake came out and the staff came over to sing “Happy Birthday”, Tara was unsettled by the human-sized rabbit that came out for the singing. I’ve never seen a child climb further into a seat cushion before!

Her Uncle Tawn posed for a picture with the rabbit, but no amount of coaxing would convince her to get near it.

I can understand her concern. Even as an adult I get a little freaked out by these costumed mascots. There’s just something strange about them.

Tawn, being born in the year of the rabbit, saw nothing odd about the rabbit at all. But he’s biased.

Both Friday and Sunday I caught films as part of the annual French Film Festival. This is part of a larger arts festival called Le Fete, which is the largest cultural festival in Khrungthep.

Friday’s film was Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies), a coming of age story about three teenage girls in suburban Paris who struggle with their sexual identities as they become aware of their desires while also trying to conform to peer expectations. It was well made, a bit quirky in the way that some French films are, and well acted. All three of the young actresses have the talent to go on to strong careers.

Sunday’s film was Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), based on the novel by Jean-Dominique Bauby.

American director Julian Schnabel manages to give vision to something almost unimagineable: the true story of Elle editor Bauby, (played by Mathieu Amalric, shown to the left shaving his father, played by Max von Sydow) who was left entirely paralized by a stroke with the exception of his left eye. Seemingly impossibly, he learned to communicate and was able to write the book on which the movie is based.

My original expectation was that this film would be haughty and pretencious, as Schnabel himself is known to be. But it is a gorgeous, touching, and even humorous film that gives a lot of insight into the most trying of circumstances: being locked fully conscious but nearly uncommunicative inside your own body.

Adding to that fine amount of culture was some exercise. Markus and I did a 40-km circuit of the old city, stopping by the construction site of the new Airport Express rail line to check on progress.

I’m fascinated by the machinery they use to lift the viaduct sections into place. I had previously assumed that they lifted each individual section, about 2-3 meters long, and then attached it to the adjacent sections.

But based on what I saw in this picture, it looks like the entire length of 10-11 sections is fastened together on the ground and then lifted into place with this crane.

That seems terribly heavy, but then this is large equipment we’re talking about.

Along the way, we also saw the section of machinery that is being used to construct the viaduct over Asoke Road. The crane is slowly inching its way out over the road, and based on what they’ve done elsewhere, this will be built section-by-section as they can’t afford to shut this major arterial road down for any more than a few hours in the middle of the night.

Our bicycle riding also took us down to the hotbed of political protests: Government House. This is the office of the Prime Minister and we’re back to pre-coup levels of protest and political friction, with rumors running around that we’ll have another coup. The army head has come out and said that the military has no part in politics and that as long as they are peaceful, the protesters have a right to voice their concerns as part of the democratic process.

Just remember, that’s what the previous head of the army said shortly before the last coup.

Below, protesters have baricaded the entrance to a four-square block area around the Prime Minister’s office. We considered entering the area – the protesters invited us to – but figured that there is only so much risk worth taking on a Sunday morning. The last thing I need is a police officer asking to see my passport.

With rainy season fast upon us, we’ve been getting near-daily thunderstorms, often torrential in nature. Compared to the horrific flooding in the American Midwest, the flooding our soi experiences is almost indecent to mention. However, since it is a feature of life in Khrungthep that isn’t “normal” for most of my readers, I thought I’d share this short video with you that shows the post-rainfall water we regularly contend with.

My thoughts go out to everyone who is dealing with real and devastating flooding.

Senator Clinton didn’t win. Who will we blame?

Posted on 4 June 2008 by christao408

After an exhausting primary season – perhaps more exhausting for the general public than the candidates – the race to be the Democratic Presidential candidate has come to a close.

The race has been a hard one and has opened a tremendous number of wounds within the Democratic party, wounds that must be healed if there is any chance for the Democrats to retake the White House this November. This is the battle that must be won for the good of the country.

One of the biggest concerns I have is how the supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton will react to this conclusion to the primary season. Some polls have reported that many of her supporters claim that they will stay home on election day or will vote for Senator John McCain instead. Neither of these would be in their rational best interest, of course, but people have a tremendous capacity to cut off their own noses to spite their face.

I’m sure that as the wounds heal and the general campaign gets under way, most of Senator Clinton’s supporters will rally behind Senator Barack Obama. In the meantime, though, I suspect the Blame Game will begin.

“Who was at fault? Who caused Senator Clinton’s loss?” they will ask. Someone must be blamed.

As Ron Elving, National Public Radio’s “Watching Washington” columnist, writes rather astutely, there are many reasons for the Senator’s loss but the ultimate fault lies with her campaign. They made a fundamental and strategic miscalculation at the beginning of the campaign: that the nomination was already theirs and that the real fight was for the general election.

You can read Mr. Elving’s full comments here, but I think he is spot-on in recognizing that even though Senator Clinton’s campaign made a strong comeback after Super Tuesday, that initial arrogance cost her the nomination.

As we turn our attention to the question of Vice Presidential candidates, many people are talking about the potential of a “dream ticket” with Senator Clinton taking the Veep role. Part of me thinks that this is a wonderful idea. Part of me has three specific concerns:

How does Senator Clinton’s presence on the ticket square with Senator Obama’s “change” theme? She’s reminiscent of Washington politics and partisan bickering we’ve seen before under President Clinton’s two terms in office.
Speaking of Bill, how would he fit into the equation? He seemed eerily prone to making statements that undermined his wife’s campaign and more interested in keeping the spotlight on himself. I’m not sure there’s room in the White House for all three of them.
Finally, Senator Clinton spent a lot of time (even in her Tuesday night speech after the conclusion of the primaries) explaining why she was the better candidate and why Senator Obama wasn’t well-qualified to be President. How does she take back all of those remarks without seeming untruthful or self-serving?

I’m interested in hearing your ideas and comments. The most important thing to me is ensuring that Senator Obama beats Senator McCain this November. America deserves that.

Hello, may I speak with the Governator, please?

Posted on 28 May 2008 by christao408

There are any number of urban legends circulating via email, so I was especially amazed to receive one today that is actually true. I called the number myself just to make sure, after searching extensively online at snopes.com and elsewhere to discount it. The Governor of California’s website (http://gov.ca.gov/) indicates that the number listed in the email is the public number for the Governor’s office.

Here’s the body of the email:

Support the CA Supreme Court’s Decision on Same Sex Marriage
The office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is polling reaction to the
California Supreme Court decision overturning the ban on gay marriage.
Most of the response they are getting is in OPPOSITION to the court action.
To vote in support of the Supreme Court’s decision on same sex marriage:
1. call 916-445-2841
2. press 1 (for English) or 2 (for Spanish)
3. press 5 (for hot issue topics)
4. press 1 (same sex marriage)
5. press 1 (for support)
After you’ve done this, please send it on to all supporters you know.

“Hi, dis is Ah-nold. I’m not at home right now…”

Sure enough, when I called the phone was answered by a voicemail system identifying it as the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. I pressed “1” to continue in English. I was provided an interesting series of options:

Press 1 for office hours, mailing address, or the Governor’s email address
Press 2 to voice my opinion on pending legislation
Press 3 for information about Maria Shriver (I kid you not, that’s option 3!)
Press 4 to invite the Governor to an event or to schedule an appointment with him
Press 5 to voice my opinion on current hot issue topics

After selecting number five (despite my overwhelming desire to select number three and learn more about Maria) I was given a number of different issues on which I could voice mu opinion:

Press 1 for the recent state supreme court decision allowing gay marriage
Press 2 for the Governor’s proposed K-12 education budget
Press 3 for the Governor’s proposed higher education budget

There were probably some additional hot issues but I didn’t listen that long.

After choosing “1” for the recent state supreme court decisions allowing Tawn and I to finally be legally married in the State of California, although it won’t give us any federal rights such as immigration, I had the option of pressing “1” to show my support for the ruling or “2” to show my dissatisfaction with it. Of course, I chose number one.

There is just something incredibly funny about this whole thing.

It says so much about our level (or lack) of participation in an ostensibly participatory democracy. We can’t be bothered to write a letter, let alone an email. Pressing a total of 15 buttons is all the effort we can take to express our opinions on political matters.

At the same time, especially if you’re in California, I’d appreciate you giving Arnold a call and letting know how you feel. He’s already stated that he does not support the proposed constitutional amendment that is designed to overturn the court’s ruling, which will be on the November ballot. As a moderate Republican, Arnold’s support is very valuable to the cause of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Still, this is a very surreal way for the public to get involved in politics, isn’t it?

Same-sex immigration on Dem’s agenda

Posted on 20 April 2008 by christao408

As many of you are aware, the reason I live in Thailand is because Tawn, my partner of 8+ years, is a Thai national. US immigration laws being what they are, it is increasingly difficult for citizens of other nations to find legal means of residence in the United States.

When I speak with my American friends and acquaintances, even well-educated and liberal ones, I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t realize that, unlike opposite-sex couples, Tawn and I have no immigration rights as a couple.

For example, if Tawn and I were an opposite-sex couple, even an unmarried one, as the US citizen I would be able to apply for an “engagement visa”, which would allow Tawn to move to the US and, provided we were subsequently married within six months, apply for residency and then citizenship.

And, of course, if we were an opposite-sex couple and were married, the path for him to move to the US would be smoothly paved and well-marked.

That, unfortunately, is not the case for us. Even if we were to get legally married in Massachusetts or to have a civil union in Vermont, we would still not have immigration rights, nor any of the 1,200+ other rights afforded opposite-sex married couples by the United States Federal Government.

I say this not to complain – I’m quite happy living in Thailand – but to make all of you aware of these facts. As we head into the election season, I would ask that you evaluate candidates on, among other things, whether or not they support allowing committed, loving same-sex couples to receive the same rights and privileges of opposite-sex couples enjoy, particularly with regards to immigration.

Here is a press release from Love Exiles, a group with which I’m involved that specifically advocates for the rights of same-sex couples in which one of the partners is a US citizen and the other is a foreign national.

Thanks for your support!

Same-sex immigration on Democrats’ agenda

Amsterdam, Sunday, 20 April 2008 – For Immediate Release

With the presidential election looming, Democrats have set their sights on immigration rights for same-sex partners of U.S. citizens.

At their recent Global Convention in Vancouver, Canada, Democrats Abroad adopted a platform that calls on Congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). The bill would amend U.S. immigration law and allow a U.S. citizen to sponsor a same-sex foreign partner.

“It hurts to be a second-class citizen,” said Bob Bragar, an American attorney who moved to Amsterdam in 1994 to be with his Dutch partner. “I am effectively deprived of the right to live in my own country. My husband Rik and I can only visit as tourists.”

Bragar chairs the Dutch branch of Democrats Abroad and, in August, will be a delegate for Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

One of Bragar’s top goals at the Denver convention is to ensure that changing America’s unfair immigration law is a priority for the eventual Democratic candidate.

Recently, both Democratic candidates have spoken out in favor of change.

On April 7, Sen. Hillary Clinton told talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres that she would defend gay rights as president and eliminate disparities for same-sex couples in federal law, including immigration policy.

In an open letter to the LGBT community earlier this year, Sen. Barack Obama declared his support for UAFA and equal immigration rights for same-sex couples. “I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act, so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system,” wrote Obama.

Bragar, who is legally married in the Netherlands, is a board member of Love Exiles, a community of American citizens and their partners forced to live outside the USA due to immigration restrictions.

Love Exiles represents thousands of couples who do not have the freedom to live with their chosen partners because of issues of nationality and sexuality.

Today, only 17 countries provide any possibility for their gay and lesbian citizens to sponsor a foreign partner for immigration.

Contact Love Exiles via Martha McDevitt-Pugh (+31) (0)6 2150 4249

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Tag Archives: politics