The Thai people’s kindness and generosity, even during this time of crisis, shone through and impressed a native Chinese man as he struggled his way to safety in the biggest flood Thailand has experienced in more than 50 years.
Wan Shunxiang and his family live in northern Thailand’s Nonthaburi region, about one hour’s drive from Bangkok. They just managed to escape the flood, and Mr. Wan agreed to share his experience with The Epoch Times.
On Oct. 13, the floodwater reached his feet. By the next day it was one foot high. He went to the market to stock up on food supplies, expecting a big rise in grocery prices. To his surprise he found that prices had remained the same. He bought 20 eggs, but noticed that the locals didn’t buy much. So he asked some vendors in his broken English. They told him that people should help each other out in times of disaster. If those who come early buy a lot, there won’t be anything left for people who come later, they said.
On Oct. 15, the water reached to his knees, and Wan sent his wife and children to Bangkok. He stayed and helped his neighbors, a woman and her daughter from China. The husband was still working out of town.
The water was above his knees by the evening of Oct. 18. Wan heard from upstairs some Thais calling out: “Is anyone leaving? We can give you a ride.”
Neighbors explained that they took their boats and rafts through every alley to check if anyone needed a ride. Wan thought these people were soliciting customers for pay. It turned out they were just common folks acting out of kindness, and it was free of charge.
The water in the street was waist-high on the morning of Oct. 20. Wan felt that he had to leave. The bus to Bangkok no longer came here, and locals had to go to Bangyai, 12 kilometers (7.46 mile) away, to take the bus. Only big military trucks with high exhaust pipes could take people to Bangyai.
Wan stood in the water for more than two hours, waiting for a truck. A few people came over. One very friendly woman kept talking to him, until she found that he didn’t speak any Thai.
Many people didn’t want to wait for the truck and just waded through the water and left.
Then came a rubber raft with a 90 year old woman and two men in their 60’s on it. Two young soldiers were pushing it forward from behind. It didn’t look like there was room for more people on the raft.
But the woman who had talked to him asked the soldiers to come over, telling them that Wan was a foreigner who couldn’t speak Thai. The two young men immediately turned the raft around, and the woman kept urging Wan to get on the raft.
Wan was very surprised. At first he just put his suitcase on the raft and got behind the raft to follow along with the two soldiers. But everyone insisted that he get on the raft.
The raft struggled forward slowly. A man came over and was anxious to get an elderly person onto the raft. Wan wanted to get off to give up his place, but the two young soldiers stopped him and explained that they needed to protect a foreigner. Wan was so touched that he was almost choked up.
Later a big truck came with a full load of people. A military officer in his 40s got out and tied the raft to the truck. Now the truck was pulling the raft.
They passed many people wading through the dirty black water. When people saw the big truck and the raft go by, nobody rushed over to them, with the exception of just one middle-aged woman.
It seemed that she was exhausted. Her face showed fear and desperation as she hurried to get to the raft and tried several times to grab on to the edge. Wan immediately pulled her up. The raft then sunk to the water level because of the overweight. Fortunately, it was being pulled by the truck and didn’t actually sink.
Eventually, they passed through the most difficult 4 km (2.5 miles) stretch and made it to the freeway where the water was below knee level and not as dirty.
There were thousands of refugees, and most of them were carrying their cats and dogs. Wan got on the truck and saw a big cage with many dogs inside. Thai people left their belongings but brought their cats and dogs, because they feel that they can give up material wealth, but can’t abandon living beings like cats and dogs.
Temporary aid stations were set up on the freeway that was higher than the water level. They provided clean water and meals. They were all run by non-governmental charity organizations.
The truck stopped several times on the way. Every time it stopped, the military officer would get off and personally check the water depth and the direction of the road. The solders told Wan in English that the officer had already been working like this for a few days. He made several trips each day. They said the water was very deep in some places, and there were sewers with missing manhole covers, which made it very dangerous.
The truck didn’t go straight south to Bangyai, but took a detour to the north, because of the big flood in the middle. Along the way, Wan saw many makeshift rafts that provided volunteer services. Whenever two rafts or boats passed each other, people would wave and greet each other with smiles.
It took more than two hours to finish the last 8 km (5 miles) ride to Bangyai. When Wan got off the truck, he pressed his palms together in front of his chest to show his sincere appreciation to the soldiers. The military officer and the soldiers lined up and saluted him in return. Then they immediately started a new rescue round, asking if anyone needed a ride.
Wan said he was touched by how the Thai people are dealing with this crisis. He said he experienced the big 1998 flood in China. When the water just covered the feet, people already started panicking, rushing to the stores and clearing out all everyday necessities. Salt and water were sold out very quickly, he said.
But in Thailand, grocery items were always available, and nobody hoarded merchandise or raised prices. The society is not in a panic, and people still remain kind and polite in times of disaster. Wan attributed this to cultural differences between China and Thailand.
Read the original Chinese article http://mag.epochtimes.com/b5/250/10031.htm
