Comments on The Damage Done by Warren Fellows, (12 yrs of hell in a Bangkok prison)

I broke down and bought a book last night at a used bookstore. My plan was to go and read as many books that were written about Thailand as they had – and get an idea what kind of writers are out there. I found a couple fiction writers that I liked, but overall I wasn’t excited about anything.

Then I went to the non-fiction side and saw this book that I’d read exerpts of over the years – a couple pages everytime I picked it up in a bookstore. I decided last night that the price was right and it’d be good reading for a night. 180b for used copy. (You can buy it from me now for 200 and I’ll pay the shipping, send me a paypal to thaipulse@gmail.com and send me the address in ‘thai’ preferably and I’ll mail it out asap.

The book “The Damage Done” was really well written. It was a very easy read and descriptive enough that I have a good picture what the guy went through. Well, a good snapshot of it anyway. There were huge parts missing that bothered me by the end – but, no matter. They must not have been important to the guy.

I thought about the heat of the prison. Wouldn’t it be sizzling all year round there? He barely mentioned the heat. I guess one gets used to that pretty quickly. He didn’t mention much about how he went about learning Thai except that he picked up a phrase or two here and there and he’d listen intently when Thais’ spoke.

I’ve been here 3 years and only now can I talk so that everyone understands 90% of what I’m saying… and that’s only in BKK and the South, not in Isaan where the tones still screw me up. Admittedly I’m slow in language aquisition but still I had to try from books for a couple years to really ‘get it’.

He didn’t say much about suicide except that a lot of guys OD’ed on drugs in the prison. Were those suicides for the most part? Surely there must be a couple hundred people per year killing themselves in those huge prisons.

The conditions in the prison were appalling, but they didn’t seem that bad really. He didn’t write much about the good things that happened – the positive things that must have happened, as he wanted to focus on the negative… but there had to be a little more than what he mentioned that kept him and others ‘going’ there for so long. He was there 12 years. Man. That’s a lifetime. No, 5 lifetimes when you spend it without freedom.

He tells a lot about the heroin that’s available within the prison. The same thing that he was trying to bring from Thailand to Australia and that he was sentenced to life for – was available at the prisons to buy. Is that nuts?

What was the Thai guard so angry about – the one that moonlighted as a taxi cab driver in BKK when he wasn’t at the prison? I’d like to know more about what he thought about that. I’ve never seen a cruel Thai person. They must exist… but where are they in general society? I’ve not met any. I’ve met guys that have been in Thai jails and they seem respectful on the outside. Not angry. Not out to get me or anyone. They seem pretty calm. I’ve not been drinking with them… true enough.

How many foreign prisoners were in the prison? I’d like to know how many from France, Germany, England, the USA, Canada, Mexico, all over… even Laos, Cambodia, China, etc… There was no mention of any guess at the total numbers but some guys where introduced from various countries as the book went on…

Anyway, overall the book was great reading. I think it took me over 2 hours to read the 200 pages. The book was so well worded that pages flew by. It wasn’t crammed full of extra information that makes reading a Tom Clancy book such an intensive effort.

It was just really nice reading about a most tragic experience.

Ok, if you want it – let me know I’ll send it out to you.

Anybody read “Escape” yet? Richard Barrows told me about that one – and even interviewed the guy that wrote it. I’ve not read it yet. Anyone want to trade this book for that one?

Here’s that article: Escape >

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Pedophile GUILTY of Sex with 2 Children < 13 yrs SENTENCED to less than 5 Years!

German paedophile jailed 4 years eight months in Thailand. For a GUILTY sentence. Come to Thailand for sex with Children. Great Place, cheap girls, widely available and even if you’re caught with 2 different girls – spend less than 5 years in jail! WHAT A COUNTRY! What a farking country.

Does Thailand have any idea what kind of sentence this would get elsewhere in the world? Do they care? Is it OK for foreigners to come here and abuse the Thai kids? That’s what this ruling says to me. I hate the idea of jail, but 5 years? Hell, anyone could do 5 years. The risk of getting caught for anything here in Thailand is almost negligible… no wonder Thailand is filled with pedophiles…. land of smiles and pedophiles…

Anyway, that’s what book number 2 is about. Yes, book number 1 – the fake cover was just that, a fake. I’ve written another book that IS book 1, but that book isn’t getting released while I’m still here in Thailand. Not a good idea.

This next book takes a look at pedophilia in Thailand and offers a solution.

read more | digg story

German paedophile jailed 4 years eight month
(from The NATION)

The Criminal Court Friday sentenced a Geman paedophile to four years and eight months in jail for having sex with two Thai girls under 13 years old.

Jorg Rudol Fiedle, 43, was found guilty of having bought sex from the two girls at the Natural Beach Pattaya Hotel in November 2002.

The court initially sentenced him to seven years in jail by commuted the jail term by one third after he confessed having bought sex from the two girls.

The man appealed against the ruling and was detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison pending the Appeals Court’s decision whether to grant him release on bail or not.

The Nation

Want to Help a Poor Thai Family?

Story from Pattaya City News (.net)

Here’s something we should see more of… not being Thai I don’t hear about this stuff often. It’s not that Thai people don’t care, but each Thai person probably knows 20 families like this one. Send them a few baht by transferring from your Thai bank (any) through the ATM machine. Follow the instructions for transferring – it’s easy and you’ll have no excuse for not doing it. Really, you’ll feel like you did something…

The article said she was always excluded from social gatherings – do the Thai kids exclude poor kids from their groups? There must be a hell of a lot of poor kids, how do they choose who gets excluded? I haven’t seen that in Thai schools, but of course I was teaching in the ENglish program and all the parents of those kids have enough money.

Man, a very heartbreaking story… even if I don’t know the whole story and background…

Deputy Mayor helps 11 year old Student living rough behind a Chinese Cemetary.

Deckjing Saroshar aged 11 is a bright student who attends Pattaya School Number 2. Everyday she arrives at school in her white and blue uniform and appears to be a happy child. However, Teachers have been concerned why she is constantly excluded from social gatherings at lunch and afternoon breaks. They were also concerned about her weight and decided to do some investigation into her living conditions and were shocked to find that she was living with her jobless Father in a tin hut behind a Chinese Cemetery in Naklua. Information was passed on to Khun Ronagit, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya who was told that the girl’s father, Khun Tongpraer aged 35 would sometimes not have enough money to feed himself or his daughter. He had come to Pattaya 10 years ago to search for his Wife, without success. He was unable to find work and now collects recyclable items from the street. He uses most of the money to educate and feed his daughter. The Deputy Mayor decided to help out the pair and opened an account for the girl at the Government Savings Bank and placed an undisclosed personal donation inside the account. If you would like more information on the Girl and her Father please call the Pattaya City Call Center on 1337 or you can send a donation direct to account number 03-2105-20-112608-2 at the Government Savings Bank.

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