To round out my time abroad, I hopped over to Thailand to visit some friends for a week. Well, the week has quickly passed but still I remain in Chiang Mai! As I'm sure most of you know, the land of smiles is going through a period of feisty politics and it has built up to the occupation of both Bangkok airports by political demonstrators. News Report. Bangkok closed on Wednesday (my flights were on Thursday) and will remain closed until Saturday evening at the earliest. It seems like the situation could either dissolve smoothly or escalate quickly. I am incredibly thankful to be in Chiang Mai with friends rather than in an airport or unfamiliar city. And, instead of eating Thanksgiving dinner on a plane (meaning it would have been thai or indian food), I was thankful to share turkey, potatoes, pie, etc with other St. Olaf students.
My plans are to stay in Chiang Mai until the airports re-open. Right now I am guessing that I will not get out until Monday or Tuesday.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Politics, Politics, Politics: School Closing #2
At the end of August, Woodstock unexpectedly closed for a day after religious riots broke out in Orissa (a state near Calcutta, far from Mussoorie). Christian schools were asked to close primarily to take a stand against the violence, but also just in case more religious riots broke out.
On Wednesday, we started school as usual but during second period an assembly was called to cancel school for the remainder of the day. This marks the second time school has been closed this semester. In fact, these are the only two instances where school has been closed unexpectedly like this in years. The decision was made, like Orissa, for solidarity as well as safety. It has been difficult to sort through the information and news as there is little national coverage of the events and Woodstock has to speak lightly in the best interests of the students.
From what I have gathered, the BJP (conservative political party) has called for a nation-wide closing of educational institutions. Their reasoning for the bandh (strike) is to protest recent violence, particularly the unusual number of bomb blasts that have occured in the last few months. They have labeled undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants as the source of the bomb blasts and so are blaming the INC (political party in power) for the presence of these Bangladeshis in India. Along with the closing of schools, there are some marches, one of which was rumored to be going through Mussoorie and passing through campus. Some Woodstock staff members have no fears about this, but others were concerned that violence could result. Woodstock is put in a difficult position. By closing the school, it is in some ways acting in solidarity with the conservative political party against Bangladeshi immigrants (which there are a good number of at Woodstock). If it doesn't close, it is isolating itself and potentially could become a target. Turns out, as I had guessed, nothing happened except the enjoyment of skipping classes for the day!
On Wednesday, we started school as usual but during second period an assembly was called to cancel school for the remainder of the day. This marks the second time school has been closed this semester. In fact, these are the only two instances where school has been closed unexpectedly like this in years. The decision was made, like Orissa, for solidarity as well as safety. It has been difficult to sort through the information and news as there is little national coverage of the events and Woodstock has to speak lightly in the best interests of the students.
From what I have gathered, the BJP (conservative political party) has called for a nation-wide closing of educational institutions. Their reasoning for the bandh (strike) is to protest recent violence, particularly the unusual number of bomb blasts that have occured in the last few months. They have labeled undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants as the source of the bomb blasts and so are blaming the INC (political party in power) for the presence of these Bangladeshis in India. Along with the closing of schools, there are some marches, one of which was rumored to be going through Mussoorie and passing through campus. Some Woodstock staff members have no fears about this, but others were concerned that violence could result. Woodstock is put in a difficult position. By closing the school, it is in some ways acting in solidarity with the conservative political party against Bangladeshi immigrants (which there are a good number of at Woodstock). If it doesn't close, it is isolating itself and potentially could become a target. Turns out, as I had guessed, nothing happened except the enjoyment of skipping classes for the day!
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