Homeless Boys

[Dodger]

I took a motorbike buzz around the bay yesterday morning to join friends for coffee and a chat near Sunee. I always stop at the beach to stretch a bit after the 30 minute ride, then routinely drive through Jomtien Complex just to see the scene before making my way to Sanongs Cafe on Soi Yensabai. Just in this one short early morning visit to Pattaya I ran into 3 different boys who I’ve known for years who have been forced to survive on the streets due to the effects of this pandemic.

The 3 things these boys all have in common are; They all have above average looks, genuinely nice guys, and have all been working the scene for several years. One boy (names not important) worked before his 2 year hitch in the Army at Nice Boys Gogo…another worked freelance in-and-around Sunee (Green Chairs). and the last boy usually works freelance at the beach. From what I’ve seen over the years, none of these boys had a lack of customers and/or sponsors, wore nice clothes, appeared clean (drug free), and were (and are) just as down-to-earth and friendly as they come.

One boy was sleeping in a small alley which runs between two large buildings just down from Dong Tan Beach. He had a tattered rain poncho taped to the wall to help block the rain at night, a roll-up straw mat for a bed, and his clothes were balled-up on the ground and being used as a pillow. The second boy I ran into was sleeping in a bar in Jomtien Complex where he now works at night. At least he has a roof over his head and a small sofa to use as a bed. The third boy I spotted was sleeping on the cement porch outside a small shop on Soi Yensabai just down from where Two Guys Guesthouse used to be. Similar to Beach Boy, he was sleeping on the ground using his clothes as a pillow. Sadly, but honestly, this reminded me of the hobo’s I’d see living around the rail yards in Chicago, with the exception being Chicago hobo’s prefer living in cardboard boxes and always beg for handouts.

I know that many of you may find this hard to believe, but not one of these boys asked me for money. A phenomenon…maybe? Who knows. Maybe, even with times being as hard as they are right now, saving face is still important to them. In any event, I stuffed some money in each of their pockets. Not much, but enough to cover a room for the night and food for a few days. I plan to do the same each and every time I make these visits which is normally every 4-5 days.

Before anyone asks the question that we hear so often, i.e. “Why don’t these boys just go home”? I’m going to take the liberty of answering this for you. It’s because some of them don’t have a home to go back to. Common Scenario: Many of these boys come from small remote jungle villages…raised by their grandmothers while their mothers are away (indefinitely) working in a factory in Bangkok…grandmothers die…homes disappear. End of story. As far as many Thai fathers are concerned, especially in the impoverished regions, they commonly drink them themselves into a permanent stupor after kids come along…drift off to a place with no responsibilities, and offer no support whatsoever to their families after that. Then there are the fortunate ones. The ones (and there are many) who have good parents (mothers and fathers) and have a home to return to and survive. I believe the majority of boys fall in this category, but that doesn’t do anything for the less fortunate ones.

.All I’ve been hearing and reading about for the past 7 months are farang complaining about the services THEY have to do without…the services THEY can’t have…the inconveniences THEY have to suffer when cancelling a holiday…and a host of other complaints, all of which, frankly, are self-serving and trivial as compared to the Thais over here who are struggling in the “survival mode” It’s almost embarrassing.

So nobody gets me wrong here, if I were stuck back in the U.S and banned from returning to Thailand it would be the ULTIMATE BALL-BUST, and I would be just as desperate as some of you are to return as soon as I could, so don’t get me wrong. But, in the mean-time, I would be sending money to my boyfriend to make sure he was taken care of in the process. I know some would balk at this, but I certainly wouldn’t allow another persons blindness (or, self-centeredness) to distract me from doing what I knew was right. As far as I’m concerned, this is the time to look for opportunities to help others, especially someone you care for.

What Goes Around – Comes Around.

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