Homeless Boys

[Dodger]

I’m amazed his little cafe is still open. It was struggling before all this. Take it he is ok?

Yes, Sanong is doing just fine. He has a group of regular morning customers from Yensabai Condo's which seems to be helping him keep things afloat.

[Dodger]

Several weeks ago food lines for the poor were common in Pattaya bars

I know, the "Balloon Chasers" were in seventh heaven...LOL.

[Zebedee]

I know, the "Balloon Chasers" were in seventh heaven...LOL.

Some mathematician here should produce a Venn Diagram showing the different terms used to describe sexpats i.e

Expats, Retirees, Pensioners, Tourists, Visitors, Cheap Charlies, Ballon Chasers, Sexpats - and how they are interlinked.

[Oliver2]

I'd be interested to know if the number of gay expats is declining.. I suspect it is. It was a good deal-or so it seemed- in 2004/5 when I was considering relocation...for one thing the UK pound was strong. But now? Many of us were attracted by the prospect after spending holidays there, or meeting someone special. Now, the tourist market has been on the decline for many years so there may be fewer of us tempted.

[sglad]

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.

I'm more than a little surprised, to be honest. If the above description is correct, than these boys are better off than most in their lot. They are young, they have looks, they have street smarts and people skills, and they're Thai citizens. It's been five months since the lock-down and presumably business in Pattaya has been on the decline at least two months before that - so why haven't these guys moved on? What are they waiting for - things in Pattaya aren't going to get better for at least another year, if ever. Have they been told otherwise and are waiting it out? I don't know what their individual home situations are like but why haven't they gone home? At least they'd have food and shelter. Where are their sponsors? What happened to all the money made during the good years if not spent on booze, drugs, women, trinklets or gambled away?

The factories, having lost a lot of their foreign workers, are crying for staff. Canning factories are looking for general workers for 300Bt a day - 500Bt if you work a 12-hour shift. Double pay on Sundays and public holidays. My Burmese-Thai friends are doing double shifts in these factories. Some can barely read or write Thai but they're used to hard work, even before Covid. No nice clothes, no sponsors, no fancy holidays with sugar daddies. And they've had to downsize - from single rooms to three to a room. A good friend is selling banana and sweet potato fritters to supplement his income as a barber. Another is doing odd jobs as a painter, gardener, maid and dishwasher. And he is stunning and has a ripped body. People whose livelihoods have been impacted by Covid started finding alternative ways to make a living four months ago.

[christianpfc]

Thanks for your report, Dodger. I agree with your views.

I console myself with the thought that I stay at my parent's place in Germany (where I still have two rooms for myself) for free and my only hardships is not having sex for months and having to find ways to fill the waiting time until I can return to Thailand (or somewhere else in SEAsia, wherever opens first for tourism).

Indeed there are boys who do not ask for money. I guess it's time for a second wave of online money transfers them (I rather give money to individuals I know than to charity).

Sglad raised an interesting point. Migrant workers from neighboring countries are permitted to enter Thailand (with 14 days quarantine). But there should be enough unemployed Thais to fill these jobs now? And I think Thailand needs tourists more than migrant workers, but why are tourists not permitted? For 30 days permission to stay it would not make sense to submit oneself to 14 days quarantine, but with a longer visa, I would jump at the occasion to return.

[gerefan2]

I too would do 14 days quarantine for my winter stay in Thailand.

I’m hoping they will allow people with 90 day visas in first.

[Khor tose]

Dodger if you could only marry each and every one, and get therm off the street, I know you would?

[Dodger]

[QUOTE=sglad;268548]

..........so why haven't these guys moved on? What are they waiting for - things in Pattaya aren't going to get better for at least another year, if ever. Have they been told otherwise and are waiting it out? I don't know what their individual home situations are like but why haven't they gone home? At least they'd have food and shelter. Where are their sponsors?/QUOTE]

You raise some very valid questions, but in reality some boys simply don't have homes to return to as described earlier in this post. For them, places like Pattaya become their support-system...sub-community...new home. Asking why they just don't leave their homes to find work elsewhere is also a valid question, but only when being asked from a western perspective. Asking why they came to places like Pattaya when they were 15 years old to work as prostitutes in the first place would be an equally valid question.

Thai boys, like some of the more unfortunate ones being discussed here, are uneducated, haven't the foggiest clue what "Planning" means, learned to survive on the streets as a necessity, and often lack self-confidence when faced with some of the alternatives you mentioned. leaving their support-system which has kept them alive for years to work in a canning factory in another city makes perfect sense to you and I, but to boys like this, the fear and uncertainty attached to this is simply more than some can handle.

Where are their sponsors? You're guess is as good as theirs.

[Manforallseasons]

Dodger, as you are the O.P. of this thread may I ask what you did to help the 3 boys you noted in your opening post?