I have just returned from a holiday to Phuket, Thailand. I was appalled at the way the regular, second class citizens were made to live. Look at us in our western countries with us thinking “Poor me, I’ve only got a 1 bedroom house and a small TV”. Almost 8/10 people in Phuket have no electricity, no bedding and are forced to live in sweatshops where they are forced to work day and night.
In the hotel I was staying out I was walking along a balcony along the back of the hotel and was appreciating the view until I came to a worn down 2 story building. At first I had thought it was just random bits of clothing but then I realized it was a family living there, in a run down building and forced to use pillow cases as pillows instead of pillows. I was appalled at this and this deeply touched me and made me feel bad. Right next to this fancy hotel was a desperate family, living in the slums and here I was walking along in fake designer gear drinking Pepsi.
Imagine living a life where you depended on tourists coming in and buying your fake goods, not even for a large sum. These people are suffering and struggling to live whilst we are complaining about “Not having the latest gaming console” or “Not having a big enough television.”
So are we really such "unlucky" people? Is missing a mark in football unlucky is being made to do your oral presentation in front of the class "unlucky"? It's really up to you to decide but when you compare this to going without food and living in poverty which is "unlucky"?
In one instance I was walking down a street full of stalls where th dirt was virtually 3cm thick and rats and stray dogs littered the streets with feces. There was a young girl holding a baby, I presume her baby sister. She was forced to dunk the baby in a puddle of water that looked contaminated in order to try and clean her.
So which is "unlucky" being made to clean your baby sister in a puddle of contaminated water or sitting in your luxurious bath reading a dolly magazine and dropping it in.
I’ve written this to make you realize that what you have is remarkable good compared to others in worse off countries than us. So next time you’re begging to have something, think “Do I really need this?” and put it back on the shelf.
