Bangkok Dangerous

The only one way to make candidates for Bangkok governor understand our needs is to force them to walk in our shoes. COMMENTARY By Sanitsuda Ekachai

Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.

Email: sanitsudae@bangkokpost.co.th

This is what all Bangkok governor candidates must do before trying to sell us any of their fancy ideas on improving the Big Mango.

Day one: Wear a cast to immobilise one of your legs, use crutches to walk, then go to work or do your errands.

Day two: Try to do the same thing in a wheelchair and see how far you can go from your place.

Day three: Cover your eyes with a mask, or wear a pair of thick spectacles to blur your view. Grab a cane, and walk on Bangkok's notorious footpaths for at least three kilometres.

Day four: When hungry, eat only at food stalls in wet markets. To relieve yourself, do so only in toilets at temples, wet markets, state hospitals or bus and train stations.

Day five: Pedal your bicycle to the Bangkok Post for an interview on how you would make Bangkok friendlier for people of all ages, including those with special physical needs and for health- and environment-conscious cyclists.

One simple reason why Bangkok's footpaths are forever ridden with dangerous potholes is because those who run Bangkok do not walk the streets like us mere mortals.

That is also why Bangkok's buildings, public spaces and transport remain unfriendly - and even dangerous - to the elderly and people with physical constraints.

The calls for handrails, elevators, clear signs, appropriately sloped pathways and cleaner and safer public toilets have been ignored because our Bangkok policy-makers do not have to use these public facilities.

Moreover, their big egos have led them to believe that they will never get old. Even when they do, they still can buy themselves first-class services which keep them in a cocoon of comfort and convenience.

Isn't that maddening?

There is only one way to make those aspiring to be Bangkok governor understand our needs. We have to force them to be in our shoes, to struggle with Bangkok the way we do, for at least a few days. Let's be more ambitious. Let's make it a rule that a Bangkok governor must go to work by public transport so he/she does not lose touch with the daily realities of ordinary people.

We like to portray our society as being blessed with Buddhist compassion and respect for the aged. This may be true on a personal basis. But when it comes to public facilities, the city is simply heartless to the aged and those who have problems with physical mobility.

Today, one out of every 10 Thais is over 60. The number will be two out of 10 just 15 years from now. The majority in Thailand's greying society will be women. Yet, there is little sign from the city administration to make Bangkok friendlier to the elderly, particularly the grandmas.

According to Asst Prof Trairat Jarutach, the Thai Gerontology Research and Development Institute recently did a survey to see how safe and user-friendly Bangkok buildings and public spaces are for the elderly. The result is distressing.

Government buildings passed only one criteria: the door.

The wet markets, the place grandmas frequently visit, do not pass any criteria. They are also considered dangerous due to slippery floors and unhygienic surroundings. State hospitals, public parks and the post offices also failed most tests.

The private sector did a bit better. Though much is left to be desired, public transport stations fared best, followed by shopping malls. Temples, the supposed refuge of the aged, also failed most elderly-friendly criteria. Additionally, while public temples are generally bad, temple toilets are horrible.

Thailand is getting rapidly grey while the young work force is struggling with a myriad problems, ranging from sub-standard education and work skills, high-risk behaviour and Aids, to premature death. It is therefore important to help the elderly remain economically active.

But if the aged prefer not to, it is not because they do not want to work. It is simply because Bangkok for the elderly is too dangerous.