On November 14, flood water in my area of Bangkok receded by 20 centimeters. The main road at the bottom of my street, totally impassable by anything but army trucks two days ago, now has motorbikes, cars and buses traveling on it. Sure, there's still 30 centimeters of water spread across most of the road, but it is possible to drive through it, just not the 70 centimeters (more than two feet) we had before.
But as Bangkok's floods arrived in my area and then receded, it seems it may be reappearing soon. Mob rule and the inability of Thailand's government to stand up to anyone will be the reason why.
When Bangkok's floods first hit, the government of Yingluck Shinawatra had been in power for three months. A political novice pushed into office by her brother, Thailand's ex-prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006, Yingluck didn't have the strength necessary to figure out a plan or stand up for what she believed in.
So, as Bangkok flood waters spread,Yingluck's government pussy-footed around, until waters spread and flooding worsened. My area of Bangkok flooded 10 days ago, just days after we'd been told it would never flood. Mob rule was to blame.
Days before,Yingluck's government had ordered the building of flood barriers around sections of outer Bangkok in an effort to stop water flooding inner Bangkok and, instead, divert it around the city and out to sea. The problem with the barriers however was other areas of Bangkok, outside the inner city, flooded. And flooded badly.
Pressure mounted from residents of flooded areas, demanding the government remove the barriers.
Now, in any western country, if flood barriers were erected to prevent important economic areas of a city from flooding, no western government would kowtow to a small group of angry residents who, sadly, were flooded but who didn't live in an area vital to the country's economy. In Bangkok though, when these angry residents illegally knocked down part of the crucial barriers, instead of having them arrested, Yingluck's government backed down. It allowed the destroyed barrier to remain dismantled and flood waters to surge through. As a result, my area of Bangkok flooded two days later.
Another project Yingluck's government created, the "Big Bag" project, is also in danger of being ripped apart by mob rule. The "Big Bags" are mega-sandbags erected to stop more water entering Bangkok. Again, residents in flooded areas objected, saying the bags were causing their area to flood more. Yingluck, yet again, bowed to mob rule and allowed a section of the large sandbags to be removed.
Flood waters are now rising again in northern areas, just a few miles from me. As the "Big Bag" project is allowed to fail, due to the demands of a mere handful of people, my area will flood again - an area that's home to more than 100,000 people and to some of the largest shopping venues in the city.
Who's governing Thailand during the country's worst floods in a century? The angry mob, that's for sure.
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