It's not easy to eke out a living from a tuk-tuk. Gai and Mai have two daughters, they're also raising a grandson and now they have taken in Poy. Poy came to their attention through their 16 year old daughter, Mai. Mai knew Poy at school and realized that Poy's family had disintegrated because of parental meth addiction.
Typically this is the busy season for tourism because of the dry, cooler temperatures. However, this year the protests in Bangkok have frightened tourists away. So several days this week they had no customers for their tuk-tuk. No customers, no income and few resources on which to rely ! Their situation certainly illustrates the Thai saying "When the elephants fight the ants suffer."
Today they were bringing me from school via my house to catch the mini-bus to Bangkok. Just as we approached the house their tuk-tuk broke down. It's the newer one they just rented, for which I composed the sign. They pay $120. a month rental for it. When I get back to Ayutthaya on Sunday I'll inquire about the liability for the repairs; are they stuck, or, is it the responsibility of the rental company?
Life on the margin?...hard for many of us to imagine the daily struggle.
No comments:
Post a Comment