BANGKOK: Thailand is offering a free course to help Thai women cope with the highs and lows of interracial marriage and avoid potential scams or falling victim to human trafficking when moving abroad.
As Thai society becomes more accepting of interracial marriages, some women view them as a way to better their economic status, the social development ministry says.
“Our course will teach women how to conduct themselves, about the laws of their destination country, and how to prepare before going,” said senior ministry official Patcharee Arayakul.
“This is to reduce the risks of women being scammed or being a victim of human trafficking,” added Patcharee, who is the director of the ministry’s division of gender equality.
Although there is no recent data on such marriages, a 2004 government study showed more than 15,000 women from one of the poorest regions, northeastern Isan, had married foreign men, and sent a monthly total of 122 million baht to their families.
The course covers “legal rights, how to seek help through relevant Thai authorities, as well as exploring issues of culture shock,” said Dusadee Ayuwat, an associate professor at Khon Kaen University who helped to design it.
The practical advice was very useful, said one woman who attended the day-long course, paid for by the ministry.
“I was more interested in the legal aspects rather than the culture shock,” said the woman, who declined to be named.
The course could be useful for some Thai women, said Ploynisa Duangdararungrueng, a former spa manager who is married to German national Ralf Wacker.
“Thai women, especially those from the northeast region, are soft-spoken and submissive,” she said. “They must learn to respect themselves and their culture.”
Her husband said the course could prepare women for the reality of life in the West.
“For a lot of women, life in the West is like a fairy tale, but in reality it can feel extremely isolating moving to a small town,” said Wacker who urged Thailand to offer a similar course for Western spouses.
“If the Western man does not understand the family dynamics, this can cause a lot of problems.”
Thailand offers course for women who marry foreigners
Thailand offers course for women who marry foreigners
Germany plays down threat of US invading Greenland after talks
WASHINGTON: Germany’s top diplomat on Monday played down the risk of a US attack on Greenland, after President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize the island from NATO ally Denmark.
Asked after meeting Secretary of State Marco Rubio about a unilateral military move by Trump, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said: “I have no indication that this is being seriously considered.”
“Rather, I believe there is a common interest in addressing the security issues that arise in the Arctic region, and that we should and will do so,” he told reporters.
“NATO is only now in the process of developing more concrete plans on this, and these will then be discussed jointly with our US partners.”
Wadephul’s visit comes ahead of talks this week in Washington between Rubio and the top diplomats of Denmark and Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump in recent days has vowed that the United States will take Greenland “one way or the other” and said he can do it “the nice way or the more difficult way.”
Greenland’s government on Monday repeated that it would not accept a US takeover under “any circumstance.”
Greenland and NATO also said Monday that they were working on bolstering defense of the Arctic territory, a key concern cited by Trump.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to growing Arctic activity by Russia and China as a reason why the United States needs to take over Greenland.
But he has also spoken more broadly of his desire to expand the land mass controlled by the United States.
