Karan
Charoenwongtakul shows his skin condition to reporters, hoping he
might find a cure and/or compensation.
Patcharapol Panrak
With his pale skin and white hair, Karan Charoenwongtakul easily
could be thought to have albinism. But it was a skin diving
expedition near a Rayong industrial park that changed his coloring -
and his life - forever.
Karan, 25, and two Laotian pals had dived into the water near the
Maptaput Industrial Estate in April 2010 looking for shells and
fish. They surfaced to itchy skin and a feeling like they’d been
coated in oil. The first white spots appeared a few days later.
Within weeks, the bleaching spread over the fisherman’s entire body,
turning his hair and beard white as well. His previously
dark-complexioned friends suffered similarly, but were so shunned by
friends they fled back to Laos.
Karan consulted dermatologists at Siriraj, Rajvithi, and Queen
Sirikit hospitals, but none could determine what caused his malady.
Acquaintances and family members feared he might have a contagious
disease, he said, adding that even his wife left him despite his
assurances that chemicals, not disease, caused his condition.
More than two years later, Karan said he still suffers from weakness
and weight loss and is still searching for the cause of his
condition.
Praphai Sathvittaya, with the Ban Chang local government, said she
has taken Karan to various doctors. The only answers they got were
suppositions he was affected by a chemical release from Maptaput.
She said Ban Chang has no jurisdiction to launch an investigation in
Maptaput, so Karan simply must hope a company comes forward to
confess. The odds of that happening are as long as the skin diver
getting his color back.
