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Young Marines Pattaya hump the Death Railway
Young Marines billeting at Hin
Tok River Camp.
The Young Marines of Pattaya (YMP) participated in a
three day and two nights organized unit trip (OUT) to Kanchanaburi and the
River Kwai in August.
The first day was spent getting to Hin Tok River Camp. This was a Japanese
prisoner of war camp for British soldiers during World War II. The unit had
an excellent lunch over looking the River Kwai, received a historical
briefing about the camp and the local area by the camp’s manager, and then
moved into their tents. These were no ordinary tents. They were built up on
raised wooden decks and had all the comforts of a lavish hotel room, large
comfortable beds, air conditioning, showers with hot water and even a porch
with tables and chairs.
Suspension Bridge over the
North River Kwai. Left to Right: Unit Commander Rad, PFC Bret & leader Nok
Mays.
After getting settled in, the unit conducted recons of
the area. The camp has a swimming pool located near its dock on the River
Kwai. The pool is fed by a small natural stream coming down from near the
camp, and the pool overflows into the Kwai. About a click north of this
camp, during WWII was a camp that held Dutch POWs. But, the Young Marines
did not find any signs of it.
The unit then started a hump to Hellfire Pass. About 2km west of Hin Tok
Camp, they took a detour to a foot & biking suspension bridge that crosses
the North Kwai River, and led to a temple.
Young Marines leader Jim
Coomes in Hellfire Pass.
Back tracking, the Young Marines then continued to
Hellfire Pass. Humping another 3km and up a steep grade, they reached the
south entrance to Hellfire Pass. The Australian’s POW camp was above
Hellfire Pass. The next 3km of the Thai Burma Railway route would take them
through six cutting and six former trestle bridge sites stopping at Hin Tok
road. Here, the Young Marines had planned on crossing the road and
continuing on the railway route. At this point they were less than 1.5km
from their camp at Hin Tok. But, this section is on Royal Thai Army land,
and has been fenced off and posted with “Area Closed” signs by order of the
Army Division’s Commanding Officer. This meant that they would not get to
see the “Double Track” or the site of the “Pack of Cards” bridge and instead
of 1.5km walk; they had to hump 5.5km back to their camp. Well, all the
Young Marines completed the day’s 15km back to camp, cleaned up and made the
outstanding BBQ at 1900 hours.
On the route of the Death
Railway, a little North of Hellfire Pass, where a trestle had once stood.
Left to Right: PFC Bret Mays, Ian Naughton (a friend of the unit visiting
from Australia), and Unit Commander Rad Mays.
The next morning the Young Marines were up and eating by
0730. After another excellent meal, they moved out, via the YMP vehicle, to
the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum. This was the location of an Australian
POW camp. The Australian POWs named this place hellfire because when they
were going down in the dark to labor, the burning torches made it appear as
though they were going down into hell’s fires.
They completed the tour, picked up some souvenirs and headed out for Namtok
Station at Sai Yok. This is as far as the train runs on the old Thai Burma
Railway these days.
They toured the Sai Yok Waterfall and some members conducted a recon around
in the local bush looking for the old railway line. It was found, but it was
in a very dense location. At this time, the Unit had to be split up. All but
two took the train back to Kanchanaburi via crossing the bridge on the River
Kwai. Two took the YMP vehicle back to Kanchanaburi where they all linked up
again at the train station. Then back to the River Kwai Bridge for a tour
and some play time on the old train engines. After chow and showers, the
unit settled in for a good night’s sleep.
Hin Tok Cutting is just after
the Three-Tier Trestle and about 100m before Hin Tok Road.
The next morning, the unit headed out for breakfast and
then to the Thai Burma Railway Center, where they toured the museum and the
Donrak War Cemetery across from it. Then it was time to head back to
Pattaya. It was a great trip and an outstanding adventure. The unit is
already starting plans for another OUT to the same area. It is just a
beautiful place and such an exciting area with so much history.
If you know of anyone seeking adventure and are willing to take on Honor,
Courage and Commitment, then maybe they may want to become a Young Marine.
If so, please contact Rad Mays at 083 115 8694 or email to
[email protected]
Young Marines Pattaya members
look into Hin Tok Cutting. The Three-Tier Trestle Bridge would have been to
their rear. Between the black squares indicates where the old train bed
lays. Left to Right: Unit Commander Rad, PFC Bret & Leader Nok Mays.
Three-Tier Trestle with train
heading toward Hin Tok Cutting. The black rectangles represent where the
backs of the three members of the Young Marines would have been located.
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Hand to Hand preschool visits the park
On Friday, 17th August 2012, the children from the Hand
to Hand center went to play at the Naklua playground just behind the market
area. Armed with sunscreen, snacks and water, the excited children rode in
songthaews to the playground.
 Many
of these poor children had never been to the playground before and there
were squeals of delight as they ran to play on the swings and sliders and
other great fun equipment.
A big thanks to the Plathong restaurant that treated our children to ice
cream for free and allowed us to use their facilities.
If you would like to come and spend some time with our children to teach
English, Thai or just play with our children please do not hesitate to
contact us at [email protected]. We are always looking for second
hand clothes, bedding and other household items. We can use anything even if
it is not in good condition.
Meanwhile, there is just six weeks to go to the Shenanigans inaugural Family
Fun Day. This event is going to be an annual event to help raise money for
charities. Our charity event on Saturday 20th October is growing in
momentum. We have secured our major sponsors Acorn Distribution, Pexgo, New
Asia Pacific, Asia Pacific Pensions & Zen Condominiums. We still have
corporate sponsors, food & misc stalls available on the day. Call Paul for
details on 089 0962491.
Hand to Hand foundation will be the major beneficiary of the event.
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Journalist competition for students
Andrew Chambers
The results of the Eastern Seaboard Young Journalist of the Year
have just been announced. Salena Khanijou from Garden International School
Rayong won the U18 competition with a fantastic article looking at the
plight of a Burmese woman trafficked into Thailand. Tim Jantarungsee from
Regents School Pattaya was chosen in the U14 competition for a piece
exploring the issue of whale hunting.
 Salena
Khanijou
Judging the competition was Dan Dorothy, editor of the Pattaya Mail and
author of Mango Rains. Dan said how impressed he was with the entries. “I’ve
read through the entries, and all are amazing. All of them show great signs
of talent, and I’m sure if the students would like to continue to write,
they all seem to have what it takes to become writers.”
The winners received a 500 baht book voucher and will have the chance to
take part in the national competition being held later in the year, where
they will compete against students from across Thailand.
For the competition, students in the U14 category had to write a maximum of
500 words about an animal rights topic. Many students chose topics related
to Asia and Thailand such as the illegal wildlife trade and bear farming.
The U18 category had to write a similar length piece on a topic to do with
human rights.
Regents School Pattaya will be teaming up with Amnesty International later
in the school year to launch the national version of this competition - so
all aspiring junior journalists should keep on the look out for more
information!
The following is Salena Khanijou winning entry:
Human Trafficking - Sama’s Story
By Salena Khanijou (Garden International School Rayong)
Sama was a Burmese teenager when she was taken from her home,
blindfolded and forced to work in a gogo bar in Pattaya. Here, she tells her
troubling story to us in an exclusive interview.
Sama was 18 when she was fooled by an agent. The man promised her and
another 29 girls a nice, well-paid job in Bangkok. The innocent young girls
were persuaded by the sweet-talking agent and left their homes in Burma,
bidding their loved ones goodbye and hoping to earn some money and then come
back after a few years. They had no idea that their dreams were about to be
shattered.
They were forced to walk through the jungle on their way into Thailand. Once
they arrived, things only got worse.
“As soon as we entered the border to Thailand, we were blindfolded, we
didn’t know what was going on. We were just scared. We lived in the darkness
for a week and when we opened our eyes, we were in some place full of Thai
girls wearing short skirts and foreign men drinking alcohol or smoking,”
Sama said, as tears started to fall from her numb eyes.
Sama worked in a bar in Pattaya for 10 years, until she became old and
wasn’t as attractive as before so no-one cared about her, so she could run
away easily. “Those were the worst 10 years of my life, I was forced to do
things I nor my family would have ever imagined,” Sama continued.
“Now, I sell ready-made clothes on Walking Street. I hardly get any money to
even get a proper meal but I feel proud, I can live with pride, I don’t feel
ashamed of anything and I can walk with my body upright,” Sama said
confidently.
Sama contacted her family and told them about the awful past and told them
not to worry as she wants to live her life in Pattaya, trying to regain her
pride and self-confidence.
Sama was fortunate to be able to escape such a life. Every year more than
300 foreign victims are classified as trafficking victims in Thailand,
according to the Thai Government. Human trafficking is one of the most
controversial issues in the world, and especially in Thailand. Each year
hundreds of women, men and children are trafficked to Thailand for sexual
exploitation and forced labour. The victims of trafficking have to face all
horrible kinds of violations including starvation, torture, rape and also
death threats.
A lot of young Burmese girls aged 15 to 17 years are trafficked from Burma
to Thailand. Traffickers give false hope to the girls, promising them to
dream of a well-paid job in Bangkok, the city of lights, and good
accommodation. They recruit girls to work as waitresses or cleaners.
However, once in Thailand, all their dreams and hopes are shattered within
seconds, as they get forced into prostitution.
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Sattahip School organizes Navy Children’s Sports Day
Vice-Principal Chalaeng
Rungsaengjan (left) presides over the Navy Children’s Sports Day opening
ceremony.
Patcharapol Panrak
Sattahip School students stepped out of the classroom for exercise and fresh
air on Navy Children’s Sports Day.
Vice-Principal Chalaeng Rungsaengjan opened the games Sept. 4.
Activities Director Wattanee Ditsombun said Sattahip School conducts sports
day in parallel with education. The school focuses on in-classroom education
as well as other skills, such as physical education, as its important to the
kids’ development.
School officials took into account the health and behavior of students and
divided them into five teams, all designated by sea animals: dolphin, shark,
octopus, stingray and whale.
Chaleang said organizing sports competitions is a good policy that supports
children to have a foundation in sports and to learn sportsmanship. Sports
is important to students since they are in the growing age, therefore, it is
vital that children exercise for a healthy body
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Women With A Mission and Visteon working together
The classrooms, after constant
use for years,
had fallen into disrepair.
Women With a Mission (WWM), a Pattaya-based charity
organisation, has been working with the Children’s’ Development Training
Center (CDTC) for more than four years. The CDTC school and boarding house
is located outside of Mae Sot on the Thai Burmese border and is both home
and school for over 250 Burmese children of mostly Karen extraction.
WWM has been supporting the school and the students by funding teachers’
salaries and learning materials, and assisting with the food program in
order to feed this large number of child refugees. Funding is also provided
to assist in several programs to build self-sustainability for the school
and boarding house.
Funds are always stretched, with priority going towards food and education;
however, by the end of the last school year the classrooms, after constant
use for years, had fallen into disrepair and needed urgent attention.
Thatched walls were falling apart, desks and chairs broken, and many other
defects.
WWM were struggling to find the additional funds required. However, Visteon
Corporation, an automotive component manufacturer located on the Eastern
Seaboard, stepped forward with an offer of assistance. They helped provide
funds to replace thatched walls with proper structural walls dividing the
classrooms, paint for the new walls, and a ceiling fan in each classroom.
Through the generosity of Visteon the school now has classrooms better
suited for a learning environment. WWM would like to publicly thank Visteon
for their wonderful support in this project.
However, the struggle for adequate funding for the school still goes on for
WWM. Within the past few weeks, with very little notice, the funding
assistance to buy dry food rations (rice, yellow beans, etc.) was cut to
CDTC and other refugee schools in the area. WWM has sent out a new plea for
help, and thanks to the generosity of WWM supporters and readers of the
Pattaya Mail, they have received enough funds for 56 of the 266 students,
but that still leaves a large funding gap to feed all the children. The cost
of dry food rations for each child B320 per month, and WWM are trying to
raise the funds to cover the next 8 months through to the end of the school
year. This is B2,560 for each student.
If any of Pattaya Mail’s readers would like to support this food assistance
program, or make a general donation to assist their ongoing activities, WWM
would be very pleased to hear from them.
Call to speak with Bronwyn Carey - 089-898 0658; Kylie Grimmer - 087-482
3520 or Rosanne Diamente - 081-865 0714. Alternatively, email
[email protected].
Visteon Corporation stepped
forward with an offer of assistance.
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