A Photographic Essay on How the Thai People Endure the Biggest Calamity in a Lifetime
Perched on a styrofoam float, the filthy floodwater two-thirds of the way to the top his decrepit shack, an emaciated old man looked straight into our camera and pleaded for help. He had already been living like this for a month and did not know how much longer he could last. He is but one of almost 1 million people whose lives have been destroyed by the biggest flooding in Thailand since World War II. Many can relate to this sadness, seeing their homes destroyed by natural disasters. The lucky ones have home insurance to help them rebuild, the kind outlined in this article here, but this is not universally true. The flooding in and around Bangkok is so vast that it is difficult for anyone to comprehend the extent of the damage to the country and its people. People can sometimes be lucky and have their homes at least remain standing, but other damage can happen. These homes can become infested with insects and pests that thrive on the damp, and whilst in the US we can use pest control services (like https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/pest-control/, for instance) to take care of it, it isn’t as simple in these situations. Nothing short of a satellite photo can show just how big a geographic area this flood covers. (For comparison’s sake, imagine that one-third of Texas was under floodwater.) But to show people the shape of the floodwaters doesn’t do anything to tell the story of the flood. Only the faces of the people living through this disaster can do that.
I am a professional filmmaker and felt compelled to travel to some of the most inaccessible areas of the flood to see how the Thai people are coping with the day to day issues of living in contaminated floodwater, with little drinking water and food, and sparse access to medical care. It must be very difficult for anyone to live in these sorts of conditions, but unfortunately, there are a lot of people who do. For landlords, the option of having landlord insurance can be put in place to help them protect their properties, but not everyone has the option of doing this. But if you do, it may be worth it, as you never know what could happen.
Just a few weeks ago, I was coming back from filming a 3D documentary in Mongolia to my home in Bangkok, when aboard the plane I started to read about the encroaching mass of water pouring down from Thailand’s central provinces into Bangkok. I was shocked, because nobody had told me this was a danger to the city where I and my family live. Back home, within a matter of days, it soon became apparent that we all faced a burgeoning catastrophe. After doing what I could to prepare my home, wife, and children for what we faced, I decided to go out to the areas just north of Bangkok, where the floods had already inundated entire provinces. I quickly gathered in a team of filmmakers to carry out the project.
The first person I called was my colleague, Dorn Ratanathatsanee. Dorn and I both teach TV and film production at Mahidol University International College. We managed to bring in another member of the team from Mahidol when the university’s program director for entertainment media, Paul Cornelius, was forced to evacuate his own house, where the floodwater was half way up the first floor staircase. He knew that once and if he was able to return to his home after the flooding, that he would need to get in touch with Chicago’s basement flood cleanup service or someone more local. In the meantime, I gave Paul a place at my house to wait out the flood and, in the meantime, all three of us decided to travel to where the flooding was worst in order to document this historical event. The province that I and my camera team visited turned out to be Pathum Thani. By chance we encountered a relief truck picking up supplies from an NGO and Thai royal charity. The truck was a converted garbage truck and organized by the citizens themselves. It was going to the amphoe, or district, of Lamlukka. The organizers allowed us on board and gave us access to some of the most remarkable film footage I have ever taken.
Like me, the people of Lamlukka had little or no warning about what they faced. Since being trapped by the sea of water, these people have received no help, no acknowledgment, and no advice from the national government. They were left on their own to organize relief trucks and evacuation centers. When we arrived, the village mayor, a teacher, and district health officer were supervising an evacuation center holding 459 people, consisting primarily of the elderly and very young. That they have done so well on their own speaks volumes about their character and tenacity. But it’s not enough. They still face insurmountable challenges if left to their fate without sufficient aid.
***
Al Caudullo is a filmmaker and teacher. He lives in Bangkok where he owns 3DGuy.TV and is in the forefront of developing and producing content for 3D movies and television. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go directly into purchasing food, water, medicine, and reconstruction material for the people of Lamlukka (Bangkok, Thailand). 3Deecentral.com graciously has allowed us to work with them in making these 3D photographic sets available for iPhone, iPod, Laptop & Smart 3DTV users. In so doing, they have agreed to forward all their proceeds to the people of Lamlukka as well. For other forms of 3D or 2D imagery, the photographic sets are available as paid downloads through 3DGuy.TV.
CLICK HERE AND LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP.