Covid19, Old People & A Special Markets in Thailand

We have almost no pensions in Thailand, unless you have been police, military, a teacher or something similar. And so Thailand's oldies get by relying on their children for financial support, selling fruit, vending at markets, babysitting and selling their experience & skillls.

Covid 19 hit them hard, in that not only did their children (who send them money) have no income or unemployment benefits either, but the intense quarantine Phase 4 meant no people over the age of 70 were actually allowed to go out in public (and neither were children under the age of 5). How did it work? The local communities have been FABULOUS and made sure the grandmas & grandpas, old aunties and uncles have been cared for & visited. There have been food distributions daily and teams of local goverment care workers visiting homes and making sure that isolated, vulnerable people have had what they need from day to day.

Thailand is getting back on its economic feet, after 6 months of intense hardship. Almost no Covid 19, and people are doing what they can to help people who have done it hard. Part of that initiative was a special cultural market yesterday at Chiang Mai's Old Cultural Center, where all the vendors were senior citizens invited to sell their wares for the weekend, with no cost for their participation.

Thrilled to say the community came out in full force to celebrate them, and buy what they could.

It is in stark contrast to my 84 year old mother in a beige and economically comfotable retirement village in Australia, who is isolated, alone and speaks to no one most days. She said to me with some bitterness in her voice that in Australia (and much of the so-called first world) old people are ignored and dispensable. She relates the Covid stats to me every day when I call and makes a point of telling me how many people died in Aged Care facilities. That doesn't happen here - the old people were protected. The average age of Covid cases (3,466 only out of a total of 70 millon people) in Thailand is actually 37 years of age and only 58 people have died.

I chose Thailand for many reasons and no, I would not choose to live back in Australia - or the US, Canada or New Zealand - again. Cos I have seen what it is when the whole community values age, wisdom and experience, and it's a beautiful thing that you can still find in so many wonderful places in the world. Money isn't everything.

Thailand is preparing to allow limited tourism from countries which are relatively Covid free, and we look forward to that.

The vibe at the Seniors Market? Very chill, upbeat and optimistic.

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