Every day starting around 11am, people queue up near the corner of Soi 8 and Sukhumvit to receive the Thai equivalent of a boxed lunch (rice and veggies) along with a bottle of water. This place is one of many food outlets set up by various organizations around the city to help those Thais particularly hard hit by the economic shutdown. Having witnessed few acts of genuine kindness during my time in this country, this large scale generosity has surprised me.
The story behind the Soi 8 venue, according to my friend Joy, is that it is being funded by a wealthy couple who want to help others:
“An old man and woman have a lot of money. So they buy the food.
They give out every day. Good time, noon. A lot of people. Customers
are very quiet. Not tasty enough to eat every day.”
Out of curiosity, last week I had Joy take me to see this. As she said, it was indeed a silent affair with little talking. A couple of policemen were kind of meandering about, but they were not needed. No one was trying to cut in line. There also was a fellow with a camera who took a picture of each person just before they got their food, presumably to discourage them from coming back for seconds. (Something Joy had no interest in doing, even with the nice dessert.)
Seeing so many people patiently waiting for a meal was a stark reminder of the hardships covid-19 is causing and I could not help but think of all the food sitting in my cupboard back home. It made me feel both very fortunate — and very uncomfortable.
🏠Home 