From a New Mandala reader in Cambodia:
“… I have just gone to koh pich. There is a big problem at the bridge. Too many people trying to cross and many vendors blocking the way. Soon people are going to die from a stampede”.
This is a text message that remains in the SMS draft folder of my mobile. I wrote it two days ago after I had just crossed the bridge back from Koh Pich (Diamond Island) to the market area in front of the Naga Casino. I thought of sending it to people that might know people with authority to do something about the situation before it was too late. But I never did.
As I crossed the bridge, squeezed in the crammed crowd of mostly families and young Cambodians, I had an overwhelming sense that the children near my feet would be crushed if the crowd surged. When I found cart vendors partially blocking the off ramp I became infuriated and cursed some of them, but the best I could do was manage to force the worst offender to move her cart to the side. It seemed like a hopeless situation. The bridge was too narrow for the crowd.
I took photos of the bridge crowd with the intention of showing police or security working nearby. But the closest security I could find were occupied making sure none of the crowds sat on the wall of the casino. The nearest police were occupied manning road blocks and collecting bribes from motorists entering designated pedestrian areas.
I thought the photos I took didn’t convey the seriousness of the problem and nobody will pay attention to me. So, I put the thought of a possible stampede on the bridge to the back of my mind and moved on to the main riverside area to enjoy watching the boat racing, float procession and fireworks. Later I escaped the riverside crowds into a tourist bar for a drink and relayed my concerns about the bridge to the expat bar manager. He explained to me that Cambodians were much more patient and better at dealing with crowds than us westerners. I felt more at ease.
This morning I woke up to hear that last night at least 345 people, mostly young Cambodians, died at the bridge.
20 responses so far ↓
1 Global Voices in English » Cambodia: Stampede tragedy during Water Festival // Nov 24, 2010 at 2:11 am
[...] New Mandala reader predicted days before the tragedy that a stampede would probably occur in the bridge As I crossed the bridge, [...]
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2 BKK lawyer // Nov 24, 2010 at 2:21 am
Here is significant information that I have seen reported by only one source, CNN, quoting Steve Finch and Philip Bader of the Phnom Penh Post, and not mentioned by any other reports I’ve seen:
CNN also reported:
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3 Global Voices in het Nederlands » Cambodja: Paniek tijdens waterfestival leidt tot ramp // Nov 24, 2010 at 5:11 am
[...] lezer van New Mandala voorspelde enkele dagen voor de ramp dat er waarschijnlijk een stormloop op de brug zou plaatsvinden: Toen ik [...]
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4 Anonymous // Nov 24, 2010 at 5:57 am
[...] New Mandala reader predicted days before the tragedy that a stampede would probably occur in the [...]
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5 Frank G Anderson // Nov 24, 2010 at 11:02 am
Obviously thoughtless people at Lotus Tesco leaving their carts in the aisles is a different kettle of fish, but generally speaking there seems to be little social consciousness in the region. People pay symbolic respect in public, but especially here in Thailand they display the most overt selfishness imaginable in many public situations – traffic in streets and on sidewalks only two examples.
If individuals campaign rigorously, municipalities will respond, but unless that campaigning is continuous and meaningful, the authorities will back off and things will revert to abominable.
The hundreds of deaths on the Cambodian bridge could have been prevented, but were not. In Thailand, the streets and sidewalks could be made much safer but no one wants to inhibit greed and selfishness in themselves or others.
During the recent flooding in Korat, the authorities watched silently as market vendors occupied main roadways and in some cases completely cut off feeder lanes because their regular locations were flooded. If there was any emergency, no one would be able to get through the throngs of merchants.
Thai authorities will just not do what it takes to manage communities.
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6 R. N. England // Nov 24, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Looking for scapegoats (e. g. commercial interests or the government) in such tragedies is a waste of effort. It might provide jobs for lawyers and journalists, but the answer lies in the impersonal science and engineering of crowd behaviour.
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7 BKK lawyer // Nov 24, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Frank:
How about this example: Drivers who refuse to yield to ambulances. I cannot comprehend it. What are they thinking?
In the crowd control situation, how could police officers possibly think that turning water cannons on an enclosed crowd would help the crowd speed along?
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8 Cranshaw // Nov 24, 2010 at 1:52 pm
@Frank
I agree wholeheartedly with your comment and this is coming from a Thai! (NOTE: I was born and raised outside of Thailand for the majority of my life, so maybe not so sensational.)
I’ve often thought to myself that Thais on the surface might appear this passive and serene people, but in actual fact they appear to engage in a daily routine of selfish quid pro quo!
This manifests itself in many ways from the garage owner spreading engine parts and oil all over the pavement, to the mindless parking of a motorbike in a space which could fit an SUV and my personal favourite, at an intersection, moving a car a further 10inches forward so as to successfully block a 3 way junction!
I don’t know what causes this mentality? I myself have succumbed to it, double parking while my wife went to grab some Kow Tom.
Maybe it is the “sabai sabai” mentality which means you go with the flow, don’t want to be seen as difficult or rocking the boat, but this as tragically witnessed in Cambodia, can result in preventable accidents and tragedy.
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9 Neverfree // Nov 24, 2010 at 4:15 pm
And thankfully no one has yet to object to the above comments on the grounds of racism. Here we actually have some of the root causes of why there isn’t a single (even slightly) meaningful democracy in the whole region. As such, it is more insightful than a whole decade of blowhard New Mandalaite comment on the relative goodness and badness of the shirts and their god awful sponsors.
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10 MediaWar // Nov 25, 2010 at 2:49 am
Thais are perhaps the most notorious for their senseless blocking the way probably in each and every imaginable situation. somehow it there is a car parked on one side of a narrow Soi, driver another car, coming from opposite direction, as if on purpose, would choose to stop or park his car EXACTLY beside that car, or very near to it, leaving very little or next to nothing place for others to pass through!
same happens practically everywhere. I think I can never understand their logic or reasoning in doing so, or rather the mind-boggling stupidity.
As for the main subject of stampede in Cambodia – it is very tragic unnecessary deaths which could and must have been prevented.
BTW there are some on-line discussions that people on the bridge saw something on the sky, which was like the main reason why they panicked and rushed to cross the bridge back…
anyone knows what was it? particularly the NM reader, whose letter was quoted in OP.
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11 MediaWar // Nov 25, 2010 at 3:01 am
BTW check this out :
The Manager Website and its (lack of) ethics
http://asiancorrespondent.com/siamvoices/manager_and_ethics
comments by PAD members on Manager website about numbers of dead in Cambodian stampede
I bet this article’s author will be attacked and harassed all over internet for exposing those comments.
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12 Peter // Nov 25, 2010 at 4:29 am
@Neverfree:
I don’t think it has something to do with race.
Give me a week for acclimation next time i come back from Germany and you will see that i turn into a 100% thai (behind the steering wheel only).
No racism just locustus behaviour.
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13 Peter // Nov 25, 2010 at 6:06 am
I found this terrible video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEog1Mr_dqk&feature=related
It shows how this was much different from the Love Parade accident in Germany 6 month ago. Here you can see that even after the police arrived and panic was gone the people were unable to move an inch. Blocked by a pile of dead and unconscious people.
Terrible. Now more then 450 casulties.
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14 Nathan // Nov 25, 2010 at 7:07 am
The ASTV Manager website owned and run by PAD leader Mr. Sondhi contains the following shockingly racist comments regarding the Cambodia bridge tragedy, presumably from some of Mr. Sondhi’s devoted PAD/Yellow followers:
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”This is good (the deaths in the bridge tragedy), since this can decrease the numbers of beggars in Thailand” (Comment 122).
”I would like to express my congratulations to what happened” (Comment 115).
“They stepped on themselves like animals. This is so disgusting. Cambodians’ lives are useless” (Comment 96).
“Have fun counting” (Comment 77).
“What do you expect in the brains of this developing country? This is not to mention idiot leader that is pulling in all the benefits for his family. It is good that they are dying, so the world will be lighter” (Comment 73).
“Hahaha! I am very satisfied” (Comment 70).
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15 john francis lee // Nov 25, 2010 at 10:25 am
The report says the cops sprayed water cannon on the bridge and electrocuted the people! And all of you use this tragedy to indulge your western road rage at having to drive in Thai traffic.
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16 laoguy // Nov 25, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Nathan # 13. Ok, that’s pretty creepy. But if you consider that Sonthi has had an open field and a dream run, totally unhindered by the usual oppressive forces operating in Thailand and he has only been able to organize a minuscule group of degenerate supporters. That is a gratifying statement on the amount commonsense still prevalent in the country.
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17 Neverfree // Nov 25, 2010 at 8:28 pm
#12 Exactly Peter. I would even have doubts about using the word culture. My point really is that the problems as seen in this thread are actually far more significant than any of the heavy-duty political punditry and pseudo-intellectualism hereabouts. To wit, Thailand has a lousy elite, a crap-headed bureaucracy and a fantasy-world guv’ because there is a long history of allowing boneheads to get clean-away scot-free. All the more reason to actively blame all of the manipulative color-coded goon squad sponsors and the knuckle-headed institutions they are trying to muscle in on! It isn’t necessary to have a slight preference for one side here, just because it is everso slightly less bad or more good. If we treat them all equally as unclean , they might eventually START to get the message.
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18 Neverfree // Nov 25, 2010 at 8:40 pm
#14 Forum rage? Luckily, no water cannon are available to the forum blowhards.
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19 wildekimf // Nov 30, 2010 at 2:50 am
#14 john francis lee
my thoughts exactly.
As for the traffic concerned trainspotters, I just returned from Cambodia to Thailand. Thai traffic is I would say (driving most days in BKK) better and more considerate than French or Italian I have had misfortune to take part in … UK is far better in regard of law and USA varies.
Sonthi is a political animal, although some of his actions could be described as delusional or plain crazy.
These anti-cambodian comments are out of line. On Cambodian side there is no love lost for Thais either, for a reason too. But on both sides of border, people would like to live their lives and benefit from commerce. There are still families divided.
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20 កម្ពុជា៖ សោកនាដកម្មក្នុងពេលបុណ្យអ៊ុំទូក អកអំបុក និងសំពះព្រះខែ · Global Voices // Dec 17, 2010 at 2:13 am
[...] Mandala ម្នាក់ ទាយប៉ុន្មានថ្ងៃមុនថា [...]
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