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Thai brides offered one day free government course in interracial marriage
| Published: | 12 Sep at 6 PM |
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The Thai Social Development Ministry is now offering Thai women a free one-day course in interracial marriage and moving overseas.
Thailand is a favourite destination for romance and marriage between older Western expats and younger Thai women, but cultural differences are often ignored. According to the country’s Social Development Ministry, many see marrying a foreigner as the best way to enhance their economic statuses, but most don’t appreciate the rifts cultural differences can cause. The course is based on an understanding of living in the Western world rather than how to cope with marriage to an, often much older, expat male who has no intention of ever returning to his country of birth.
According to senior ministry official Patcharee Arayakul, the course will also reduce risks to Thai women of being victims of human trafficking or scams should they be tempted to marry a foreigner. A Thai government study made in 2004 suggested the largest number of women married to expat males came from Isaan, Thailand’s poorest region set in the far northeast of the country. Many, it seems, emigrated to their husbands’ countries and sent a combined total of 122 million baht back home every month, thus illustrating that it’s all about the money.
Nowadays, it’s far more common for older men to marry younger Thais and stay in Thailand under a marriage visa, whilst supporting the wife’s family from a pension or investment income. The course has a sector dealing with legal rights, presumably outside Thailand as it also deals with seeking help via various Thai authorities overseas and includes a section on culture shock. Given the difference and diversity of legal rights across various first world countries and the complications of explaining them, this offering might not be what’s needed.
At the same time, Westerners contemplating marriage with a Thai lady might like to research another, somewhat related, article published at the same time as news about the course. It deals with the arrest of an inventive Thai female who managed to marry 11 husbands in fairly quick succession, pocketing the dowry each and every time. The weddings, of course, were fake, but the cash was real, even although the husbands were all Thai. Expat retirees looking to marry a younger Thai of their choice might well need a much more comprehensive course of their own!
Thailand is a favourite destination for romance and marriage between older Western expats and younger Thai women, but cultural differences are often ignored. According to the country’s Social Development Ministry, many see marrying a foreigner as the best way to enhance their economic statuses, but most don’t appreciate the rifts cultural differences can cause. The course is based on an understanding of living in the Western world rather than how to cope with marriage to an, often much older, expat male who has no intention of ever returning to his country of birth.
According to senior ministry official Patcharee Arayakul, the course will also reduce risks to Thai women of being victims of human trafficking or scams should they be tempted to marry a foreigner. A Thai government study made in 2004 suggested the largest number of women married to expat males came from Isaan, Thailand’s poorest region set in the far northeast of the country. Many, it seems, emigrated to their husbands’ countries and sent a combined total of 122 million baht back home every month, thus illustrating that it’s all about the money.
Nowadays, it’s far more common for older men to marry younger Thais and stay in Thailand under a marriage visa, whilst supporting the wife’s family from a pension or investment income. The course has a sector dealing with legal rights, presumably outside Thailand as it also deals with seeking help via various Thai authorities overseas and includes a section on culture shock. Given the difference and diversity of legal rights across various first world countries and the complications of explaining them, this offering might not be what’s needed.
At the same time, Westerners contemplating marriage with a Thai lady might like to research another, somewhat related, article published at the same time as news about the course. It deals with the arrest of an inventive Thai female who managed to marry 11 husbands in fairly quick succession, pocketing the dowry each and every time. The weddings, of course, were fake, but the cash was real, even although the husbands were all Thai. Expat retirees looking to marry a younger Thai of their choice might well need a much more comprehensive course of their own!
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