Stories tagged with public
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Canadian organ donor saves life
Canadian Christopher Beatty was living in Chaing Mai, Thailand as part of his continued education, planning to one day return to his native Ottawa when tragedy struck him and a serious motorcycle accident left him hospitalized. His family was notified and when they arrived in the northern Thai city the doctors expressed their regret, but the boy’s brain activity was next to nothing and they had the choice to pull the plug or not, but not pulling it would mean only the prolongation of his suffering.
The family made the decision to let their son go, opting to use his body for organ donation. The devastated family returned to the Canadian capital without their son and brother, but a calm pervaded the family when they received a letter from Thailand sometime after the ordeal.
The letter was from a Thai family member, who had tracked the Beattys down and let them know that Christopher’s kidney had saved the father of the family. Though Christopher had lost his life, he had saved that of another.
Posted by: DaveB on 22 May 2008, 14:50 -
Government declares August 20th a public holiday
Sunday, August 19th is an important day for the citizens of Thailand. It’s the day Thais will cast their ballots to vote on the new draft of the country’s constitution. The Monday has been declared a public holiday to encourage people who may be working outside their hometown to return and cast their vote.
Due to the short notice of the announcement, banks will remain open, but all private and public organizations will be closed. The decision was made after a proposition by the Election Commission, who believe the decision will result in a higher voter turnout.
It was discussed with the Thai Bankers Association that they would also close on the 20th, but they decided that there wasn’t sufficient time to prepare for a bank holiday.
So what does this mean for visitors that find themselves in Thailand on this day? The good news is that unlike other public holidays, the sale of alcohol will still be allowed. Business catering to tourists will have the choice to remain open or not, so its unlikely to find yourself in a situation where absolutely everything is closed in major tourist centres.
Posted by: DaveB on 09 Aug 2007, 11:38