It is a moment in history for the United States of America. You have probably heard this many times thus far, but decades from now people will recall this day and say I was here, or I was doing such and such.
For myself, I will remember this day being thousands of miles away from America- in another culture and in another world. I will tell my children that on this day, the world heard a message of hope, but when I walked a Bangkok city street, all I saw was evil. On this day I felt, heard and could almost touch an insurmountable wickedness. On that street in Silom I could almost hear an unvoiced cry. It was a despair that beckoned for something greater than our ability to hope or to carry out human ideologies. It was a kind of despair that drives you to look for a savior...
Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States****
January 21, 2009 Bangkok
January 20, 2009 USA
January 20, 2009 USA
Roadhouse Grill on Rama IV road was renowned for serving authentic American food. The three story building stood prominently on the corner of Rama IV road and Surawong road. While the historic event was taking place on a Monday morning in the States it was Tuesday and almost midnight in Bangkok. The Sunday before I had met an expat from LA who invited some friends and I to join in the night’s inaugural festivities.
“Jawt tee nee,” I told the cab driver to stop. I and my German friend, named Timotheus, exited the taxi. Timo was a 23-year old college student who lived just seven minutes from my place. He was German white, and stuck out in Bangkok like a black bean on rice. He actually was born in Thailand and spoke pretty good Thai. In reality, even though I look like I'm Thai, I was more the black bean and he was more like white rice.
We crossed the busy street. We flung open the heavy doors and stepped into a bar-like scene. On a historic day for America the building was filled to well above its capacity. CNN was blasting from the television screens. Obama t-shirts were arrayed around the room and red, white and blue balloons had been tied to the ceiling. Timo and I found ourselves shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of mostly middle-aged farangs (foreigners) who had turned the restaurant into a beehive of laughing, eating and drinking and talking politics.
Obama’s speech wouldn’t be for at least another hour. We found our Thai friend named AJ in the middle of the crowd.
“What's up!” I screamed over the noise.
“Hey man!” AJ screamed back. We spent at least thirty minutes trying to yell over the noise. I grew frustrated. I hated crowds and I needed to get some air.
“Its too crowded in here,” I said. “Let’s go get food and come back for the speech.”
We descended down the three stories, out the door and into the street. We had only taken at least a dozen steps when suddenly we were stopped by a man with a stack of tickets shoved into his back pocket.
“Good show!" he said. "No cover! Ladyboys!” My heart cringed. A ladyboy was a transvestite man who, upon first glance, looked very much like a woman.
I took a second to look the man in the eyes, searching for a source of conviction- a drop of reason. His eyes were like glass- empty- this man was acting only on instinct. We ignored him and kept talking about where wanted to eat, but the man kept going.
“Ladyboy show!” he said again, as he moved closer. “Song roi…”
I turned my back to him as he was in mid-sentence. Just the image of men parlaying at a "ladyboy show" gave me a gag reflex. I looked about the soi. The street was crowded and their seemed to be an unusual amount of farang walking about. I was surprised. It was nearly 11 pm but the lights were bright and people were eating and milling about as if it were midday.
On the other side of the street I saw a large, fluorescent sign reflecting blue and green light against the black asphalt. From inside the disco I could hear techno music thumping, reverberating out the entrance and into the street. Inside, I could only see shadowed movement.
Down the street, there was a business called “Health Spa”. Outside a half dozen men were reclining on chairs or lying on their sides at the steps. They shared a common uniform- tight white polo shirt and tiny black shorts. The men’s legs were shaved, their hair was long and dyed, and their eyebrows were plucked to a point. Behind them there was a dark stairway that carried away customers to gloomy, white washed rooms.
I turned away and lifted my head towards the night sky. My stomach and heart seemed to meet somewhere in the middle.
Behind me I could hear the guy speaking rapidly in Thai, trying to entice my other two friends. They ignored him and kept talking to each other. Above me the clouds were floating high above all the bright lights and street bustle. “God, why am I here?” I thought to myself.
“Let’s go this way,” AJ said. We walked up the sidewalk and away from the ticket seller who was still trying to get us to buy tickets. As we walked I looked through the windows of the stores and ignored the street merchant asking us to buy their trinkets. Each alley we passed I saw another street like the one we walked on. The lights and raucous crowds seemed to go on forever.
“Do you know where we are?” AJ asked me as we walked along the sidewalk.
“This is Silom district right?” I said.
“This is the red light district,” he replied. “If you are here they assume you come for sex.”
Right then I looked up and saw a husky Caucasian man sauntering past us on the sidewalk. The middle-aged man had a smug look as he held hands with a petite Thai woman. I could feel a match light inside of me. I remembered a statistic that a friend had shared to my Bible study group just the week before. His voice echoed in my mind: “70 percent of tourists to Thailand are men traveling alone. 70 percent of those men are going to participate in the sex trade.” Around me I noticed even more farangs with more Thai girls and that same smug look.
Timo was hungry. He was standing next to a street vendor and eyeing their display of pork and chicken. From behind the vendor two scantily clad women were sitting cross-legged at a table, looking Timo over as he inspected the food.
“Too expensive,” Timo said. He started walking away, crossing to the other side of the street. The two women returned to their meal.
“Is it always this crowded here?” I asked AJ.
“Yea, its always this crowded. Even at night.” He replied.
Timo kept walking looking for a place to get cheap food. He found soup for 35 baht (1 USD). Satisfied, Timo took his 35 baht bowl and we walked to some plastic tables and chairs set up alongside the street.
There was just only one available table. A Thai woman dressed in a short-skirted dress was sitting alone at a table for four. Timo ventured over and set his food right across from the woman. I was surprised, but then I remembered that in Asia people live in much closer proximity to one another. I wasn’t used to it, but I followed and took a seat at the table.
When we sat I noticed something slightly disjointed about the woman.
She was fidgeting in her chair. When she lifted the spoon to her mouth her eyes would dart left and right, blinking in a rhythm that sent a slight chill down my spine. I tried to ignore it.
“AJ how was your day?” I said.
“It was good man,” said AJ. “We took a three-hour lunch today. Our boss is out of town.”
As we spoke, I could still see the woman in the corner of my eye. She was hunched over her bowl chewing her food and twitching her jaw in that same uneven pace.
Suddenly, the woman shouted out in Thai. It didn’t seem like she was talking to anyone particular. Across the table AJ’s eyes grew large as the woman kept screaming. He barely turned his head as he stole a glance at the woman.
“What is she saying?” I asked as she kept yelling out into the air.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Something about only having 10 baht.”
She screamed into the air one more time and stood up and left the table.
The three of us took a moment and looked at each other.
“I hear stories about women who go to the temples and make contracts with the devil,” Timo said.
“Really?” I said. I told them I noticed she was acting weird.
“I didn’t notice,” said AJ.
We sat silently as Timo finished his food.
“Hey guys I want to pray for her,” Timo said.
We bowed our heads as he prayed for the woman and the people in the red light district. By the time we made our way back to the restaurant the crowd was even thicker. There was a buzz in the air as former presidents began to appear on the screens. From Ford to Clinton to the Bushes there was almost an aura of kingliness. Of course there were a number of “boos” when George W appeared on the screen. Then, looking as solemn and as presidential as ever, Obama appeared, inciting the roaring applause of the people in the restaurant. They applauded and shouted his name. Some even screamed at the top of their lungs, chanting “Yes We can!”. High fives and handshakes and hugs were shared all around.
After Obama was sworn in, he began his speech. As his voice boomed from the television sets, silence swept the three-story building.
“My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...... as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.
The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans…”
On that early morning in Bangkok, some cried and some laughed. Whether you hate or love Obama it can't be disputed that this was a momentous occasion in history.The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans…”
For myself, I’m not sure if this will serve as the marker for America’s rebirth or last hurrah. From that night, I will remember that street in Silom. I will remember the pressing image of evil. And I will remember that I report directly to an authority who holds an office greater than the office of presidency. His term is eternal and I will hold myself accountable to report to him on that last day. Taking the taxi home, I prayed for President Obama- for his safety and the future of our nation.
Years from now I will tell my children that on January 20, 2009 (21st in Bangkok), I was on a street in Silom, Bangkok, when Barrack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. On the streets I saw evil on a day when many were given hope.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10
