As a less important group of workers in Thailand, garbage collectors have been neglected from the authorities and people for the passage of time. They work hard quietly without asking for their rights, but what they get is just low payment and risky lives and the government and Thai people jut know it as a thankless job. The government should turn attention to the garbage collectors to improve their qualities of lives; other wise, other nations can condemn Thailand is a country that takes advantage of poor and undereducated people.

The garbage collectors earn very little money a month. Their income is from ß 4,100 to ß 4,700 a month, not enough for a living at present. The little income leads to low qualities of lives for them, so the government can help them by increasing a higher salary for them.

Being undereducated people and getting insufficient information how to protect diseases and danger is a problem for the sanitation workers. This is due to the fact that most of the workers have only a primary school education, so they do not have effective knowledge to protect themselves from the diseases and danger while working. Therefore, the government ought to educate them to know the advantage of using the protective devices included masks, gloves, vests, and boots.

Working with smelly and dangerous conditions of work, the sanitation workers face many problems and danger. They highly risk being infected with many kinds of diseases, for example, fewer, skin diseases, and respiratory disease. Other problems are that the garbage collectors themselves neglect to use the protective devices to protect themselves from danger because they think the devices interfere with working, and the government provides insufficient the devices, so the workers have to provide the equipment by themselves when it is in disrepair.

It is to be hoped that to solve the problems of being infected with occupational diseases, it will be very effective if the government increase the budget for

providing the enough protective devices, such as gloves, masks, vests, and boots for the sanitation workers. It seems very unfair to let them buy the devices themselves because their income is still little and inadequate for a living.

Another problem is that Thai people unintentionally double hard jobs for the garbage collectors because the people do not separate the distinct kinds of garbage and put it in the proper garbage bins although the municipality provides the different types of garbage bins. If the government seriously had campaigned and educated people to know the advantage of separating the garbage and putting it in appropriate garbage bins, the problems of environment would have been reduced.

It is believed that no separating the garbage and putting it in the proper bins has also been an obstacle for the nation to develop the country. In the developed countries such as Japan, Singapore, Canada, and America, their population is not careless as the Thais. They have learnt to separate the garbage and put it in the proper garbage bins but it never happens in Thailand. This will be extremely ashamed for all Thai people if people all over the world know how reckless the Thais are and how the government fails developing the quality of the population and country.

All of the problems need to be solved immediately so that it can prove that the government and the Thai people feel thankful, sorry, and sympathized for the sanitation workers that they work hard for social hygiene. Taking advantage of poor and undereducated people is one of the most the obnoxious things in human beings. We need to start changing our society instantly at this little point as many other developed countries have done it to represent to other nations that we care and responsible for society and environment.

By Joe, pump, Jern, and Yungying

The attitude that Thais have toward the abilities of disabled person remains hopeless. This problem takes long time in the society and it will continue if everyone, especially employers overlook them. They are not useless if they have a chance to learn and perform their abilities.

Ban Thongpoon Paopanus is a center of vocational rehabilitation for disabled person in Ubon Ratchathani. This center opens for training them to be a dressmaker, a beautician, a repairman and a mechanic, giving them services and development in feeling Furthermore, the disabled will learn how to has an honorable act and live happily with other people in the society.

It is only one year that disabled persons learn and live in Ban Thongpoon Paopanus. After that they have to face the real world with their potentialities. They all want to claim the factories' owner for hiring them without looking at their physical appearances because they want to prove that they have their abilities. They can do like other people.

Many disabled person want to do a job because of their poverty. One of them said that she wanted to prove she had potential like the other. The problem is that many businesses regard disabled workers as a waste of money and an unneccessary burden.

In Thailand the vocational rehabilitation center is established only in big cities while a number of Thai disabled are increasing rapidly. They of course do not want to be the disabled but everyone tries not to understand the real ability. The government should pay much more attention to this because they are one of the citizen that needs to be taken care immediately.

One of the disabled's abilities are the products they produce such as clothes, purses; all these things have qualities like general people do. Thus, why do not people support them to have jobs and money.

In other countries, there is an organization named, OSERS (The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services) that works to ensure that the disabled person in the United States and other countries are not left behind in the school, in employment, and in life.

In the capital city, Bangkok, there is the office A.K.A. Professional Services Co Ltd that hire disabled workers. But other workers said that working with the disabled also had problem even though they are very patient.

It is essential that the government has to take responsibility and finds any measures to protect their rights. Thai government should also give them more chances, concerns more about their lives and their social. these are the things that they are looking for.

The potentiality of disabled person is the important proof for other people. It will be effective or not depends on their attempt to prove that they have the real abilities. "They can do everything like the others and sometimes they do it better" here is the real proof of the abilities in working of disabled person.

They believe that being a good person will be rewarded and they also want the government to think in this way.

However, these people will never surrender, they will always prove their potentialities. These people actively do their jobs, they want only chance and need acceptance. Do not judge them by their appearance and look down upon them. We need that equality now.

Laila-Mamiew-Kae-Mind

Nowadays, our society has changed from the past as we can see that everyone has to struggle for money to support his or her life. The rural people move into the big cities to do any job to sustain their lives. Likewise mahouts take their elephants to the city for survival.

In the past, there were a few mahouts taking the elephants into the city to earn money by selling their products-fruits, vegetables, lockets or necklaces. They always say "Please, buy cucumbers to feed the elephant" to persuade people to buy their products.

People buy cucumbers from the mahouts to feed the elephant because they feel pity for them but some do so without any reason. They just want to feed the elephants although they disagree with the mahouts. This encourages more mahouts to come into the city.

General people might think that the cause of the problem is the mahouts take their elephants into the big cities to earn money but actually they do so because they have to feed their elephants and families.

There are some organizations established to help the mahouts and their elephants such as Paun Chang. However, the number of them is still increasing because the organizations do not help them completely. They just tell that -We love the elephants and want to help them- but do nothing. The elephant problems are complicated so they are hard to solve because these problems are linked to many factors such as budget, caring or willing.

The cause of the problem is the mahouts do not have another job to do. Therefore, they have insufficient money to support their lives. Another major cause of the problem is there are not enough forest areas for elephants' habitats and food supplies. Thus feeding the elephants is mahouts' work.

However, they have to spend money to buy food. Therefore, they need to earn money in another way. Declining forest areas do not only cause troubles for elephants but also for humans. It can be seen that wild elephants damage farm land. We should consider the factors affecting the communities or take another look at local issues too.

The act for conservation of forest, which has led to the conflicts between villagers and government, should be adjusted because it keeps villagers and elephants away from forest. The law should help people live together and keep balanced. It is not a government's tool to force and control people.

His Majesty the King said that the act judges that villagers encroach in the forest and force them out of their homes, where they have lived so long before the law took effect. Actually, the act encroaches in their land. The department of forestry officers could never successfully conserve forest areas, but villagers can. Let them grow the forest and benefit from the forest then they will conserve the forest.

Eucalyptus plantation must be destroyed and substituted with plants that edible for elephants by making the law prohibiting growing eucalyptus. If the forest is restored, the trauma can heal.

The act which prohibits the hunting and catching baby elephants should be better enforced. The number of elephants raised in each area should be drastically restricted while the number of wild elephant should be stable, not decreasing. The fewer domestic elephants, the better people raise and treat them.

Government should provide funds to strengthen the communities and allow villagers to take care of the forest in a long run. If possible, the elephant village home-stay tourism should be established as short-term measures. This could provide more jobs to the communities.

Elephants and mahouts coming to the city is not a recent problem but it has happened for so long. It seems like no one wants to solve this problem seriously. It can not be successful by only one person, but everyone in the society have to merge to help the elephants and the mahouts by providing appropriate jobs and places for them to live.

By Tom, Gai, Kak, Nee, and Aek