Very foggy evening by the river: smoke coming over from Laos.

Our country is swarming with micro dusts, smoke and air pollution. Firest fires in the northern parts have ravaged whokr mountains and killed of untold numbers of wild animals. These big fires were man made: some were stupid political tactics to discredit inefficient politicians before the general election next month. Some small fires were lit by hunters who couldn’t control their fires. Several people have been arrested red handed in the forest.

In big cities, the air pollution of toxic micro dusts have been the results of industries and companies that didn’t take proper measures so they could reduce their expenses. The sugar cane industry encourages growers to slash and burn their crops. Farmers in the north would routinely burn the rice fields after the harvest. All for the purpose of reducing extra costs. Law enforcement became unworkable as all farmers couldn’t be possibly arrested and put into jail. However, the industry and factory owners are the real culprits who have strong negotiating power and leverage. They would be unlikely to be persecuted as they contributed money to political parties. So, ordinary people will have to continue to live with bad air pollution during hot season as the wind currents don’t seem to work on our favour.

This year the sky in Nongkhai has become very foggy with dust and smoke. This was very unusual as we never had this problem in the past. The amount of slash and burn in rice fields is negligible and very brief. My gardener told me that local vilkagers have been complaining about smoke coming across the river from Laos. So, I has to see this for myself. In the evening I cycled towards the riverfront and the small resort. My gardener told me to look out for the big blue factory on the opposite side of the river.

During the past years, I have noticed an expansion of new factories in Laos. At fitst I thought this factory processed building materials such as sand, pebbles and concrete. But I noticed a big chimney spewing out lots of small debris and smoke high into the air. This looked like a rubbish burning factory! The sky around the river has become very foggy with small dust particles; I could smell chemicals and plastic burning too. This could be a new line of business in Laos, since there’s a slowdown in overall economy there.

So, the status quo remains so long as people in authority, the provincial governor, remains inactive on local problems. As I cycled further along the river, I found a second factory with identical construction and colour. This one was also burning various materials and spewing out smoke and small particies. The wind was deadly still so thr dust and fume slowly spread in the air above the river permeating wider area. This didn’t look good for people living by the riverfront area. I wondered why villagers wouldn’t make noises and exert pressure on the local authority to take some action. People are just too passive and lack the courage to do something different.

Luckily our house is a bit further away from these two factories and we are surrounded by tall trees. But the sunset would not look very nice or spectacular any more. We need a good bout of rain storms and strong wind to clear the foggy sky. Mother Nature wouldn’t be very happy with this selfish acts by rich businessmen and politicians. The level of air pollution from these factories wouldn’t meet the minimun standards of air safety; this smells of corruption. I wondered if these factories released raw sewage into the river. Laos has continued to be under socialist power structure under the control of privileged elites and their cronies. So, poor people continue to get poorer while the rich class gets fatter in wealth.

My tuk-tuk driver told me that the economy in Laos wouldn’t survive and there might be uprising by the poor and hungry people. But the powerful people have all the guns so the riots would be short and bloody. I knew that rich people hold their wealth in dollars which means that they would have to buy gold to maintain their wealth. It would be very interesting to see how the politicians would handle severe financial troubles in the near future. I had been told that the level of corruption among low level civil servants has become quite alarming. The cost of living has gone up so they needed more extra income for survival. The long lockdown had disturbed the old wheels in black economy quite hard.

The level of water in the river has decreased by about eight meters in dry season. This year it seems much worse than last years as more new dams have been constructed in Laos to produce electricity for neighbouring customers. That’s why the rich will get richer in the short term. The probability of future earthquakes there couldn’t be underestimated as earthquakes in China could affect the fault lines in Laos. The amount of forest goodies which have been exploited during construction would have been formidable.

Meanwhile we just have to adapt and survive under air pollution. More windy conditions would be very nice blessing for local villagers on both sides of the river. Local fishermen continue with their daily routine though they couldn’t find that many fish nowadays. Children enjoy themselves playing in the river in the evening. Life is simple and somewhat ‘raw’ or unrefined along the river. These are hard working villagers of older generations who contunue the same way of life since their grandparent generation. I do wonder whether younger generations would continue this way of life.

The future is full of unpredictable factors which could impact on the routine way of life. The more self-sufficient way of life we could follow, the better the chances of surviving sudden changes to our economy and society. These simple villagers are very grounded to the life of hardship and survival. I have learned to be content with the present and all the small blessings I could count during my ups and downs in life. I hope and pray for rain storms to clear the foggy sky and add more water to the river soon.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.