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[skybluestu]

[Slaps]

Very interesting thanks for sharing.






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[svenivan]

Thanks  for sharing!

[Lizard2010]

Interesting watching!

[Traxster]

On a personal level,one of the things that surprises me about this story is
that I'm not at all surprised.
Debauched missionaries........
Wow...who'd of thought 'eh ?

[Impkenai]

Wow!  That was a very powerful documentary.  An eye opener for me as to the ultimate motive of SOME missions and missionaries.  JMHO

Thanks for sharing.

[villagefarang]

If you have been around a while, there will be nothing new or eye-opening about this documentary.  It is probably not a bad idea to refocus on these issues from time to time, however, for the benefit of the new arrivals and those yet to remove the rose tinted glasses.

Unfortunately religions and charities provide fertile and protected environments from which to prey on the weak.  Stateless individuals are among the weakest and most vulnerable, so are an easy and obvious target.

As a long time resident of Thailand I find it in my own best interest to keep as much distance as possible between me, the dark underbelly of life and the people who dwell and flourish therein.

[oggie911]

dirty pack of austrains perverts hilters  nazis at it again sickos

[scorpio1945]

This documentary would have had more credibility for me if its melodrama and obvious bias had not been over the top. I am sure there are zealots and perverts in the guise of missionaries that deserve to have their a-- kicked or much worse, but to paint a whole class of people with such a broad brush seems unfair. The Akha people would not like to have the same thing done to them, which happens.

[Riggi]

Thanks for sharing this. It was very interesting.

I have met Athu from the video.
He runs AFECThttp://www.akhathai.org/ and I did some volunteer work with them in May 2010.
I attended a meeting of Akha village elders from various villages around CR (just as an outside observer) and one of the big issues for them was missionaries coming into villages and building churches and offering "assistance", but in order to get the assistance the villagers had to take up Christianity and turn their back on a lot of their traditions. There was a feeling that they were fighting a losing battle to hold on to their culture.
Many villages I have visited have a "Christian" section and an "Akha" (or "Lahu" or whatever hilltribe the village is) section with the families relocating once they switch to Christianity.
It is usually easy to spot the church, it is the big concrete building with the (relatively) bright blue or green roof that stands out like a sore thumb amongst all of the traditional huts in a village.

If anyone is interested in doing something with AFECT, they are located a few minutes north of town just near the Riverhouse resort.

Also, it is not necessarily true that the government has told the hill tribes to stop producing opium and not told them what to do instead.
The Royal Princess Project (I can't remember the exact name) in Doi Mae Salong and other locations works with the local villagers to share and educate them on farming techniques and different crops etc. Although, he may have been referring to the Laos government in that part of the video...

[rmacdon61]

As with most things, if you set out to prove a fact, you will most likely find what you seek. In my home country, Canada, we set out to convert the local  
indigionus populations to "our" way. Right or wrong, history will tell. Good people, setting out to do good things for whatever reason they have, can be painted any colour others choose. I myself find, that controlling my destiny is as much work as I can handle and would prefer to offer help only when asked.
Maybe I am selfish in this, maybe seek too narrow an experience in life or just accept my limitations.
I do think that this kind of research allows us to question our motivations and keep things above board.
No action is counter productive, too much action is self fullfilling?

[svenivan]

I just wonder how long Muslim missionaries using the same methods in US or Canada could stay in these countries?

Many missionaries live a good life here, they live in very nice houses, driving the latest SUV, playing golf, they have a couple of months of holidays in US each year, their children in private schools.

I also wonder how many percent of all money that are donated in churches in US, Canada, Taiwan etc that goes to  that "administration"?  

[skybluestu]

svenivan, on 2012-02-05 15:47:12, said:

I just wonder how long Muslim missionaries using the same methods in US or Canada could stay in these countries?

Many missionaries live a good life here, they live in very nice houses, driving the latest SUV, playing golf, they have a couple of months of holidays in US each year, their children in private schools.

I also wonder how many percent of all money that are donated in churches in US, Canada, Taiwan etc that goes to  that "administration"?  

My feelings exactly Sven! And it isn't as though there aren't Christians in America etc that don't need help, surely they should be helping those 'lost sheep' back at home that are already Christians but have neglected/lost their faith instead of trying to convert people in other countries from their traditional faith. I know that the video doesn't represent all missionaries as some work tirelessly and selflessly to help needy people here,often without insisting on them becoming Christian, but there are more and more here and around Asia who are helping nobody but themselves!

When I lived in Chiang Mai I knew a missionary family who were living in a 30k per month house, drove a new Fortuner and both of the kids were at international school. Most of the money they received from donors/sponsors in America was spent on themselves and that wasn't unusual. And here in Chiang Rai my neighbours are missionaries and it is a similar story. Nice house full of mod-cons and plenty of international travel staying in expensive hotels yet they do very little actual work, only 'help' local Uni students who already come from a good background and have a good education. And in order to get money from churches etc back home they often badmouth Thailand,Thais and Buddhism. They are actually nice people (despite being very judgemental) but, like so many others here, they are doing very little good while spending valuable money that could be put to much better use helping those really in need.

Like it says at the start of the documentary, not all missionaries are like those featured in the film but even if there are 2-3 like that here it is 2-3 too many. The guy who said he only has one employee as there are 60 kids living with him, unbelievable!

Edited by skybluestu, 2012-02-06 12:58:37.

[skybluestu]

And it is also unbelievable that, in 2012, someones sexuality is compared with problems such as prostitution and child-trafficking! The below is taken from a blog by missionaries here in CR as to why they are needed here.

'Prostitution, child trafficking, and homosexuality also continue to affect this developing nation.'