To Our Beautiful Friends in Thailand...Please Be Safe...

SawadeeKa,

It is with horror and sadness that I read today's papers reporting that the chiefs of Thailand's Army & Navy have met with King Bhumidol Adulyadej to declare a hostile takeover of the country.

Despite the obvious chaos and potential suffering that might ensue, all I can think about are the smiling faces of the children of Koh Phi Phi. The hopes and dreams of rebuilding their beautiful island following the Tsnuami of 2004 potentially stalled indefinitely while the country's focus turns to keeping order, democracy and (hopefully) securing life and liberty. With Foreign Nationals being asked to leave the country, the future of NGO programmes seems uncertain at best...at this moment anyways.

To our dear friends at The Regent's School in Pattaya, Bann Koh Phi Phi School and Laem Tong School on the island of Koh Phi Phi Don, and to all of the lovely Thais that we met during our travels to your beautiful land, please be safe and know that you are in our hearts and our thoughts through these uncertain times.

Be safe, Thailand...be safe

For more information on the Military Coup in Thailand, log onto:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/THAILAND?SITE=GORBC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html