黑料社

BANGKOK鈥擲tanding waist-deep in brown floodwater outside her Bangkok home, Saisunee Sontana is short of food and getting desperate, while a short drive away air-conditioned restaurants serve well-heeled diners.

As a slow-moving mass of runoff water from the north creeps into the sprawling Thai capital, a stark divide is emerging in the metropolis of 12 million people, between the submerged suburbs and the bone-dry city center.

Residents in affected areas complain their homes are being sacrificed to save downtown Bangkok鈥檚 gleaming shopping malls, luxury hotels and the homes of the wealthy elite, triggering protests and the destruction of some dikes.

Saisunee鈥檚 Bang Phlat district, on the western side of Bangkok鈥檚 main Chao Phraya river, is one of the areas in the capital that is worst-hit by the floods, which have killed more than 400 people around the kingdom.

Filthy water has submerged roads and inundated the neighborhood鈥檚 small wooden houses for more than a week.

鈥淭he help didn鈥檛 reach us because we are too far away,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n two or three days, I will be out of rice, and I don鈥檛 know how to get more food.鈥�

Trucks delivering emergency supplies do arrive daily at a bridge that connects Bang Phlat to the heart of Bangkok.

But to reach the trucks, locals have to trek through hundreds of meters (yards) of dirty water, dodging floating trash, dead fish and the occasional flip-flop or jerry can.

And since the aid delivery hours are random, many residents in cut-off, inundated streets are struggling to stock up on essential goods.

Pramet Deerad, 47, wearing an orange life vest, said the quality of life in Bang Phlat was 鈥済etting really bad.鈥�

鈥淭hey are happy on the other side of the bridge, while here we are in a terrible situation. We want the authorities to know about us,鈥� he said, calling on authorities to clear the rubbish in the near-stagnant water.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Chao Phraya River, the biggest inconvenience for most residents in the city center has been shortages of drinking water in the supermarkets after a flurry of panic buying.

Local officials blame a lack of funding, boats and staff for not reaching all those in need in flooded areas.

It is 鈥渁n impossible mission鈥� to hand out food and water three times a day to people who have refused to move to emergency shelters, said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman Jate Sopitpongstorn.

He defended efforts to spare Bangkok鈥檚 economic and political 鈥渉eart鈥� by diverting the brunt of the runoff water to other, poorer parts of the capital, effectively sacrificing the homes of some to keep others dry.

鈥淵ou can cut your hand but you have to save your heart,鈥� he said.

The growing tensions are a reminder of the fault line that runs through Thai society, more than a year after about 90 people died in an army crackdown on mass street protests demanding more democracy and equality.

The 鈥淩ed Shirt鈥� demonstrators were mostly loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister Yingluck is now the prime minister.

Ironically, the people who voted for her Puea Thai party are suffering the most.

The crisis has again highlighted the class divide, with 鈥渢he more wealthy established areas being protected at the expense of the outskirts,鈥� said political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok鈥檚 Chulalongkorn University.

But the authorities are not abandoning poorer city dwellers deliberately, he said, blaming Thailand鈥檚 鈥渟low-moving and ineffective鈥� bureaucracy for the lack of assistance.

There is little hope of immediate relief for the struggling residents of Bang Phlat, where life has become unrecognizable from just a few days ago.

Saisunee鈥檚 brother Manus Sontana, who needs to go the hospital regularly for kidney dialysis, is stuck in his house as his health problems prevent him from wading through the floodwaters.

鈥淗ave you found me a boat yet?鈥� the 62-year-old yelled anxiously out the window to his sister.

But while resentment was growing among some, others said they understood efforts to save the center.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good that inner Bangkok is not flooded, that way they can still find food for us,鈥� said Sombat Chansawang, 42, who returns to his inundated house every day to feed his chickens, a rooster and a rabbit.

鈥淲ill you take my rabbit?鈥� he pleaded with an AFP reporter, holding up the fluffy white creature. 鈥淭here is no more grass to feed him.鈥�

Despite trying to put on a brave face, the father of three admitted the situation was growing increasingly dire.

鈥淚f you need anything, you have to leave. Medicine, food 鈥� you have to go out and get it. If you stay here, you鈥檙e just going to die.鈥�