- Lek looks nervously at the Patong sea shore as he describes
the passengers who climbed into his tuk tuk minivan late at night on 6
January.
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- "Go to Kata Beach", the seven foreign tourists
told him, after agreeing on a 200 baht fee.
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- He drove a while, but then felt numb all over his body.
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- Looking around he saw the cab was empty. He had had what
he thinks was an encounter with the ghosts that many say are haunting the
beaches and resorts on Thailand's Andaman coast.
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- And the religious charms he wears around his neck are
not helping him overcome his fears.
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- "I can't get over this. I'm going to have to get
a new job. I have a daughter to support, but I'm too scared to go out driving
at night," he said.
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- Lek's experiences are by no means unique.
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- Other apparitions which have been reported include a
foreign woman, whose screams echo through the night from the wreckage of
a hotel that was particularly badly hit.
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- A security guard on the site has already left his job
because he could not bear it anymore.
-
- In Khao Lak, a local family say their telephone constantly
rings through the day and night. When answered, the voices of friends and
relatives cry out to be rescued from the flames of the crematorium.
-
- Such reports, according to psychologist Dr Wanlop Piyamanutham,
are signs of post traumatic stress disorder.
-
- He pointed to the fact that many stories started to appear
about 10 days after the wave struck.
-
- That was when the real horror of the loss and devastation
hit people, he says. Now it is spreading beyond those immediately affected.
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- "With all of the pictures on the television, and
everyone talking about the disaster, it affected many more people, who
have reported seeing ghosts and smelling corpses," he said.
-
- And Dr Wanlop has an explanation for why such a large
number of "foreign" ghosts have been seen.
-
- "Foreigners make a big impression on Thais,"
he said.
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- "They're physically imposing, and often seem rich
and powerful. If people like that die in terrible circumstances, it's not
surprising they should come back in people's minds as ghosts, especially
when they have so far to get home."
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- Peace of mind
-
- That might provide a logical explanation, but it does
not provide much comfort.
-
- For that, many Thais have turned to Buddhism, the majority
religion in the country.
-
- Although superstitious beliefs are common in Thailand,
with many houses incorporating a spirit house to appease local ghosts,
Buddhist scripture has guidance on dealing with the supernatural, much
of which is a remnant of previous animist religious practices which pre-date
the arrival of Buddhism.
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- Local folk beliefs have given monks the power to dispel
troubled spirits, and many are prepared to provide "protection"
if it is needed.
-
- "We can do nothing to ward off the spirits",
says the venerable Bhikkhu Sugandha, "but if it helps make people
feel more comfortable, we can be around to comfort them."
-
- He believes that in a period of crisis, monks can provide
a very useful counselling service.
-
- "At such times religion is very important because
there is nothing else. The service the monks provide is just to listen,
to be there, and to let them know that there is someone more grounded to
listen."
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- Other religions are offering more direct help, and Patong
beach has seen several "exorcisms" performed by Chinese spiritualists
in the last few weeks.
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- In one, white robed monks from the Pu Ta Gong sect chanted
prayers and offered sacrifices of food to the spirits.
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- Special offerings of pizza were included for foreign
'spirits', and paper clothes and money were burned to help in the passage
to the after world.
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- As clouds of incense drifted down the white sand and
over the calm blue waters, the troubled spirits of the dead and missing
were urged to return home, for the sake of the peace of mind of the living.
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- © BBC MMV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4202457.stm
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