Transcript of the above video: 

In a prior video we discussed at length a recent incident involving certain foreign nationals here in Thailand up in Pai, up north, which is sort of a popular town. Kind of a sleepy place I'm told; I have never actually been there, but I'm told that it's quite popular with expats as well as tourists. In a recent video we made, we discussed a situation involving some Israeli nationals that apparently caused a great deal of consternation and ruckus in Thailand as a result of an incident that occurred at an Emergency Room where vandalism and things took place. And the Interior Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul made it clear that he was going to look into the matter, and now we are following up on that prior video. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Anutin swats away misinformation in Pai. Quoting directly: "Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday dismissed reports suggesting that the Israeli tourists had "taken over" the resort town of Pai in Northern Thailand, calling the claims exaggerated. Speaking during a visit to the District in Mae Hong Son province with Orna Sagiv, the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Anutin said there was no evidence of any security threat. Citing the Provincial Governor, he said reports about Israeli tourists had been blown out of proportion. He reassured the public that the visitors posed no risk to national security or the local community."

Now I think it's worth pointing out here, Anutin, maybe not a lover of foreigners here in Thailand, I think is a safe sort of thing to say. For those who have sort of been keeping up with this going back into COVID, there was the whole "smelly farang" incident that perhaps was not the most polite thing to have said about foreigners in that situation. Now that said, I mean look foreigners don't vote in Thailand, so the folks that are worried about this or who were upset about that, well that didn't have a lot of electoral impact on him, okay? The point I'm trying to make with even bringing up that past incident is the fact that look, whatever you want to say about Anutin, I don't think it's inaccurate to say that look, he's going to be heavily scrutinizing foreign activity in Thailand and he's not exactly going to be your best buddy, warm fuzzy, pal guy, okay? So if he's saying there's no security threat, that's something I'm going to listen to as a Thai, and I think objectively based on his history, you can say, hey look, there's something to be said for his word with regard to this situation here. That said, quoting further: "I've been assured that these visitors obey the law and pose no threat to the local community", he said. The visit followed media reports of an influx of Israeli tourists in Pai, with some local residents reportedly expressing reluctance to welcome them after a series of incidents. The most widely publicized case involved four Israelis who vandalized the Emergency Room at Pai Hospital." Yeah I did a video on that. I said what are you doing? You're vandalizing an Emergency Room? I mean what is that? That said, quoting further: "After forcing their way," - "after forcing their way in" - you know, just insanity! - "to see a compatriot receiving treatment following a motorcycle accident. The four were fine 3,000 Baht each, had their Tourist Visas revoked, and were subsequently deported to Israel. They have also been" - and this is worth pointing out - "permanently barred from re-entering Thailand." 

So whatever you want to say about this past incident, I mean I would say from the Thai standpoint, whatever happened there, it's been resolved. These people have been deported, and they are barred from ever coming back. So I think that in terms of the people causing the incident, there's been a remedy. Quoting further:  "During his visit, Mr. Anutin met Rabbi Nehemya Wilhelm who gave him a tour of the local Chabad House, a religious and community centre where Jewish prayers are held every Friday and meals are shared. According to Rabbi Wilhelm, the centre is open to everyone, though security screening is in place. He clarified that Thai people are not prohibited from entering the premises. Ambassador Sagiv said that around 20 Israeli families had settled in Pai, marrying Thai nationals and starting families. She also expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to engage with local communities across Thailand." 

So again, this looks like one of those situations where look, it was a bad situation. Law enforcement got involved. Law enforcement all the way up to arguably one of the top guys in Law Enforcement and Immigration here in Thailand, and one of the top guys across the board here in Thailand, personally went as the thumbnail shows, personally went up there to check in on this because Thais were concerned about what was going on. And it looks like that although their concerns may have been warranted regarding a small group of individuals, those individuals have now been deported, and they are barred from rei-entering the country and it looks like all is well now up in Pai at least according to the Interior Minister. And quite frankly, knowing his past with regard to his opinions on foreigners generally, I think it's fairly credible and objective to state that look if this guy is saying there's not a problem up there, me as a Thai even, I have got to be honest with you, I'm pretty reassured that all is well in Pai, here in the Kingdom Thailand.